Shoppers do last-minute shopping ahead of Christmas

The pandemic might dampen Christmas but some at Miromar Outlets are keeping the holiday spirit alive.

Shoppers made their way to the Estero mall on Wednesday to take advantage of the last day stores will be open regular hours. On Thursday, Miromar Outlets will open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For Kathy Hatton, Becky Davis and Karen Hanlon, the gifts were not hard to find. Hanlon, of Naples, said she found a cute pair of sandals for one daughter and a pair of sneakers matching Ohio State colors for her other daughter away at school.

“I think it’s about spending time with each other and the gifts are a nice thing to do, but you don’t have to do that,” said Hatton, of Anchorage, Alaska.

“We still like the gifts,” her sister Hanlon said laughing. “Don’t get us wrong. We like the gifts too.”

Davis, their niece who was visiting from college, noticed they had to wait outside to enter some stores.

“It’s different this year, but as long as we have Zoom and our masks and we’re social distancing, it’s fine,” Davis said.

Shoppers toted large bags and practiced social distancing. Signs encouraged people to wear a mask and stores limited the number of shoppers inside.

“I wear my mask, I social distance, and I think, you know, I feel I’m safe,” said Robert Gill, a part-time resident of Southwest Florida.

Gill said he was shopping for a gift for his wife.

“My wife said she didn’t want anything for Christmas, but we know better than that don’t we? So I bought her some nice earrings,” Gill said.

But regardless of the purchases, the best part of Christmas is having family close by.

“I could give up everything else as long as I have my family together,” Hanlon said.