Westfield Oakridge Shopping mall in San Jose jammed with last minute shoppers

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Hundreds of last minute holiday shoppers braved the crowds at Westfield Oakridge Shopping mall in San Jose Friday. Parking lots and the halls of the mall were hectic as shoppers rushed to find the perfect gifts one day ahead of Christmas Eve.

"For the most part, it's pretty smooth. You just have a mission in mind of what you want to do and get in, get out," said Edgar Raygoza, who had just arrived at the mall Friday evening.

The San Jose native admits he may have waited a little too long, "tried not to but it kind of happens. You get busy with work and by the time you realize it, the day's already upon us," Raygoza told ABC7 News.

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Alexis Hernandez came to the Westfield Oakridge Shopping center to help her dad with his 11th hour shopping. "People want a lot of things and they tell us what they want and we go to try to find them and there's none left, so I think he learned his lesson," said Hernandez.

Low inventory is one challenge for last minute shoppers, but consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow says procrastination isn't the only factor for last minute shoppers, "They want to do a good job and they get freaked out about making a mistake so they keep putting it off because being late is a better excuse than looking like you don't care, believe it or not," said Yarrow.

Her advice to those running out of time is to give a gift card or cash.

Fellow last minute shopper Ronni Chiusano told ABC7 News a good attitude goes a long way. "You know it's going to be busy. You know you're going to have a hard time parking. You know there are going to be lines, so you can't really get upset about it. Stay in a positive mind frame. Everything seems to go better that way," said Chiusano.