Shopping Center Madness Takes Over as Holiday Rush Starts

Santa is waiting in the wings, holiday decorations are up, and the annual rush for bargains has begun.

Orange County’s malls saw their first real onslaught of Christmas shoppers Friday, as the Thanksgiving weekend sales marked the official start of retail’s hottest season.

Across the county, signs of shopping center madness were abundant.

To help promote the holidays this year, Bullock’s at South Coast Plaza has a fancy new perk. For those who may have tired of valet parking, the store this year has started a free rickshaw service to ferry shoppers through its parking lot.

So, “if it’s raining or you’re carrying a lot of bags, we’ll tell you to hop in and take you to your car,” said Sue Graham, store general manager.

While the carts might not look like they’ll carry armloads of boxes, they’re actually bigger than they seem. Mike Barton of Costa Mesa, one of Friday’s peddlers, said they can fit up to six passengers.

Who says there’s no such thing as a free ride anymore?

Some people put Christmas shopping right up there with a visit to the dentist. But others, it seems, just can’t get enough.

Take Larry and Su-Ann Sulham. The Valencia couple bundled up their four children (ages 2, 4 and 6 years and one at 4 months) and arrived at MainPlace/Santa Ana bright and early Friday.

Within 30 minutes, Su-Ann had stocked up, plunking down $400 for a robe, two sweaters and a blouse--all on sale. With packages already en route to family members on the East Coast, the Sulhams have just about one more day left of shopping.

So why the trek to Orange County? “We’re going to ‘The Glory of Christmas’ (at Crystal Cathedral) tonight,” said Su-Ann Sulham. “We thought we’d make a day of it.”

Then there’s Harold Spector, a certified public accountant, and his wife. The North Hollywood couple are the type that that South Coast Plaza is always touting--folks who check into a local hotel so they can spend 3 full days walking the mall’s miles of aisles.

Explaining why he’ll spend more this holiday, Spector said his family is doing well. “And we’re getting old,” he added. “We might as well spend the money.”

Not everyone, of course, is planning to plunk down that much.

Rogers Jenkins, a 35-year-old machinist from Fullerton, hit MainPlace on Friday for just two items: jackets for his parents. Jenkins lost out on a job opportunity in October and expects still tougher times in 1989.

“It looks like it’s going to be a rocky road,” he said. But that isn’t the reason he’s not shelling out a lot. “We just don’t spend a lot of money at Christmas,” Jenkins said.

Eleanor Werlin, a Sun City, Ariz., retiree who spent Friday at South Coast Plaza, has also cut back on her Hanukkah purchases this year.

With George Bush about to take office as President, she explained, “taxes are going up. And I’m on a fixed income.”

Eeenie meenie, chili beanie. The spirits are about to speak. And what do they say?

Well, at Bullock’s at South Coast Plaza, at least, they seem to be predicting brisk business this Christmas.

As part of its Thanksgiving weekend sale, the flagship store brought in a fortuneteller--complete with turban and flowing gold cape--to forecast the future to customers who bought at least $15 worth of a designated cologne.

Through the weekend, Bullock’s Thanksgiving will also include photos with Santa (if you buy a specified brand) and an artist custom-painting T-shirts (also for shoppers who purchase a specified fragrance.)

Among the busier retailers were the toy stores--even though there’s no Cabbage Patch-type item this year that every kid is itching to have.

So what are the big sellers? An informal poll of Orange County shoppers revealed that dolls, educational-type toys and gigantic piano keyboards that you play by hopping--like Tom Hanks did in “Big”--are becoming the biggest sellers.

FAO Schwarz at South Coast Plaza, for instance, already has sold about 10 “Barefoot Children” dolls, those lifelike creatures that sell for from $325 to $525.

And at Neiman-Marcus at Newport Center/Fashion Island, the huge, floor keyboards are almost as popular as Santa himself. “Not a person who walks by doesn’t stop on it,” said Marcia Castro, a store salesperson.