Season in the Sun

For thousands of downtown residents, it was the joy of an early Christmas after volunteers delivered toys and gifts to needy families Saturday. At busy stores and malls, it was the shopping stress that procrastinators both seem to thrive on and complain about.

And for many, Saturday ushered in the pre-Christmas tastes and smells of preparing for annual family food fests.

The holiday countdown was ticking Saturday, and though the balmy sunshine didn’t feel wintry, across the city signs of festivity were in the air.

At Carrillo’s Tortilleria and Mexican Deli in San Fernando, each time the doors swung open, a fragrant reminder of the holidays wafted out--a whiff of masa, chiles, tender pork, sweet pineapple and cinnamon.

“I love the smell here,” said Dan Lopez of Castaic, who waited for his order of six dozen tamales. “This place reminds me of how my grandmother used to cook.”

To fulfill those orders of tamales, sweet and savory, William Luna, a third-generation member of the Carrillo family said his army of two dozen workers has been working since October. A 40-foot refrigerated trailer outside the restaurant serves as temporary storage for the tens of thousands sold between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

In downtown Los Angeles, about 3,000 church volunteers delivered packages to thousands of homes on 500 blocks.

“We delivered 45,000 care packages to help make Christmas dinners,” said Jodi Elson Peterson, a spokeswoman of the Dream Center. “We gave out 200,000 toys today and 1,200 bicycles. We wanted to make sure everyone had Christmas in Los Angeles this year.”

Elson said volunteers came from across the world to help in the Los Angeles International Church’s Adopt-a-Block 500 program run out of its Dream Center at the former Queen of the Angeles Hospital.

The distribution concentrated on the Rampart area, but deliveries were made to other needy areas, Elson said.

On 5th Street on skid row, the Los Angeles Mission served 3,000 to 4,000 meals.

“We are blessed to be able to extend the warmth of Christmas and family to those who most need it at this time of year,” the Rev. Ron Brown said.

Mission volunteers dished up meals of turkey and ham, macaroni and cheese, and apple pie. Children visited with a bilingual Santa, who handed out about 1,000 toys while singers entertained the crowds.

At Sherman Oaks Fashion Square, shopper Anait Akopyan of North Hollywood could feel each minute slipping away Saturday afternoon.

The 19-year-old had stores to shop, gift lists to cross off and a barren tree awaiting decorations.

“Today is the only day I could shop,” said Akopyan, a student who enlisted her grandmother to help carry packages. She had bought six gifts, but had 25 to go.

Other last-minute shoppers said there was a method to their shopping madness.

After watching the prices of a few early purchases plunge, Nancy and Rene Napolis of Sunland decided to wait and buy their big-ticket items closer to Christmas at the Northridge Fashion Center.

“You think things are cheap the day after Thanksgiving,” Nancy Napolis said, “but they’re cheaper a day or two before Christmas.”

The frenzy over holiday gifts was absent from the faces of Gloria and Rodney Sullivan. The Rancho Mirage couple had whittled down their gift lists, and were focusing on family visits in Los Angeles.

“It’s a time of love and time of giving,” Gloria Sullivan said. “You just have to give of yourself.”

Times staff writer Hang Nguyen contributed to this report.