Festive Frenzy

Scores of volunteers fanned out in downtown Los Angeles to deliver toys and gifts to needy families.

Procrastinators crowded into busy stores and malls and complained about the stress of last-minute shopping.

And for others, Saturday brought the tastes and smells of the annual food fest to come.

The holiday countdown was on throughout the day as shoppers, do-gooders and cooks alike prepared for Christmas.

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

In the central city, about 3,000 church volunteers transported packages Saturday to thousands of homes in 500 blocks.

“We delivered 45,000 care packages to help make Christmas dinners,” said Jodi Elson Peterson, a spokeswoman for 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 Angels Hospital.

The distribution was concentrated in the Rampart area, but deliveries were also made to other communities in need, Elson said.

On 5th Street along 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,” said the Rev. Ron Brown.

Mission volunteers helped dish 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, shoppers such as Anait Akopyan, 19, could feel each minute slipping away Saturday. She had stores to visit, gift lists to cross items from, and a barren tree awaiting decorations.

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

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

After watching the prices later plunge on a few items they had bought early, Nancy and Rene Napolis of Sunland decided to wait and make their big-ticket purchases 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.”

Meanwhile, at the city’s busiest gateway, everything ran as planned. Blessed with sunny weather, Los Angeles International Airport operated smoothly. With visibility about five miles most of the day, there were no reported flight delays, said Jerry Johnston, regional duty officer for the Federal Aviation Administration.

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Times staff writer Hang Nguyen contributed to this story.