Shoppers Across County Turn Out in Force

Shoppers across Ventura County turned out in force Tuesday to exchange Christmas presents, hunt down bargains or just escape a houseful of relatives.

Many started early. Department stores in The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks opened at 7 a.m., and within an hour the parking lot was a sea of cars. Inside, bleary-eyed shoppers thronged store aisles, exchange receipts in hand.

Some, such as Andrea Meichelbock of Woodland Hills, were trading in those not-quite-right gifts. She returned a pair of pajama bottoms (too big) for socks and a shirt.

Then there was Amy Ortiz, who was up unusually early due to the brush fire that burned near her Oak Park neighborhood. Her home was not in danger, but she couldn’t go back to sleep and decided to hit the shops. She was there to take advantage of sales and had an armful of shopping bags by 9:30 a.m.

Fifteen-year-old Aaron Kelley of Newbury Park also shopped early at the Gap with his father, Paul. They exchanged clothes bought for Aaron by relatives who had misjudged how much he’s grown in the past year.

At J.C. Penney, Madalyn and Arle Alsky of Simi Valley bought sale-priced Christmas ornaments, a tradition they’ve kept every year they’ve been married.

“The tree is loaded,” Arle said. “Some of the ornaments go back almost 60 years. We keep telling our kids that if something happens to us, grab the ornaments and run.”

They also bought teddy bears on sale. Madalyn has been collecting them since the 1994 Northridge earthquake, because they are unbreakable.

At Michael’s arts-and-crafts store in Camarillo, shop manager Gary White said he expected the post-holiday rush in the afternoon, after his customers had visited the bigger retailers.

But there were still a fair number of shoppers Tuesday morning.

Sisters Nancy Simmons of Camarillo and Barbara Johnson of Thousand Oaks said they not only came to stock up on marked-down holiday crafts, but as payback to their husbands, who watched football all day on Christmas Day.

“We warned them,” Simmons said. “Next stop, jewelry stores.”

Deep discounts on Christmas items drew shoppers everywhere. At Linens ‘N Things in Camarillo, bargain-hunters lined up to buy wreaths, lights and other holiday items, marked down as much as 75%. Sharon Brack of Camarillo picked out presents for her co-workers for Christmas 2001 and a birthday gift for her daughter, who turns 36 on Dec. 31.

Francine Halamicek of Fresno, who was in town visiting her sister, said she shops only specialty stores such as Michael’s the day after Christmas. She wouldn’t go near a mall on Dec. 26, she said.

Many people were spending gift certificates and cash they got under the tree. At Best Buy electronics and computer store in Oxnard, lines at each cash register were half a dozen people deep, and the day’s big sellers were CDs, software and computer games.

“The kids got money for Christmas, so we thought we’d just come and spend it,” said Sandy Hogsett of Oxnard, who came to Best Buy with her son and grandchildren. “I’ve been in the house for two days, so I guess I wanted a little excitement. I’ve got nothing to do today but shop.”

Patti and Frank Fascenda of Ventura were looking for a digital camera. They weren’t trying to hit the after-Christmas sales Tuesday, Patti said--it’s just that they had some time.

“Actually the crowds are not as bad as we thought they’d be,” Patti said.