Patty Guerra: Stores ramp up for last-minute shoppers

It’s five days until Christmas. For my dad, that would have meant four days until he would have started his holiday shopping. For the rest of us, however, it’s crunch time. Unless you’re one of those people who has it all wrapped up by Thanksgiving, which is something I pledge to do every year and never accomplish.

Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it – stores are making it easier for us to spend our money, extending hours and providing services to get those final holiday dollars.

Best Buy will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, followed by 7 a.m. to midnight Monday and Tuesday, according to Best Buy spokeswoman Carly Charlson. On Christmas Eve, the store will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. And if you want to send a gift, you have until 8:30 a.m. Monday to order it online and have it arrive in time for the big day – shipping is available for free on thousands of items, Charlson said.

Those who procrastinate more can order on Wednesday and – for a charge – get their purchases sent overnight.

Toys R Us is following last year’s success with 24-hour openings by staying open from 6 a.m. Tuesday through 9 p.m. Christmas Eve. Kohl’s upped the ante even further, starting its marathon at 6 a.m. Friday.

In a news release, Kohl’s said the store “will keep its doors open for more than 100 hours straight.”

“Customers can rely on us around the clock for their last-minute gift-giving solutions, and we are providing 24-hour access to Kohl’s stores right up to Christmas Eve,” Michelle Gass, Kohl’s chief customer officer, said in the news release.

This isn’t technically business-related, but it is one of my favorite things about the holidays and I want to make sure you all know about it.

On Wednesday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command center will begin its annual tracking of Santa Claus. NORAD has tracked Jolly Old St. Nick since 1955, when a Sears Roebuck advertisement allowing children to call Santa Claus listed an incorrect phone number.

Instead of talking to Santa, children found themselves calling the commander in chief of the Continental Air Defense Command, the predecessor to NORAD.

I am a big fan of Col. Harry Shoup, the commander at the time, who immediately put his staff to work checking the radar for Santa’s location.

The tradition continued, and now children can track Santa online at www.noradsanta.org. Well, children and anyone else who’s interested – years ago, when working on Christmas Eve, I somehow got my monitor stuck on the website. I figured there was a legitimate business reason for checking it out – if Santa were to crash in our area, it would be a big story.

I hope you have a joyous holiday season and a prosperous new year. And keep those tips coming!

This story was originally published December 19, 2014 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Patty Guerra: Stores ramp up for last-minute shoppers."