For me, Christmas shopping is just as much about the accoutrements as it is about the actual purchasing of gifts. Walking around with a cup of something hot in your hands, a freshly made list for those that you love. Is there anything better? I love the hustle and bustle of people rushing with packages, the sound of silver bells in the air, snow crunching under my feet. Wait, isn’t this a song?
Well, I like it to be like the song.
When I was a kid, my dad would take us kids to do some last-minute shopping on Christmas Eve morning.
We would go out to breakfast, my oldest brother would leave a very nice Christmas Eve tip for a hardworking waitress and we would head out shopping and usually buy something for my mom. In the old days of Marshall Field’s with the smell of Frango Mints, it was like heaven on earth.
After my dad passed away, some of my family members have kept the tradition alive. One year, my sister and I bought my mom dozens of white ornaments and decorations for her tree, which she still adorns her house with now. My brother, Kevin, shops on Christmas Eve for his own form of entertainment: he likes to see people, with what he likes to call “the panic.”
With the surge of online shopping, Black Friday, and door buster deals, I feel like all this has taken the real fun out of shopping. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I want to carry some fancy paper bags, walk the streets with my girlfriends, and smell the smells of shopping, and yes, maybe even see someone with that last-minute panic in their eyes.
This Friday, Frankfort is having MIDNIGHT MADNESS! Businesses throughout this south suburb will be open from 6 p.m. to midnight and will be offering all kinds of discounts and promotions for shoppers. Some of the businesses will even have refreshments!
Can you imagine walking around a beautifully decorated downtown area, and shopping with a hot beverage in your hand while getting a good deal at the same time? You’ll feel just like Lorelei Gilmore strutting around Stars Hollow!
For more information or about businesses participating in this year’s Midnight Madness, visit the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce.
