VICTOR, N.Y. — The last-minute shopping rush was in full swing at Eastview Mall on Christmas Eve. News10NBC’s Declan Stablow was on the scene, speaking with shoppers about their holiday habits.

“Procrastination for sure,” Morgan Gentile said, expressing relief that the mall was not as crowded as she had feared. “I was expecting it to be a zoo today, but it’s actually not bad at all. Parking lot was not horrible. That’s surprising considering it’s the last day of shopping,” said Gentile.

Steve Hill, who runs his own business, found himself shopping at the last minute. “I’m stuck to the shop most of the time until the last minute and can’t seem to plan it before everything hits the fan so now I’m out here in the last minute, but I actually think it worked out because it’s just a bit slower today,” Hill said.

For Steven Wheeler and his friends, shopping on Christmas Eve has become a tradition.

Despite the smaller crowds, Santa was as busy as ever. A 4-year-old child said, “For Christmas I want a Nintendo Switch and to feed the homeless.”

Businesses reported more foot traffic than usual for Christmas Eve, although it was less than what they had seen in the past few weeks. Nick Kubarycz, who manages CinnaRoasted Almond Company’s stand at the mall, attributed the increased turnout to rough weather in recent weeks.

“Today’s been much busier than I anticipated. We’re very happy to see that the people are obviously in a hurry. It’s last minute the mall does close at 6 p.m. this evening so they’re kind of in and out. Get what we need and get out … business has been actually fantastic. We’re having a record year,” Kubarycz said.

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