Shoppers crowd the mall on Christmas Eve

Westfield West Park was alive with shoppers on Saturday -- some shopping at the last minute and some just shopping for fun.

"If traffic is an indicator of sales on the upward swing this year, then we're looking good," said mall manager Paul Dobbins.

Richard and Bobbi Crofford of Naylor, Mo., completed their Christmas shopping a month ago but were at the mall.

"My wife's enjoying this. She's a professional shopper," Richard Crofford said. Even though the Poplar Bluff, Mo., mall is closer, they said they come to Westfield because they like it.

For others, like Mary Bodan of Charleston, Mo., who was shopping for four of her nine children, buying outfits, shoes and remote-controlled cars last-minute seemed typical. The 61-year-old grandmother of 37 still has four children at home. One is 8 years old and still believes in Santa.

Bodan's strategy keeps things simple and easy: Get a tandem stroller and fill it up so you don't have to carry all the packages and bags. Bodan doesn't particularly like shopping, so she tries to be efficient.

"I go into a store and can tell in five minutes whether I'm going to get anything there," she said.

Although shopping isn't her thing, Bodan said she still likes Christmas. She likes putting up the tree and lights.

For others, the wrapping at Christmas is not appealing. Kim Simmons of Cape Girardeau said she wrapped half of her gifts but she'd just as soon not wrap any. She dropped six items off at the West Side Church of God wrapping area.

It was Terri Noland's fifth year wrapping as a volunteer for West Side Church of God in Cape Girardeau. The donations, between $1 and $100, are used for youth camps, mission trips, service work and conventions. Christmas Eve is when they're swamped, but they've been set up since Dec. 1. The church volunteers are in business for a second year, solo. Part of the reason they do so well is repeat business.

"Someone actually called ahead of time to see if we were doing it," Noland said. "They were interested because they know the money goes to a good cause."

Noland said she enjoys doing it because of the Christmas spirit that's shared among the workers and the clientele. She likes interacting with the customers and said someone even gave her a gift this year. After working at wrapping all day she nonchalantly said how great a massage would feel.

"A kid, probably in his late 20s, came back with one of those hand-held body massagers as a gift for me," she said.

They wrap anything. One of the most unusual gifts was an ironing board. Noland commented to the giver that even though his wife had asked for the ironing board, it wasn't what she really wanted. He disagreed. Noland said, "He was back for two days in a row to make good on that ironing board."