Procrastinators’ guide to Thanksgiving
JACKSON, Tenn. — While many hosts start cooking days in advance for Thanksgiving dinner, others are still out shopping. Stores were packed with holiday shoppers on Thanksgiving Eve with shoppers saying they wished they had gotten more of a head start. When it comes to procrastinating, it is something people cannot seem to shake during the holiday season. One local food boutique, A Matter of Taste Too, said it has seen a 70 percent increase in customers this Thanksgiving Eve compared to last year. “Some people who just want anything that’s extra, they’ve just either forgotten or waited till the last minute,” owner Donna Waddell said. Waddell believes she knows why she sees so many last-minute customers. “I think it’s just because everybody’s busy and they’re running here and they’re running there, and the holidays now seem to sneak up on everybody,” Waddell said. Last-minute shoppers had one word to describe the experience: stressful. “Because all of the traffic it was kind of hard, and we’ve been up since eight o’clock this morning,” Thanksgiving shopper Demario McClain said. “It’s a lot of traffic and a lot of people in stores,” shopper Debrah Sands said. Sands said she is usually done in advance. “I usually have it done, but my husband’s been sick so I had to wait till the last minute to do it.” And even for the well-prepared there always seems to be that one thing you forget. “We bought everything and we forgot celery, and I just came to get celery and almost turned around and walked away — the store is packed with people,” Patti Wilkes said. While it can get chaotic in the kitchen on Thanksgiving, Waddell has some advice. “Calm down, take a deep breath, enjoy your family, enjoy your friends and realize it’s just food and it’s all about being with the ones that you love and being thankful,” Waddell said. While some people waited until the last minute to buy their food, others will be out waiting in lines Thanksgiving Day to get a jump start on their Christmas shopping.
