No time was wasted on the morning of Christmas Eve as last-minute shoppers were hustling through grocery stores and retailers to shop.
Orange Street Food Farm was packed with people grabbing down-to-the-wire dinner dishes.
“Erin is home from Bozeman. We’re putting together a dish. She’s vegetarian, so we are trying to figure out that tonight, said Chris. “What are we having?”
“We are having gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce this evening,” Erin said. “We are cooking some spinach and we are also shopping for our dinner tomorrow night, so classic Christmas stuff. We got some roasted vegetables, yorkshire pudding.”
“And out of the non-vegetarian side for tomorrow, antelope roast.”
It wasn’t just grocery stores packed with people. Downtown Missoula retail stores were busy with holiday shoppers.
According to the National Retail Federation, seven percent of people wait until Christmas Eve to buy their gifts.
For many, whether it’s shopping or spending the day out with family, it’s all part of the holiday spirit.
“It’s Christmas Eve! I have family in town from Boise and just taking them to some of the cool shops downtown and enjoying this beautiful Christmas-y weather,” said Missoula resident Beth Huguet.
The National Retail Federation says 134 million people bought their Christmas presents this past weekend.
