Louisville shoppers brave traffic, crowds for last-minute Christmas gifts

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's Christmas week, and Louisville is buzzing with holiday cheer as shoppers hit the stores before the big day.

But with the mad dash for last-minute gifts comes the traffic jams and packed parking lots.

"It's been a little hectic," shopper Mikayla Saylor told WDRB on Monday, adding that it took her about 15 minutes from the expressway to a parking spot at Mall St. Matthews Monday evening.

Hot spots like Shelbyville Road in the St. Matthews area are seeing heavier volumes of traffic as shoppers race against the clock, scrambling for those last-minute deals.

The parking lots are packed so if you're headed out to join the masses before the big day, be sure to pack some extra holiday cheer when you're in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

"The worst part about it is really the traffic," Caydence Saylor said. "Traffic's really bad."

But some shoppers who spoke to WDRB said they're familiar with what they're getting themselves into.

"We like to wait (until) there's not a whole lot to have to sort through," shopper Mickey Hall said. "Getting into the mall was a little bit testing, but we were prepared for it. We knew it was gonna be bad."

Once you get through the doors, it might not be so bad. Hall told WDRB they didn't have to wait in line "hardly at all" when doing their shopping.

"This is actually pretty tame compared to what I expected right before Christmas," Madiha Javaid said.

Some shoppers said seeing others out and about was encouraging.

"People's Christmas spirit (is) coming back, you know, people are getting out of the house more," said Mikayla Saylor. "Ever since COVID like nobody left their house for anything, so to come out and see people walking around, it brings back the Christmas spirit."

The little ones are also getting into the Christmas spirit, with one of the few lines Monday at Mall St. Matthews being the one to meet Santa Claus.

Parents are braving the crowds so their kids can share their lists, take photos and capture the magic of the season before Santa has to head back to the North Pole for the big day.

For those who still have some things to cross off their lists, Mall St. Matthews and Oxmoor Center are both open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday for Christmas Eve.

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