CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — These next couple of days, shoppers are expected to race from store to store looking for the remaining presents on their lists. This means roads will be filled and parking lots packed.
Boots N' Britches, a place for the entire family selling classic western apparel and ladies fashion, is located across La Palmera Mall. Customers shopping expressed their relief avoiding the crowds and traffic jams clearly seen from inside the store.
“You see here that it’s actually more laxed versus being stressed out in a mall,” said customer Adam Ortiz.
Shopping alongside him, Ortiz's wife Diana, admitted to waiting until the last minute for those remaining Christmas gifts on their list.
“We always say we’re going to shop ahead of time and we never do, you know busy lives.”
Adam Ortiz said he and his wife drove over 2 hours from the Rio Grand Valley to find the pair of boots they were looking for this Christmas.
“So the fact that I came here and they had them just solved my problems,” said Adam Ortiz.
Lance Robertson, owner of Boots N' Britches, said that for some people, shopping a week before Christmas Day is something normal that he expects every year.
“It’s a tradition, it’s the family gets together, that’s what you do, you shop and it’s the excitement, the buildup”.
Robertson believes the difference between shopping at a retail store and a local business is the service. They try and go the extra mile offering complimentary holiday gift wrapping and extending hours.
"You can kind of make it a one-stop-shop for the family, anything from children to adults, mother’s gifts, dad’s gifts.”
Boots N' Britches will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.
Monday through Wednesday business hours will be from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
On Christmas Eve they will be open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
