Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 25, 1995 TAG: 9511270036
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Where are the Baby Tumbles dolls? Does Wal-Mart have raccoon caps for 4-year-olds fascinated with Davy Crockett? What about lunch?
It is only 10:30 a.m., and there are many hours of shopping left for the Phillips sisters and their mother, Lora. The sisters are all grown and married with children now, but they always join the rest of the bargain hunters the day after Thanksgiving to begin - or finish - their Christmas shopping together. In all, they have 10 children who range in age from 15 months to 15 years.
This year, things are a little different because their youngest sister, Jennifer, could not come. Also, one of the husbands has joined the group for the first time. He decided shopping was better than baby-sitting a house full of kids.
"He's not setting a precedent, I'll tell you what," said Judi Yon of her brother-in-law, Tony Brewer. Judi is wearing a white sweatshirt with the cartoon character Cathy standing before a Christmas tree. The words, "I shop therefore I am," are printed at the bottom.
The sisters do realize the advantages of having Tony along, however. They give him his marching orders and send him into the wilds to find Baby Tumbles.
In the meantime, sisters Kathy Kenley and Cindy Brewer quiz each other on what to buy various nieces and nephews for Christmas. Judi and her mother, Lora, wander through the aisles close by, never wanting to separate from the others.
Minutes pass. Other shoppers squeeze by. Tony Brewer is nowhere to be found.
"Has anyone seen my husband?" Cindy asks.
Shopping the day after Thanksgiving, which is considered the beginning of the Christmas retailing season, is not for the weak.
Major roads are choked with traffic, the parking lots of all the major retail centers are packed and the rush for the popular toys of the season can turn ugly. (At one store, an entire shelf of Game Boys was ravaged by 6:15 a.m.)
The minor drawbacks are all part of the fun for the Phillips family. Years ago, the sisters and their mother used to shop together on Christmas Eve, but that changed when the husbands started going deer hunting the day after Thanksgiving. If the guys were going deer hunting, they were going bargain hunting, Judi said.
The sisters, who all live in the New River Valley, always do things together.
"We even vacation together in the summer," Judi said. "That's scary."
They're ready for their shopping excursion, which begins at 9 a.m. and ends when "we wear out completely," Cindy said. The daughters wear sturdy tennis shoes. Their mother sports sensible black walking shoes.
Before their strategizing conference the group was moving slowly through Wal-Mart, stopping at the Nintendo display, the sock aisle and the clothing department. Old holiday song favorites like "Winter Wonderland," which have been jazzed up with drum beats and cheery singers, play over store loudspeakers. The music is frequently interrupted by price checks and calls for the toy department to dial a certain extension.
Lora Phillips is excited by the atmosphere, the crowds. "I like everything this time of year," she says.
After Wal-Mart, there are plans to comb through aisles and racks of clothing at Virginia Apparel Outlet Center, Sears, Leggett and any other store that piques their interest. Lunch will be the only break.
But first, they have to find Tony. He finally reappears, looking a little dejected with his hands stuffed in his pockets. They were out of Baby Tumbles.
by CNB