I was expecting chaos, crowds of procrastinating shoppers rushing about in a total frenzy. Instead, it seemed like an ordinary day at the Downtown Plaza, except with fewer stores than I remembered. With lower anxiety than anticipated, I imagined all sorts of people would be willing to let me in on their last-minute shopping adventures.

Most of the people I asked were not Christmas shopping, or at least that's what they told me. With that said, I did manage to talk to a few interesting shoppers. The first people willing to share was an engaged couple, relaxing on a luxurious green velvet couch in the furniture department in Macy's. They were shopping for their parents. His dad is getting a pair of shoes and a sweater this year. Her mom is getting a robe and a little Coach wristlet. They both confirmed that the most difficult people to shop for were each other. She had already gotten him a few things, which she obviously couldn’t disclose, and he assured me that “Santa” had her covered.

When I asked two young men if they were Christmas shopping, one of them looked me in the eye, and replied with a confident, “yes.” He was shopping for his mom and grandma. For his grandma, he bought a pearl necklace; she was easy to shop for, he said. His mom was more particular. Holding up his single-gloved hand, he gave me an example, "She only wants leather gloves." But instead of gloves this year, he settled on a hat. His friend, on the other hand, is not celebrating Christmas.

The most interesting Christmas gift was in Brookstone. While the majority of the store is stocked with every memory-foam product imaginable, there was something else that stood out. Three young shoppers were positioned in front of a display of miniature aquariums, debating which colored rocks looked the coolest. In these aquariums were live, tiny, swimming frogs. One of the young gentlemen said he and his sister decided not to get each other gifts this year, but then his sister got him something, so he was now obligated to reciprocate. She made it easy for him and e-mailed him a direct link to the tiny swimming frogs on the Brookstone website. He soon realized that simply clicking "Add to Cart" and "Make Payment" was not an option for live frogs and had to come to the store to make the purchase.

One woman still had pretty much everyone in her family to shop for, but she wasn’t worried about that. She was mostly concerned about what to get her new love interest. She was on her way to a music store to get the soundtrack to the movie Invictus, which they had recently seen together. When asked if he expressed interest in the film’s music, she said, “No, but I did.” After that realization, she decided against the soundtrack. She then asked me for my advice on a gift certificate for a professional massage. I told her it was great, but could get a bit pricey for someone on a budget. She then informed me that she was the professional masseuse.

For all you last-minute shoppers, I wish you good luck. I will probably see you out there.