'Our Super Bowl': Braving bitter cold temps, shoppers flock to Lombard's Yorktown Center
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Despite the bitter cold, and warnings to stay indoors, there are still a lot of people out looking for deals for Christmas.
Too late for online shopping and too cold for wandering outdoors, a lot of people spent the day with their families inside malls. CBS 2's Sara Machi reports from Yorktown Center in Lombard Friday where a line of kids giving their last minute wishes to Santa.
Santa Claus asks kids whether they've been good, and then the follow-up question: What do they want for Christmas?
Four-year-old Nolyn said "I want a Rudolph."
But the other man welcoming the crowds indoors is Yorktown Mall general manager Josh Dean.
"As the cold weather hits, people tend to come inside. This is like our Super Bowl. These last few days before Christmas and we love it," Dean said.
Some ventured to other stores when they couldn't find what they needed at Yorktown.
"We were looking around, but we didn't really get anything," said shopper Stephanie Soriano. "We got some boots for my mom too. She's got to get ready for this cold and this winter."
Maybe no Frosty, or Ruldoph out here, but plenty of Dashers -- with people running in and out of the cold, doing what they needed to do for a deal.
"I don't know. I'm crazy, I guess," said shopper Candice Mitchell.
Spending cold hard cash outside - or in the comfort of four warm walls, Yorktown managers say their crowds will only grow in the lead-up to Christmas.
To meet demand of the crowds, a lot of malls including this one have extended their hours. They're open here until 9:00 p.m. and opening an hour early 9:00 am Saturday morning.
Yorktown Center staff couldn't give a number on how many more people head to the mall when it's this cold, but they said it's a noticeable bump.
