BARRIE -- It's the last day to shop before Christmas and the last day to get what you need heading into our second lockdown.
That combination had many people running around at the last minute on Wednesday.
People like Wendy Anders, who works at Georgian mall in Barrie. She says, "it's not a usual Christmas, that's for sure. I think everybody got done a little bit early this year."
Shopping malls were a far cry from what Christmas Day shopping typically looks like.
"I was pretty surprised," says Praia Sharda, who was shopping with her mother on Bayfield Street. "I thought it would be packed. We were just in and out; it was great."
Rob Williams calls himself a regular last-minute shopper. "This is actually pretty nice; like I say, I'm a last minute shopper every year this year there's plenty of room to move around," he said while in between stores.
Christmas Eve was also a day for many people to get what they need with the lockdown set for 12:01 a.m. on Boxing Day.
Beer and liquor stores saw a steady flow of traffic while Supermarkets were also busy.
Kathryn Bennett says she was picking up a few items this morning.
"We are not hoarding; we are making sure that we have enough of the essentials," she said today.
Small local businesses are also gearing up for the lockdown. Matthew Mccartie works at Ideal Hobbies in Barrie's south end.
He says, "today is super important, we were really worried about the season, and today is super important. We will be open for curbside, and we will reduce our hours some, but we're just doing our best we're going to do what we have to.
That future will include focusing on curbside pick up, at least for the next 28 days.
