Christmas: Shoppers leave it last minute battle crowds

Thousands of panicked shoppers have made their way to stores, malls and shopping centres across Australia in search of last-minute Christmas Eve presents.

With less than 24 hours to go until the big day, people have been out in full force grabbing much-needed stocking stuffers, gifts for seldom-seen cousins and the elusive item that took weeks to find.

Enormous queues for escalators and elevators have formed in and out of outlets, with Sydney’s Pitt Street particularly jam-packed with the unorganised.

The Fish Markets in the CBD’s south produced scenes of pure chaos, with people attempting to stock up on last minute seafood before the holiday. 

Thousands of panicked shoppers have made their way to stores, malls and shopping centres across Australia in search of last-minute Christmas Eve presents

The Fish Markets in the CBD's south produced scenes of chaos, with people attempting to stock up on last minute seafood before the holiday

The Fish Markets in the CBD’s south produced scenes of chaos, with people attempting to stock up on last minute seafood before the holiday

With less than 24 hours to go until the big day, people have been out in full force grabbing much-needed stocking stuffers, gifts for the seldom-seen cousins and the elusive item that took weeks to find

With less than 24 hours to go until the big day, people have been out in full force grabbing much-needed stocking stuffers, gifts for the seldom-seen cousins and the elusive item that took weeks to find

Australia is expected to spend up to $50 billion in the lead up to Christmas Day, and shoppers have seemingly ignored the convenience of online shopping as shopping centres have been full throughout the festive period.

The sweltering summer heat also did not act as a deterrent, with those not sunning on the beach all finding their way into the malls to snap up last minute bargains.

Thousands crammed into the Fish Markets early Sunday morning with people desperate to grab anything and everything they could.

The prawns proved most popular, perennially Australia’s favourite summertime BBQ option, with tonnes of the shellfish purchased.

The sweltering summer heat also did not act as a deterrent, with those not sunning on the beach all finding their way into the malls to snap up last minute bargains

The sweltering summer heat also did not act as a deterrent, with those not sunning on the beach all finding their way into the malls to snap up last minute bargains

Thousands crammed into the Fish Markets early Sunday morning with people desperate to grab anything and everything they could

Thousands crammed into the Fish Markets early Sunday morning with people desperate to grab anything and everything they could

Australia is expected to spend up to $50 billion in the lead up to Christmas Day, and shoppers have seemingly ignored the convenience of online shopping as shopping centres have been full throughout the festive period

Australia is expected to spend up to $50 billion in the lead up to Christmas Day, and shoppers have seemingly ignored the convenience of online shopping as shopping centres have been full throughout the festive period

The prawns proved most popular, perennially Australia's favourite summertime BBQ option, with tonnes of the shellfish purchased

The prawns proved most popular, perennially Australia’s favourite summertime BBQ option, with tonnes of the shellfish purchased

Christmas Day will see a lot of the country shutting down, with just a few restaurants and services running.

Pubs are open on December 24 and bottle shops will remain open until 11pm. Supermarkets and most retailers have normal trading hours.

The big supermarkets Coles, Woolworths and Aldi will all be closed on December 25, but smaller service stations will still be open in case of shopping needs on the big day.

Caltex and Shell petrol stations will be open on Christmas Day, as will most 7-Eleven franchises across Australia.

Searching for last-minute alcohol may be more problematic as there are restrictions on liquor trading hours.

In New South Wales, bottleshops are closed on Christmas Day.

The big supermarkets such as Woolworths will be closed on Christmas Day

The big supermarkets such as Woolworths will be closed on Christmas Day

Westfield will be closed on Christmas Day, but will reopen for Boxing Day sales on the 26th

Westfield will be closed on Christmas Day, but will reopen for Boxing Day sales on the 26th

Service stations such as Caltex will also remain open on Christmas Day

Service stations such as Caltex will also remain open on Christmas Day

Registered clubs are able to sell drinks on the premises, but are not permitted to perform any takeaway sales.

Hotels are permitted to sell alcohol from noon to 10pm ‘in a dining area only with or ancillary to a meal’ according to liquor laws. No takeaway sales are permitted.

Small bars and packaged liquor licence sellers are not permitted to trade, while for on-premises the same rules apply as hotels.

Hotels can apply extensions on trading for Christmas morning, but hotels and ‘public entertainment venues’ cannot sell alcohol between midnight on Christmas Day and 5am on Boxing Day.

There are exemptions to this rule in nearby states, however.

Dan Murphy’s and BWS stores in both the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania are able to trade on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

The big shopping centres will also all be closed on Christmas Day.



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk