Christmas shopping time nears; People prepare their wish lists

Ben Iampieri, Reporter

     With Christmas coming up in less than a month, people are writing their Christmas lists, hoping to get all the clothes and toys they wish for.

     The most commonly wished for items were clothes or a new console. The release of the Xbox Series X was on November 10, and the PlayStation 5 came two days later. They sold out almost as they were released, being a hotspot for parents to get their children the new machines.

     “My Christmas list is mostly clothes and shoes,” sophomore Sierra Weaver says. “I just like getting new clothes. It’s good to get something new once in a while and it makes you feel nice.”

     “On my list is mostly clothes, jewelry, and board games,” sophomore Stephanie Erisman says.

     “I want a new hybrid style bike,” Mr. Timothy Pistel, Field of Technology teacher says. “My old bike was broken this summer.”

     Most of the hot new items can only be bought online, or are encouraged to because of COVID-19. This doesn’t seem to bother most people as they have been shopping online for years.

     “I will do a lot of purchasing online, explains Mrs. Jenny Beigel, a math teacher. “That’s been pretty normal for me [the] last few years.”

     Science teacher, Mr. Brady Green he “usually shop[s] online.” According to Fortunly, “60% of  US consumers prefer to buy their gifts online.”

     Sophomore Sam Chan is hoping to get “custom cables from CableMod” for his PC, containing one of the new graphics cards, recently released by NVIDIA. “I had to keep refreshing the website and be super quick.”

     “One frustrating thing about online shopping is when scalpers can buy hundreds, sometimes even thousands of an item on limited stock, and sell it for more than what it is valued at,” Chan explains. ”They are making it unfair to the community and making the stock go away instantly.” Only 15 states ban scalping, according to Legalzoom.

     Not everyone asks for a tangible gift or a typical present that you can order online. 

     “All I want for Christmas is a vaccine,” Mr. Green says. “And a PS5,” he adds. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is hoping to have vaccines soon in 2021, so he may have a late Christmas present.

     “Most of the things I would wish can’t be bought anyway,” Mrs. Beigel explains. “It’s really about spending time together and making Christmas fun for our kids.”