Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 22, 1995 TAG: 9511220034
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Analysts are predicting that Americans will fork over almost $43 billion for jewelry, toys and turbo-boosted cheese graters between now and Christmas. Here are some survival tips to keep in mind while you're spending your share.
With the extended holiday hours that many stores are advertising, your old excuse - "But the store was closed ... " - isn't going to cut it when Aunt Marge discovers you forgot to buy her that bottle of Obsession.
Tanglewood Mall - excluding K&W Cafeteria - will be closed Thanksgiving Day but will be open 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday. Starting next week, the mall will be open 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. From Dec. 9 through Christmas Eve, Tanglewood will open at 9 a.m. Call the customer service center (989-4388) for details.
Valley View Mall also will be closed Thursday. But it will be open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. next week. As Christmas draws closer, mall hours will be extended further. Call the customer service center (563-4400) to check on operating hours for specific days.
Just remember: The malls will open early and close late, but that doesn't necessarily mean every store will follow suit. K&W Cafeteria at Tanglewood, for instance, will keep normal hours - 10:45 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. And some merchants, such as department stores with their own outside entrances, will stay open even later than the mall itself - Hecht's at Valley View won't close until midnight this Friday and Saturday.
Many stores that aren't in the malls also will be open later than usual Friday. Call ahead to check their hours.
Downtown Roanoke merchants will hold their annual holiday open house Sunday. Various retailers will open their doors from 1 to 5 p.m.; some will serve refreshments.
Make an escape
Midafternoon arrives, and the Muzak version of "Feliz Navidad" is echoing through your brain as the crowds press in closer. And closer. And closer. Before you throw in your lot with the Grinch, take a deep breath and get away from the crowds for a while.
The movie theaters at malls and shopping centers are within easy walking distance of the stores. This could be a great place to send spouses and kids when you need to buy presents for them or when you need a break from their not-so-subtle gift suggestions.
Of course, there's always Santa. The overgrown elf has set up shop at Valley View Mall, in the big ice castle just outside the lower-level entrances to Montgomery Ward and J.C. Penney. Not to slight kids on the other end of town, Santa is at Tanglewood Mall as well. (How does he do that?)
He'll be taking requests for Power Rangers and Rollerblades every day through Christmas Eve. There's no charge at either mall to whisper in his ear. Pictures of your kids with the Valley View man in red start at $8.85; at Tanglewood, prices start at $5.99.
Other mall escapes: At Valley View, kids can ride the carousel or the mall train for $1 a pop. At Tanglewood, 40 performing groups - including a band of 100 tubas - will be making music from now through Christmas. Shows will run all day during the weekend and evenings during the week. And the tubas will be outside.
If you're shopping downtown, check out Fantasyland, Roanoke's traditional Christmas display featuring Santa and a village of mechanical figures. It's been moved from Heironimus to the Roanoke Valley Historical Society and Museum inside Center in the Square. Admission is $1 for kids and senior citizens, $2 for adults. Bring your own camera for pictures with Santa. Hours: Friday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 to 5 p.m., closed Monday, Tuesday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Ribbons and bows
All thumbs when it comes to tying ribbons? Tanglewood Mall offers free gift wrapping with $25 in mall receipts. Tables will be set up in the food court on the upper level. There also will be a booth on the lower level where you can pay to have packages wrapped. At Valley View, you can get your gifts wrapped for a fee at the customer service center, in the middle of the mall on the lower level.
Both malls also offer stroller rental ($2) and wheelchairs (free) through their customer service centers. Call ahead to make sure a wheelchair is available.
You're outta there
You found everything on your shopping list, and you managed to spend only three times the amount you had budgeted. You're walking out to your car, congratulating yourself on a job well done, and then you see it: the line of cars snaking around the parking lot toward the exit.
If you hitched a ride on Valley Metro, you're in luck. Buses will be running on their normal schedules: The last pickup from Tanglewood and Valley View is 7:45 p.m.; the last buses to the malls leave downtown at 8:15 p.m.
If you decide to drive, there is some good news on the traffic front: Scott Ashcraft, Valley View's director of marketing, says we shouldn't see a repeat of last year's snarled mess, when motorists were driving over medians to get out of Valley View's parking lot. The merge lane leading out of the mall's main exit was eliminated in September, so there will be one more lane to handle outgoing traffic. And police will be directing traffic, too.
Good luck, and remember where you parked.
by CNB