Survival shopping

<p>While many shoppers began streaming into Sonoma County stores long before the sun came up this morning, Jane Sutherland is avoiding the crush.</p><p>The Santa Rosa mother of three has finished half her shopping and need not rush. To keep her sanity during the holiday shopping crush, Sutherland starts shopping early in November.</p><p>"It's too much stress," Sutherland said. "The obvious thing is do it early."</p><p>Navigating through crowded stores and jammed streets while spending wisely can be challenging. Still, getting something for everyone on your list can be managed with minimal anxiety. To help, shoppers and retailers offered up a range of tips.</p><p>"What everybody is doing I try to do the opposite," said Ross McElheny of Santa Rosa. "If you go late in the evening, you avoid the crowds."</p><p>Others suggest an early start.</p><p>"To avoid crowds, the best time is to come early morning and midday," said Kamy Bains, manager of the Mervyns store in Santa Rosa. "As we get closer and closer to the holiday, we pick up business into the evening. The traffic comes later and later."</p><p>Knowing what you want can ease rushing around to different stores. Once inside, the scramble often comes as shoppers push to get in and out as quickly as possible.</p><p>"A lot of people spend a lot of time looking around," said Pat Carr, manager of the Target store in Santa Rosa. "We try to make it easy for them to shop."</p><p>Look for help. Target and Mervyn's, for example, make up maps to quickly direct shoppers to popular, advertised items.</p><p>Fear that an item will sell out drives some of the frenetic pace, said McElheny, a former home electronics salesman for a big-box store.</p><p>"Retailers give you that fear of loss. It's a powerful sales tool," he said. " 'Hurry, before it's too late.' It's rarely the case in my experience."</p><p>While you're hunting down the perfect gift, don't forget to watch your children. Mervyn's shoppers lose four or five kids a week normally and even more during the holiday season.</p><p>Look for opportunities to take a break from the harried shopping pace by stopping in at smaller, less crowded retailers. Grab some food or a treat to refuel before the next stop. At See's Candies, patrons are greeted with a sampler of dark and milk chocolates with nutty, chewy and creamy fillings, fruit bon bons and other sweet morsels. The offers keep coming as lines grow longer.</p><p>"We try to keep a happy, upbeat atmosphere. We keep them fed," said Krista Higgins, a longtime sales clerk at the See's store in the Montgomery Village shopping center in Santa Rosa.</p><p>Planning and patience help, but comfort is critical.</p><p>"Tennis shoes are the best. And always take bottled water if you're going to do a lot," Sutherland said.</p><p>Sitting in a comfortable chair at home, shopping on the Internet, is about as comfortable as it gets.</p><p>"I shop on the Internet. It's the easiest thing. I go down to the mall maybe once before Christmas," said Terri Doss of Santa Rosa.</p><p>Retail and consumer Web sites can be helpful for researching merchandise, particularly electronics, small appliances and gadgets.</p><p>That can save time inside a store if a sales clerk hired for the holidays can't answer your questions.</p><p>If you're going to venture out, try to make it fun. Getting out on the town to shop remains a passion for many.</p><p>"The people having the most fun are friends who make it an event, a social occasion," Carr said.</p><p>That fun starts today for some shoppers.</p><p>"I'm hoping that it's going to be absolutely berserk," Bains said. "Anyone who's a day-after-Thanksgiving shopper is used to it.</p><p>"I don't think anybody's shocked by huge crowds or circling the parking lot."</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Michael Coit at 521-5470 or mike.coit@pressdemocrat.com.</p>