It was the last Saturday before Christmas, and all through the malls there were lots of people stirring about.

Shoppers trundle about at the Tanger Outlets mall in Ottawa’s west end on Saturday.
Downtown shops and city shopping malls were packed with the predictable holiday hordes Saturday, with shoppers gripping their lists and checking them twice amid the last-minute madness.
But, above all the bustle, those weren’t silver bells, but rather cash register drawers that were jingling all the way.
Ottawa mall parking lots made for perhaps the most precarious parts of the trek, with the goodwill of the season the first thing to fly out windows with available spots in short supply.

Christmas shoppers at the Tanger Outlets mall in Kanata on Saturday.
Ashley Fraser /
Postmedia
A (slightly) more organized sort of chaos awaited indoors, as people laden with all manner of parcels darted in and out of shops, fuelled up at food courts and kept track of bored children while strategically avoiding the paths that would take them past the mall Santa and frantically texting friends and family to ensure no one else got Grampa the exact same sweater priced at 40 per cent off.
Thankfully, no serious incidents were reported.
Stay safe Ottawa.
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