Dec 22, 2008

Break in weather is a break for shoppersBy Phil Fairbanks and Maki BeckerBuffaloNews.com

Don’t be fooled by all the large, pink, stuffed-to-the-gills shopping bags surrounding Amanda Kuzma.

She and the rest of her family are cutting back this holiday season.

Fewer gift cards. More group gifts. A secret Santa to help ease the burden of buying for everyone.

Those are just a few of the cost-cutting steps the Arcade family is adopting during these tough economic times.

“We’re definitely cutting back,” Kuzma said Saturday as she rested on a bench in the Walden Galleria. “Everyone is struggling, so we’re much more conscious about who we’re buying for and how much we’re spending.”

On the last weekend before Christmas, Kuzma was part of a big, but not huge, crowd in the Galleria.

Outside, clear skies provided wary shoppers with some necessary motivation — one day of guaranteed snow-free holiday spending.

“We have to be done today,” Kuzma said. “If it snows again [Sunday ], this may be our last chance.”

Read complete article.