“I would say I start about December 23rd, but I'm always running late.”

— Brenda Cooper, lawyer, Alexandria, Va.

“I usually start the day or two before Christmas. I'm still shopping when the stores are closing on Christmas Eve.”

— Darrel Harden, manager, rural Lawrence

“I'm a December 20th kind of shopper. Not necessarily the last minute, just the weekend before.”

— Shane Stover, admission counselor, Omaha, Neb.

“I start thinking about it in early December.”

— Kendra Oakes, Kansas University law student, Lawrence