Creative tips from LI's last-minute shoppers

It was six days before Christmas, and Maria Miceli hustled around Huntington, trying not to be the last-second, shopping procrastinator that she is every year.

When her son was 7 and she still had no gift for him on Christmas Eve, she had an "epiphany" at Staples, she said, buying him tacks, glue, paper and string -- items that soon stoked his juices for building beyond Lego. Other times, she's written poems as gifts. Or she's created an image of the present to come, putting it in a big box with a note, like "Your Uggs boots are coming."

"I guess I'm the last-minute-save-your-neck creative," the social worker from Greenlawn said Sunday.

This is the time when war stories spout from the holiday front lines and classic excuses are offered by spouses who go home empty-handed when the stores close for the holiday.

Shoppers of both genders yesterday said it's usually males who are the desperate ones.

At Harbor Freight Tools in Hempstead, local resident Will Aquino offered up a classic tip in front of wife Maria and 10th-grade daughter Ashley.

"Usually I say, 'I ordered it online and it's coming in late,' " he said.

Not only does this buy him time to figure out what to buy, Aquino said, it's a line he uses a lot: "It doesn't have to be Christmas."

His wife's mouth opened and her eyes widened. She said she's heard the line several times.

Ashley suggested late shoppers could write cards saying they'll spend quality time with the recipient. "That's what we need most in our family," she said.

Also perusing the tools, Lou Stabile of Plainview was shopping for his brother-in-law but not yet for his wife. One Christmas Eve, he begged off work early, rushed to the nail salon and got her a gift certificate.

His tip is to run to the store with the shortest checkout lines. His 5 p.m. Christmas Eve mantra: "I gotta get something, no matter how much it costs." Plus, he advised, get something that can be returned.

At Fad in Huntington Village, the toy and accessories gift store has for years been a last-second hub of shopping, but manager Casandra Geoghan never thought her husband would buy something for her on Christmas Eve while she was working and the next day pretend he had gotten the gifts way earlier. He did just that four years ago.

But her tip for shop-and-grab customers is to ask the sales people what to get. If the recipient dislikes the gift, she said, "It's not your fault in the slightest. I've told people to blame me."

Kajal Shah of Huntington is never without a gift. All year, if she sees a bargain, she gets it for her "gift closet." It contains candles, bowls, platters and more, not for family but co-workers and others.

"It's sort of impersonal," she said. "But it works for anybody."