BATON ROUGE - With less than two days away from Christmas, some folks were still trying to get some last-minute shopping done Monday night.

The Mall of Louisiana was jam-packed all day, with thousands of people picking out those perfect gifts just hours before Christmas Eve.

“I'm a professional last minute shopper,” Derrick Cavazos said. 

Whether you’re a frequent late Christmas shopper or are new to the last-minute push for gifts, if you found yourself shopping on Monday, you weren’t the only one.

“I'm never a last-minute person. I always have everything very organized and done on time,” Vanessa Norton said. 

“I'm doing what every other man is doing out here and that’s securing last-minute gifts man,” Cavazos said.

The mall filled with equal parts of Christmas cheer and loads of shopping bags. Those bags filled with gifts that won’t have to wait long under the tree.

But it’s not just last-minute gifts keeping folks busy. Across town at Calvin’s Bocage Market, shopping carts were filled with all the fixings for Christmas dinner.

“She is making an oyster dressing, yes. The dressing is something my mother made but she’s got a new recipe this year,” one shopper said.

With the big day almost here, that Christmas spirit is alive and well. Even among the stress of picking out presents.

“The crowd’s been pretty thick so far but everybody’s been good and courteous so that’s all you can ask for this time of year,” Cavazos said.

“People have really just been accommodating and it’s not really been crazy. Really good holiday spirit,” Norton said.

For those folks still in need of some last-minute gifts, the mall will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve.