I had what it takes to destroy a Nightmare Before Christmas: a storm last weekend shopping planners summer holidays. Holiday travelers lost in a maze of cancellations. The fight against the liberators of ice and snow. Zhu Zhu tragic homeless animal.

When winter came on Monday, people along the east coast set on slippery roads and sidewalks to shop, wanted to finish the weekend with rows airport counter and crossing their fingers are not too late to order online.

This holiday, the shortest day of the year was also furious.

Take Helen Pease. On Saturday, he left his home in Southampton, New Jersey, 7, armed with a gift for a list of 20 names, and even a calendar that when the transactions. We are grateful for the storm devastated the east coast, all came home, comfort food.

Their solution: They split their annual holidays, half-half on Monday and Tuesday of each race. He stopped at the American Eagle in the Moorestown Mall, to buy his nephew.

“I could not get the flu,” he said. ” I wanted to use this day to influenza. ”

This is how it went missing during a holiday period is best described as a Star-Crossed. From the start, the weak economy. In the end there was even a fire in the flagship Macy’s Herald Square in New York and Washington DC video of a police officer pulled a gun during a struggle with the snow.

And so was the storm dropped 16 cm of snow in Washington, and nearly 2 feet above Philadelphia. He made a number of stores it is called Super Saturday? the last day before the big holiday shopping season? decidedly less than super.

For retailers, there was a positive side, many of whom took their snow equipment to check their lists. Online sales on Friday and Saturday was about a quarter more than last year.

And the shops are trying to get some pressure on the Calendar link basket. Amazon has expanded its maritime rules of the Christmas break one day. Macy’s offers free transport for Monday, JC Penney on Thursday by buying online.

Of course, the ability to customize their own problems.

Joe Scialabba, an experienced pilot who spent 20 years at FedEx on Monday morning, leaving in his truck around the snow drifts to navigate his long trip to Iceland is an obstacle-course route.

“Today is a bonus if you go to your package. Is my motto,” he says. “All the little shortcuts have disappeared. It is necessary to go on the road, some of these tracks is 300 meters. ”

Monday will be the best day of the year for UPS. A spokesman said the company would be “all hands to work”, but must have some problems with the trucks, to reach areas not yet fully into plowshares.

When the snow stopped in New York on Sunday, there were other elements of concern. Hundreds of shoppers were evacuated from Macy’s Herald Square, after a fire in an escalator. Macy’s said it will be open 24 hours a day, Monday through Christmas Eve.

Airports increased slightly misery this weekend, but there are long queues and agents, reservations were held in many cities.

In Washington, was suspended the first attempt Real Erling Molly during a flight to St. Louis and missed the wait seconds you hoping to fly into a sleep mode to check if necessary.

“We hope that everyone misses his flight, also, and we can take their place,” he said. “We’re carrion.”

Delta Air Lines has 6500 points on Monday to try to eliminate the backlog of passengers. Emirates has 16 flights, of which 757 182 people from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles to arrive.

Usually lasts three days, airlines, people when they go after a day of major cancellations, “said Lance Sherry, associate professor of delays in the study by George Mason University. They are expected to be more like five.

Meanwhile, those who can not complete the happiness that ended up in a terminal running against the clock to make their purchases.

“I’m so tired of holding the bag,” said Donnette Jones, who was at Macy’s in central Philadelphia, laden with gifts to the five grandchildren. I was hoping to meet a large part of his career last weekend.

“But in many places were not open, so I had to turn to,” he said. Now he hopes to finish on Wednesday.

For most people still affected by the storm, the purchase of a flight? to do without distractions, no task, but something outside the house days later, still without electricity and heat.

Mall in the center of Charleston, the capital of West Virginia, Linda Stewart, says his family has to wait for Christmas before the traffic lights again. This means that the burning of firewood for heating and sponge bath with water in a hot turkey Fryer.