The sun has yet to make its debut on this crisp morning. The excitement is overwhelming, and though it’s early, falling back asleep is not an option. Just a peep at all of those beautifully wrapped gifts in shiny gold and red paper won’t hurt. The temptation skyrockets while tiptoeing into the living room, careful not to wake anybody as sugar plums dance in their heads. But suddenly, it feels like a bad dream. No presents. Nothing but a fruit cake and some argyle knit socks from Grandma sit under the tree. All that work to keep off of that damn naughty list for nothing. It looks as though the Grinch himself stole this Christmas. And indeed he did. Bah humbug.

If the holidays mean delectable meals, desired gifts and spending time with family, then people may want to beware, because Santa Claus might not be coming to town this season. Because of the state of the economy, many people are being forced to cut back on their traditions. This could be something positive for the consumer culture, and people will stand outside of their homes on Christmas morning hand-in-hand singing “Da-who Dorays, Fa-who Forays, welcome Christmas, come this way.” Or they might just be pissed off because Daddy can’t afford that HD flat screen and Aunt Suzy won’t be around to make her famous Peppermint Twist cocktails that always ease the uptight in-laws because the seven hundred dollar plane ticket isn’t in her budget this year.

Standing in the fragrance aisle in Macy’s Serramonte, she hands a blotter card to a customer passing by. Her devil-red lips form into a warm smile between her lightly freckled cheeks as she urges the customer to try a sample of John Varvatos. Stephanie Valverde, a student at San Francisco State, is from Orange County, and for the first time in her twenty-two years of existence, she will not be making it home for the holidays.

Fortunately for thirty-year-old Steve ThProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

as, his family lives in Santa Cruz and San Jose, so it’s not a difficult commute. Using his charm and expertise, Steve grabs a surfboard off the rack to show a customer. He scratches at his sandy blonde beard as the customer questions the price. “I am sure you will find with families that have to fly to see one another will not be doing that this year,” says Thomas. As for buying presents, Steve will be using what he can get for free from his surf sponsors.

She brushes a strand of her satin-black shoulder-length hair behind her ear and hands another blotter card to a customer passing through. Because Stephanie has no financial support during this economic crisis and she cannot afford to take time off work, she will be spending the season spraying fragrance at perfect strangers to make ends meet. And Stephanie won’t be hearing Santa’s sleigh bells this year either. The traditional family gift exchange she is so fond of is now nothing but a memory. “The deal is you can get something for someone as long as it is under twenty dollars so it's like, why even bother,” says Valverde. “There is really nothing decent you can get under that amount.”

It’s Saturday in Union Square in San Francisco. The sunny sidewalks are flooded with people bypassing retail stores rather than bombarding them. While Macy’s places a Santa impersonator in the front window to summon the crowds in, Miss Sixty boutique attempts to draw people in with a DJ. Loud funky beats shake the store as the trendy hipster workers greet customers with enthusiasm. And to the surprise of the curious shopper, this season’s latest fashions are marked down as low as 50 percent. Lindsay VanCantfort, manager of Miss Sixty, says that when she began working there a year ago barely anything in the store was on sale. Now almost everything is. And the numbers still do not compare to last year. “The average client is buying a fraction of what they used to. If they would come in and buy a sweater and a jacket, now they’re only buying a T-shirt,” says VanCantfort.

She struts around the store straightening up the apparel, making sure each item is placed perfectly on the wooden tables. Lindsay’s tiny frame is accented by a pair of tight, black skinny jeans with a white collared shirt tucked in, her bronzed hair pulled back tight staying perfectly in place. Lindsay complains about how boring it gets because of the lack of shoppers due to the economy.

As she rings up a bill of nearly nine hundred dollars, Lindsay requests the customer’s residential information as standard procedure to keep track of the store’s clientele. The customer appears confused, maybe because this customer lives on another continent. “I would say 85 percent of the people shopping in here are foreigners. It’s like nothing I have ever seen,” says VanCantfort.

Santa’s little elves of the retail world are working hard to get those presents under the tree this year, but saving Christmas may take more than discounts and DJs. And as for those lucky enough to spend the holidays with loved ones, have yourself a merry little Christmas.