Alice's Saturday Shopping Trip, aka Alice Wears Out Her Granddaughters!

Yesterday, Alice and the girls went out Christmas shopping! This is around 10 a.m., when everyone was fresh and energized. (Alice stayed that way all day, but the girls, especially Mary Pat, were EXHAUSTED by the end of the seven hour shopping extravaganza!)


It's hard to tell from this picture, but Alice was whisked away in the "Rudolph Mobile." You can see the red nose, but you can't see the antlers on the back windows. PRECIOUS, and Rudolph can really maneuver through the traffic!


They started out at If It's Paper, a neat local store in downtown Columbia. They carry neat stationery, party products and seasonal goodies. The girls stocked up on some goodies, while Alice got some Christmas tissues and GREAT cards.


While they were in there, Mary Pat spotted SANTA! He was on his way to an event at a local school, but didn't get away before posing for a picture with Alice.


Alice also tried to get Santa and the girls, but missed a bit. But since this was her first time using a digital camera, they were actually pretty impressed!


The next stop on the shopping adventure was Hamrick's. No pictures here - Mary Pat and Beth were too busy trying to keep up with Alice.

Just when the girls were about to starve, they spotted a Cracker Barrel right outside of the Hamrick's shopping center. There was a short wait, even at 1:30 p.m., but it was worth it! Plus, they got to shop in their cute store while they waited.

Alice and Beth after ordering.


Alice shooting her straw at Mary Pat. She did this AFTER the camera was off, so Mary Pat made her do it with Beth's straw to capture her playfulness, something the girls were short on after Hamrick's.


After filling up at Cracker Barrel, the three visited one of the area's largest Hallmark stores, as well as Big K, aka K-Mart. Again, the girls were too busy trying to keep up with Alice to take pictures. (Sorry, folks, but she has more spunk shopping than the Energizer Bunny!)

After our visit to the St. Andrews area, they headed back toward town, but not before stopping at Wal-Mart. (Yes, Wal-Mart, two Saturdays before Christmas, around 4 p.m.) This is Beth wondering what was up with the Clemson Santa hat in Wal-Mart's "USC" store.


Wal-Mart was Mary Pat's Waterloo; she had to head home after that experience. But they all had a great day, made some great purchases and enjoyed spending the day together.

Happy Shopping from Alice and the Girls!