‘We felt like our faces were burning’: Last minute shoppers brave the artic cold day before Christmas

CHICAGO — Shoppers aren’t letting winter’s latest artic blast keep them from buying last minute Christmas gifts in downtown Chicago.

While Christmas Eve temperatures aren’t anything to write home about, the slight boost in degrees from the sub-zero temperatures on Friday have made shopping bearable, some shoppers said Saturday.

“It’s funny how it’s ten degrees and it’s like, oh this is okay!” said Camille Honesty, a Christmas Eve shopper out on the Magnificent Mile. “Well it doesn’t feel okay, but it’s better.”

While it’s still more than a little chilly outside, one shopper said the frigid weather has made last-minute shopping pretty cut and dry.

“I think everybody is afraid of the weather,” said Katie Jenness. “So it’s been pretty simple and easy.”

Katie and Joanne Nolan — sisters from Ireland — flew into Chicago Friday and said they aren’t used to weather this frigid, but the shopping still made it worth the experience.

“Yesterday we felt like our faces were burning, we’re not used to this cold,” Katie Nolan said. “[But] shopping is really good here … I got a lot of Chicago merch to bring home to people and a lot of stuff for myself as well.”