Connecticut travelers hit the roads and the shopping centers

Whether you’re getting last minute shopping done or hitting the roads for the holidays, it was a busy Friday night.

Nearly a million people in our state will be hitting the road this holiday season to see family and friends, but before they can do that, they’re getting some last-minute holiday shopping done.

It’s hard to have the season of giving, without it being the season of spending, too.

“Clothes, makeup, hair supplies, brushes, earrings, and looking at apple products,” Anne Tomchuck, of Orange, said.

“A few jackets for winter,” Cassie McKittrick, of Branford, said.

Shoppers flocked to The Shops at Yale in New Haven to get gifts for loved ones.

Some are there to find the steals, like Tomchuck.

“Last minute deals, we’re hoping for a last-minute deal or a trade-in deal,” she said.

Others are embracing the last-minute shopping experience, like John McKittrick, of Branford.

“If I was a little craftier, I probably should have saved money, but I didn’t,” he said.

For the retailers themselves, Jahnaya Stone of Lou Lou Boutiques said local stores are getting lots of love.

“It’s definitely getting busy, especially this weekend,” Stone said. “Until Christmas Eve, we’re going to be open until nine instead of eight because it’s going to be busy.”

If crowds at shopping centers don’t tell you it’s the holiday season, the snowy highways will.

“Yeah the roads were fine, there’s no slickness out there,” Jon, of Madison, said.

People stopping at the Branford rest stop off Interstate 95 said traffic was mild during rush hour. But with a cold snap coming on one of the busiest travel days of the year, CT Department of Transportation vehicles were out in full force.

“I see ppl putting salt on the roads, I see people pulling over, police officers, emergency workers working,” Mekhi Barnett, of Stamford, said.

If you’re planning to travel the next few days by car, AAA says the morning is better to travel leading up to, and after, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The worst times to travel are the mid-day to afternoon hours.