Valerie Koppang, Sadie Bowers

The parking lots and garages at the Mall in Columbia were nearly full at noon, as a second wave of shoppers replaced those who had tired after a morning shopping.
Howard Countians Sadie Bowers and Valerie Koppang took time out after two hours of mall crawling to grab a bite in the food court. Koppang, 14, said this was her second round of shopping, after making an early run to Toys 'R' Us, Target and Old Navy looking for gifts for her younger cousins. Bowers, 15, said the two had hit a handful of stores already, including Macy's department store, clothier H&M and the Disney store.<br>
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For all that, the teens only had a few bags so far. Koppang pulled a Grumpy T-shirt from her Disney bag to show one purchase, which she said was a gift for her sister. Another bag held a scarf.<br>
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"We kind of just walked into stores looking for deals," said Koppang, but hadn't been that wowed . "We thought there were going to be more," Bowers chimed in.<br>
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Neither girl figured their family would be spending more this holiday season. "My sister's going to college," Koppang explained in her case.<br>
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<i>--Timothy B. Wheeler</i>

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( Baltimore Sun photo by Timothy B. Wheeler / November 23, 2012 )

The parking lots and garages at the Mall in Columbia were nearly full at noon, as a second wave of shoppers replaced those who had tired after a morning shopping. Howard Countians Sadie Bowers and Valerie Koppang took time out after two hours of mall crawling to grab a bite in the food court. Koppang, 14, said this was her second round of shopping, after making an early run to Toys 'R' Us, Target and Old Navy looking for gifts for her younger cousins. Bowers, 15, said the two had hit a handful of stores already, including Macy's department store, clothier H&M and the Disney store.

For all that, the teens only had a few bags so far. Koppang pulled a Grumpy T-shirt from her Disney bag to show one purchase, which she said was a gift for her sister. Another bag held a scarf.

"We kind of just walked into stores looking for deals," said Koppang, but hadn't been that wowed . "We thought there were going to be more," Bowers chimed in.

Neither girl figured their family would be spending more this holiday season. "My sister's going to college," Koppang explained in her case.

--Timothy B. Wheeler

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