Late pay and long work days are why many people say they had no choice but to brace the rainy weather in the capital city on Christmas Eve to do last minute shopping.
“This is the time when I got the money,” shopper Lester Garcia said.
He told Guardian Media that he got paid earlier in the month but had to wait for more money from the credit union to do his Christmas shopping.
Pensioner Joan Peters faced a similar situation, she said she got money on Christmas Eve and came to purchase what she could.
“I just come to get one or two things,” Peters said.
Despite the weather, she was able to get what she came for.
A man who gave his name only as Dane said he also got what he needed but admitted that money was hard to come by and so was time.
“Working hard…I ain’t even get time, I run away from work,” he said.
Taxi stands were filled with people waiting with bags big enough to take up an additional seat.
Those who were not ready to go home, rushed from store to store, some with an umbrella in one hand and bags in the other.
Charlotte Street was buzzing with activity.
“We come to get something for my sister and my god sister, we on the way to get more stuff,” Cavani Arneaud said.
While the last minute hustle and bustle awoke the Christmas spirit in Port-of-Spain, shoppers were still very conscious of COVID-19.
Peters said she was uncomfortable coming in out in the crowds but had no choice, so she tried her best to follow the COVID-19 protocols in all the stores she visited.
Aleem Mohammed thought the city would be empty because it was Christmas Eve, but he admitted he was wrong when he saw the number of people out and about.
