let's go chrissy shopping

Don't know what to buy your buds and fam for Chrissy? Well neither did Heartbreak High's Lara Cox, so GF's Felicity Percival lent her a hand. Check out our pressie picks!

I used to wonder whether celebrities go through the same painful process of Christmas shopping as we do - battling the crowds, pondering over what pressie to buy, seeing your bank balance slowly dwindle, and tearing your hair out when they run out of that certain T-shirt size.

Celebrities get all the lurks and perks, so why wouldn't they have an easy time Christmas shopping too? So, to satisfy my curiosity I tagged along with Heartbreak High's Lara Cox, for some serious Christmas shopping.
After growing up in Canberra 21-year old Lara won the part of Anita on Heartbreak High (currently on Fox 8) in 1996. "After I finished Heartbreak at the end of last year, I needed a long break," she says. "It's weird that I finished it a year ago, and it's still on now!" On her break, she has appeared in Home and Away, starred in the film Angst, and appeared in a documentary about street kids called Rule Of Thumb.
When I met with Lara around midday, she was ready to hit the shops with a vengeance. So, it was surprising when she secretly admitted, "I'm a lazy shopper. I just get really frustrated because I am not very good at choosing."

Lara knew what she wanted to buy her mum, so we headed straight to The Body Shop for some gorgeous body products. After searching through the shop, she spotted some gift packs. "I like the look of the already made-up baskets," she says. "They look really pretty." Originally she wanted to buy her dad a fishing rod, but a bottle of aftershave has caught her eye. Looks like the day is going to be stress-free after all!
But as the crowds began to grow with the lunch-time hustle and bustle, and we walked into store after store, this shopping thing was beginning to get tough.

"There are just so many people around at Christmas time," says Lara, "and it gets kind of annoying when you can't find something that's just right. So I like it when I've found my gift, but I don't like the process of finding the gift."

With her brother and friends the only ones left to buy for, we head to HMV for the trust-old CD. "I think I'd like to get the 10 Things I Hate About You or Dawson's Creek soundtrack," she says. And we're out of there in no time.

After signing a couple of autographs along the way, Lara decides to hit Hound Dog for her friends' presents. "I like to buy my friends clothes. They all have their own style and when I see something I'll know it's them,' she says in the middle of trying on some clothes herself. We both agree there's nothing wrong with treating yourself to a Chrissy pressie if it helps get you through the day!

With the shopping hours beginning to vanish, and the majority of Lara's presents out of the way, it's straight to the food area to fill our stomachs. "I'm a perfectionist," she says. "I like to get people something they are going to love, not something that they are going to open and go, 'Oh yeah.'"
No chance of that happening after our very successful day out shopping!