South Florida's Aventura Mall, Sawgrass Mills rank in top 5 in US for best places for Christmas shopping

MIAMI -- Two South Florida malls landed in the top five of newly released rankings that list this year's best major U.S. retail centers for Christmas Shopping. 

The list, created by Yocan Vaporizer, rated each mall based on criteria that included: how busy the shopping center gets; how much parking is available; the number and variety of stores inside the mall; the number of restaurants; and the seasonal opening hours.

Aventura Mall, located in the city of Aventura, ranked second best for Christmas shopping while Sawgrass Mills, located in the city of Sunrise, placed fourth, according to the rankings. Both of the South Florida malls are owned by Simon Property Group.

The list gave Aventura a 5.7 but handed it a top score of 10 for its operating hours.

According to the Aventura Mall website, the shopping center, located at 19501 Biscayne Blvd., opens daily at 10 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m., except for Sunday, when the sprawling shopping center closes at 9 p.m.

But the mall garnered only a 2.9 for places to eat.

 According to the ranking, Aventura has the most stores tailored to women and men, making it the "go-to" mall for couples. It's also best for those wanting specialty gifts such as vapes, tobacco, or CBD products.    

Sawgrass Mills scored 4.5 and had a top-performing factor in parking but scored only a 1.5 for a dearth of dining options.

Mall of America, located in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, placed number one with a top-performing factor of parking and stores.