SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Less than month ago Yellowknifers faced a gas shortage when the Merv Hardie ferry halted service due to low water levels.

Yellowknifers were scrambling for eggnog on the weekend as supplies at some stores dwindled.

But now with Christmas around the corner residents are facing a new shortage - eggnog.

As of Monday night both Extra Foods grocery stores in the city were without the festive drink. A spokesperson for Loblaws, which owns the grocery chain did not respond to Yellow-knifer inquiries by press time.

Sylvia Amey finds it hard to think about celebrating Christmas without a glass of the nog.

"That's unreal," said Amey. "You have to have eggnog."

The shortage came of no surprise to Wilma DeGrow.

"Fifteen or 20 years there was nowhere in town you could find it," said DeGrow, who went on a frantic search on a past Christmas Eve for the drink. "We went to Weaver and Devore and they had it."

She said the drink was more of request from her children rather than for herself.

"They don't think it's Christmas if they don't have eggnog."

DeGrow said the shortage could have been from people getting a bit too greedy around the holidays.

"Sometime we used to hoard things," she admitted.

But not all the stores in Yellowknife were without the drink.

"We have lots of eggnog in, I don't know anything about a shortage," said Ben Walker, manager at the Yellowknife Direct Charge Co-op.

Daryl Dolynny, owner of Shoppers Drug Mart, said because of recent problems with the ferry most of the stores have been experiencing delays with shipping on trucks.

He said also because eggnog is a seasonal speciality most business don't want to over order their supply.

Other residents who had creative solutions didn't seem to be bothered too much about the shortage.

"Personally I don't care," said Elaine Ross. "My husband makes the most awesome eggnog."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.