Yes, I felt the same shock when I read there were 128 Days until Christmas on a recent post by Kara Casamassina on Athletic Alley. She was actually talking about the recent Olympic victories by the Jamaican track team and happened to mention the 128 days!

I am not a person who enjoys shopping! I am not a person who enjoys crowds! In the past couple of years, I have really taken to buying as much as possible online. I shop for books, DVD's, clothes, concert tickets, and lots of other stuff. When I first began shopping online, I was worried about hackers and other shadowy figures intercepting my credit card or bank info. Though this is a possibility, I try to minimize my exposure by using only secure websites that are identified by the lock in the lower right hand corner and having and web address that begins with https. I also utilize programs like Revolution Money Exchange and Paypal to add buyer protection with sites or companies that I may not be very familiar with. Since I have grown accustomed to shopping online there are other things that I look for now that I might not have known about before.

I find myself looking for things like free shipping. I also try to combine gifts to be delivered to a third party out of state address so that I can avoid repackaging and reshipping them. Another thing I look for, especially if I am shipping directly to the gift's recipient, is the availability of gift wrapping. For elaborate papers and bows there is sometimes a charge and sometimes it is complimentary. If they are gifts for a child but will be received by the parent, many times the parent, with a bit of advanced warning, will be willing to receive the package and take care of wrapping it! I also utilize online services that will publish the sales papers prior to their actual release in the local papers. For big shopping events like Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, this can come in very handy. If you are aware of the upcoming sales, you can use them for internet shopping as well as traditional in store shopping. For example if you are a fan of Gamestop, for all those gamers in your life, you can check out the Thanksgiving ads in advance! For me, this has made shopping much more stress free.

Now don't get me wrong, you will still be able to find me wandering the malls and stores during the holiday season. The big difference will be that I will be enjoying the decorations and sounds as opposed to dealing with the distracted salespeople and frazzled shoppers. Another difference, I can leave whenever I want; whether I've bought anything or not! Ah, this year I will look forward with happy anticipation to the holidays and holiday shopping.

Now I need to find some money!