I did all my Christmas shopping online!

[Atman]

I love it! I love Amazon, as much as I hate to admit it. I got some of the stuff before they even scheduled it for delivery...like five-six days early. Some stuff you can "purchase" onlin from Amazon at their sale prices, then go pick it up at your local Best Buy or Circuit City, and Amazon will even honor the cheaper price if the stores happen to be selling it for less. But everything was way cheaper, anyway.

I'm never going to a mall again!

[Kahuna]

1. Can't give up stores altogether. I bought five cashmere...

sweaters yesterday from Macy's at $30 a piece. They were originally $80.00, marked down to $60.00 then two for the price of one. I started off getting two for my son. Then went back to get one each for my brothers. Then realized that I could exchange one of the Hilfinger sweaters I bought for my grandson for $80, for the $30 cashmere sweater which is much nicer anyway. I also put $50 back in my pocket. Viva la Macy's!!

[demnan]

3. One thing I will say for Macy's

when they have a sale, they know how to have a sale. There's nothing more fun than Macy's at Christmas.

[Atman]

4. Retailers are giving stuff away

I posted this hypothesis last night...the retail season this year is abysmal. Terrible. You know how I know? When was the last time you heard a report on CNN or any news outlet about the holiday shopping numbers? Usually this time of year we are inundated with daily reports about how the Christmas shopping is going. Now...nothing. Silence. Crickets.

Because it is awful.

But a well-place terror alert, just through the holiday season, as Ridge points out, and one that just happens to mention shopping malls...well...given the Bushista track record, this is just cover for them. The bad retail numbers will get out Friday, and Bush can claim, awe, shucks...we WERE doing well, but those nasty terr'ists kept people from shopping.

Watch for it.

Anyway...my 16 yo wanted a leather coat for Christmas. Now, being 16, he is prone to lose/forget/destroy anything he touches. I was not going to spend $200-300 dollars on a coat he'd likely leave in the cafeteria within the first week. So I put a shopping bag over my head and sneaked into JC Penny (one of my only mall stops this Christmas), figuring I could find something cheap for him, that I wouldn't be so upset if he lost/ruined. But no...there was only one rack of leather coats. $379 each. Crap...but what's this...a fairly small "sale" tag on only one of them...$99. Huh? I asked the clerk. Yup...my pick, $99 for any of them. Things sucked, she said, they were trying to get rid of everything asap.

Thank god it isn't a Penny-branded item, because he'd toss it in the dumpster...but now he'll think we're way cool for buying him a $400 leather coat. Oops...did I leave that price tag on by accident? LOL!

[demnan]

2. Yes I did mine online

and gradually starting around the middle of November to stagger the credit card charges. I got just what I wanted and everything comes in boxes that are easy to wrap and it's all under the tree. Now I can just enjoy the season (the baking and the eating!!!) and the tree and the music.

On edit:

I buy from Swiss Colony for some of my gifts. Their Butter Toffee makes a great gift as it seems to contain highly addictive heroin and you can't stop eating it. I bought some for my mother and managed a few pieces before leaving yesterday. It will be gone by the time I'm back on Christmas Eve.

[OneBlueSky]

5. I did, too . . .

no crowds, no traffic, no standing in line . . . got exactly what I wanted at good prices, and it's all being delivered right to my door . . . one of the great advantages of the net for those of us who hate malls and hate Christmas shopping . . . simple, sensible, and absolutely painless . . . :)