Holiday shopping is upon us.  Does anyone else share my sense of creeping panic?  I don’t like shopping under normal circumstances.  Factor in the holiday madness, and it’s all over.  Malls make me itchy.  Online shopping it is.

Fortunately, the darelings are easy.  They’re already conditioned by our grand consumer culture to blurt out, “I want that!  Me, me, me!” at every toy they see on TV or in the print ads.  So I figure they’ll be happy with anything.

But I never know what to do for the adults in my life. My family is very geographically dispersed, so I tend to go for the easily shippable items.  Books go without saying–I usually give books.  But then what else?  It’s barely November, and already I’m suffocating under the avalanche of mail-order catalogs: wine gift basket, cheeses and hams, baked goods, fruit, etc.

Anyone have any cute gift ideas to share?  Any new online stores to check out?  Mail-order gifts you’ve given or received lately that were a pleasant surprise?


6 comments to “It’s that time of year again…”

  1. Elyssa
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    · November 12th, 2008 at 12:20 pm · Link

    I’m an online shopper, too. No lines and not having to deal with holiday crowds = bliss.

    I like Cheryl & Co where you can send people cookies. Who doesn’t like cookies? (There are other goodies there, too). And gift cards are always awesome to the bookstore or somewhere online that the person would enjoy.



  2. Janga
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    · November 12th, 2008 at 5:54 pm · Link

    Many of the people on my list have jobs connected to real estate, and they are having a rough time right now, so we agreed to cut back on Christmas spending. I’m finding it challenging fun to find appropriate gifts for considerably less than I usually spend. Cafe Press is a treasure trove. For example, I put “book lovers” in as a search term and got some terrific ideas, including a Christmas ornament I love for under $10.



  3. Tessa
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    · November 12th, 2008 at 8:55 pm · Link

    Ooh, good ideas. Ely, I have gotten those cookies as gifts before – they are yummy!

    Janga, thanks for the reminder about CafePress…hey, I still have those nifty designs Ely made for me! I can’t imagine that there’s anyone in my family who wouldn’t want a “Goddess of the Hunt” mug for Christmas… 🙂



  4. Elyssa
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    · November 12th, 2008 at 10:18 pm · Link

    Or I Heart Toby t-shirt! 😉



  5. Alyssa Goodnight
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    · November 17th, 2008 at 12:56 pm · Link

    I too am trying to get all my shopping done online this year–and Amazon is making a killing off me! I will be stopping back by in case anyone else has any additional Christmas gift ideas–I need all the help I can get. (Sorry I don’t have anything to offer.)



  6. Kelly
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    · November 17th, 2008 at 3:23 pm · Link

    Coming in late to the party. Again. Le sigh.

    The vast majority of my family lives halfway across the country, so shopping is also difficult. My mother sticks with online shopping, and it saves her a tremendous amount of stress.

    Another idea came from one of my coworkers who also has relatives scattered around the globe. Every year, she and her husband make a donation to a charity of the person’s choosing in their name. It’s not only a gift of something that the relative cares about, but also has the potential to do some good in the world.