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The thought of dealing with the masses of holiday shoppers, fighting for parking spaces, and trying to maintain one's sanity and focus with all the distractions, pleasant and unpleasant, in the malls can turn even the most thoughtful people into procrastinators. Thus, many of us find ourselves on Christmas Eve doing last minute and frantic shopping. Here are a few helpful hints to reduce the stress and make holiday shopping more pleasant.

Make your list and check it twice. As you list all your gift recipients, next to their names jot down their clothing sizes, favorite colors, hobbies, interests, and even hints you have picked up in conversation. Then, rather than looking for miraculous inspiration when shopping, you'll have some direction.

Do some research. The Web is an excellent place to find where to find the items you want, compare prices, and check availability. Better yet, you can save all the hassle of finding parking spaces, standing in line to pay, and hauling your items to the post office for shipment by purchasing on-line. But if you like the mall shopping experience, at least you have an idea of where to spend your money.

Save some money. Check on line at store web sites and manufacturer web sites for promotional deals and coupons. You can also help your recipients get a better deal by purchasing gift cards and letting people choose their own gifts at end of season sales. If you're really pinched for money, here's an idea: buy used books in excellent condition at your local library. Mine has a section in the front stocked with donated books, most of which look brand new, selling for just one or two dollars. Many people have garage sales before Christmas in order to make room for new items. So don't count that out. You can pick up some nice things for a song. But go early in order to beat the professional garage sale shoppers who resell items on e Bay.

Organize a Santa's Workshop at your child's school. Various items are purchased at low cost which the children can shop for at school. Then, mothers volunteer to wrap the gifts for the children. This is a great experience for kids and gives them the joy of giving a surprise gift to parents, grandparents, and siblings without you having to take them to the mall.

Have gifts wrapped and shipped from the mall, if possible. If the store doesn't provide free gift wrapping, high school kids usually have a gift wrapping stand set up near the information booth. You might have to wait a little while for them to

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