holiday shopping

Tis the season, and now it's mere weeks away. With all that we've been through here at the Shore, November was just a blur. So here we are, knocking on December's door.

I'm not going to fight it anymore. Diane and I were shopping for Halloween decorations this week, and in the background was the sound of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town". I haven't even said "trick or treat" and I already have to be worried about being good...for goodness sake.

I don't know which causes more stress...having to do the shopping or procrastinating about having to do the shopping. If I put as much creativity into the shopping as I did in coming up with excuses not to, I would have been done a month ago. I finally got a good chunk of it done this week, but I still have some more to go.

Is anyone surprised by this? A Wall Street Journal report says that women do most of the holiday shopping in 73% of homes. Guys, before you say 'yeah, but we help', only 27% of homes say the man and woman share in the shopping chores. That's a lot of pressure and a lot of stress on women, who are already way too busy!

There is no questioning the popularity of gift cards for holiday gifts this year. Cnn.com reports that 58% of people would like one as a gift, and 80% of us will buy one during our holiday shopping. They certainly are an awesome option, but are they always the right gift? I don't think so, so I've come up with a system that I use. It's 'Lou's Holiday Level System".

According to a consumer survey (www.radioshack.com) the most-forgotten item during the season of giving thanks is the thank you note, with 55% overlooking it. The second most-likely item to be forgotten, with 50% of gift-givers not including this necessary item, is batteries and other accessories needed to operate the gift...

There are less than 50 days 'til Christmas, and apparently even deer are starting to panic about getting their shopping done.