Christmas Bargains Online

Since it's nearly Christmas and I've become some kind of hermit, I've taken up online shopping. Nothing like benefiting slightly from currency conversions and saving petrol while at the same time avoiding the crowds!

Some of the best deals I've found lately are on Ebay. I have recently discovered a quick and convenient way to go straight to the cheapest items by checking out Ebay Deals where you'll find the auctions ending soon, some of which haven't been bid on yet (I had to struggle with myself not to start bidding on a Nintendo Wii console with Wii Fit and great games packages just now!).

Overstock: I haven't bought anything there because the shipping charges from the U.S. to Ireland were too high but try it out if you are in the U.S. They have a wide selection of refurbished items (these are just like new and have been quality checked so you might end up with even better quality than a brand new shop-bought item). Sign up to their newsletter and they will send you regular emails with even greater discounts.

Having 2 young children a lot of my Christmas budget will be spent on toys (Ok, chocolate too!) so my usual shops are Argos, Smyths and Toycity(which seems to be still under construction; pretty disappointing at this time of year). I used Argos' and Smyths' websites to compare prices and used last week's promotions to fill the bottom of my wardrobe with well hidden Christmas presents (just don't go and tell my girls as they still believe in Santa!).

If you don't like the idea of shopping online or are afraid not to have your purchases delivered on time for Christmas, you can always use your local shops' websites to compare prices and then head to the stores offering the best deals. On top of the delivery cost that you won't have to pay, you'll also save yourself a lot of time and the stress of physically visiting each store.

Another idea that I haven't tried myself but could be worth its penny is to ask a store to match a cheaper price from another store (you could take along a printout of your desired item from the cheapest website with you). If you compare stores within the same country, a retailer might lower an item's price for you so you won't take your business elsewhere (probably a good thing to try especially if you plan to buy several gifts in that store).

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and I just couldn't resist using those cute little French penguins.

Now, time for me to hit some Internet cooking sites and try and learn how to cook a turkey!

How To Survive Christmas Traffic

If you haven't already done your Christmas shopping, you will know what I am talking about; miles of cars and trucks sitting in traffic in the hope of getting a parking space outside a shopping center to buy your last Christmas items.

Option 1 - Put your car in first gear all the way to the shops and like millions of other consumers being slowly driven to slavery, suffer in silence; you will damage your car's gearbox, spend more petrol, spend all your money when you finally get to the shopping centre, slowly drive home again and when you get home complain about the whole shopping experience to your partner (especially when you realise you have forgotten something and will have to go back the next day); be careful, this could end up in a divorce (who wants to spend the whole evening listening to your complaints?).

Option 2 - Get everything online. It is easier to compare prices and everything will come to your door. Not the best option if you are a late shopper, in order to get everything in before Christmas, you should probably have ordered in November or at the latest, in the first week of December. For your food, use either delivery services or go to your local grocery store.

Option 3 - Stay home. You can act as a Christmas grinch, not buy any presents for anyone, no Christmas cards, no special lovely Christmas food and pretend that you are trying to set up a new fashion! Be ready to lose friendships and be hated by your family and neighbours (especially children).

Option 4 - Break a leg on Christmas Eve or if you are pregnant, try to plan it so you will give birth on Christmas Eve, lucky you, you don't even need to break anything else than water! You will spend Christmas day in a hospital bed, won't have to cook or buy presents, you will be visited by all your loved ones who will hopefully bring you some gifts and get well cards. You can always decide to have an after-Christmas party when you get home: traffic will be lighter and everything will be on sale!

Of course you can also walk or take public transport, I was just trying to be funny. I experienced Christmas traffic this morning for the last time (for 2007 anyway) so now I can make fun of people like you who still have Christmas shopping to do!