Only 331 Days 'Til Christmas!

Yes, I am officially one of those people that you hate, because last night with a single phone call, I did almost all of my Christmas shopping.

What would provoke me to do such a thing? A sale, naturally! For a while I bought a lot from the Eddie Bauer Outlet--I'd get the email from them about the take an additional 30% off the clearance price--and I'd be there faster than you can say, well, just about anything. My Dad and brother-in-law especially benefited from it, and my Mom liked the shirts I'd get that "you don't have to iron--just jerk them out of the dryer, and they're ready to go" (her words, not mine).

But lately it seemed that even if I got to the website right away, pickings would be slim. So last year I changed tacks a bit and ordered from the Metropolitan Museum of Art catalogue. It sounds like a super fancy place to buy Christmas gifts, but they actually have a nice collection of things, exempting the expensive costume jewelry and their bizarre predilection towards women's scarves and throws (who wears those any more, anyway?). The note cards and stationery are particularly lovely.

I can't tell you what I got (since family members read my blog), but suffice to say, nearly everything was half off. Online you can save even more by taking an additional 20% off (I got a free tote bag instead when I ordered by phone). Those who have known me know how incredibly cheap I am so when I say they're offering good sales, they're offering good sales!

While I'm on the subject of online shopping, here's a great website to check out. It's called Ebates, and once you register (it's free and easy to do), you get cash back from literally hundreds of stores online. So before you order something from Amazon.com, for instance, go to Ebates.com, log in, and navigate to Amazon through Ebates. Your cash back goes into your Ebates account, and once you reach the minimum (I think it's $5 or $10), you request the money and they cut you a check.

I thought it all sounded a little fishy, but it was featured in a special issue of Consumer Reports where Ebates was mentioned as one of the seven web sites that could save you thousands. Saving thousands could be a stretch, but if you combine using Ebates with paying with the Discover Card (which also offers a cash back bonus) you could end up easily saving 10-20%.

So get shopping, because they're only 331 days until Santa Time!