Christmas Shipping

Christmas is just around the corner and if you still have shopping to do, time is running out. Today I received an e-mail from a company from which I planned to get Christmas gifts. The e-mail said that orders need to be made soon if one hopes to receive the gifts before Christmas. Fortunately I had my orders ready and got them in before the deadline. My kids will receive their gifts before that important day in a few weeks.

There are a number of online retailers urging shoppers to get their orders in before it is too late. FedEx has listed the following dates that are important if you want to get gifts delivered on or before December 22nd:

• December 15 for FedEx Ground
• December 20 for 2-day delivery
• December 21 for 1-day delivery

They also go on to list that they will be doing modified home and ground delivery on the 23rd and 24th of December. All delivery services will be closed on December 25th, which is a good thing as I would hate to be forced to work that day myself.

UPS has a similar schedule where they say that December 20th is the last day to utilize 2-day delivery for packages that will arrive on the 24th. They then go on to say that 3-day deliveries sent on the 20th, won't be delivered until Friday the 27th. 

The Unites States Postal Service is also listing dates on their website. They include different schedules for Alaska and Hawaii, which is important. While some of the dates remain the same (i.e. First Class and Priority Mail service) Ground Advantage requires 2 extra days and Priority Mail Express Service 1 extra day. Otherwise the dates look similar to FedEx and UPS.

I want my Christmas gifts to arrive as close to the special day as possible and so some might think I have waited way too long before getting them shipped. Normally I would have to agree with one exception. This year, I have decided to get something that is perishable and so I don't want them to arrive too early. It would also be a huge disappointment for them to arrive late. Hopefully I timed it correctly this year and everything works out. Hopefully you also find the information above helpful this Holiday season if you still have gifts to send.

Is it too Early for Christmas Songs?

Halloween is over and our next major holiday in the United States is Thanksgiving. My daughters grew up saying that we need to respect the turkey and not get too excited about Christmas until after the giant eat-a-thon. Now they are changing their tunes and think it is fine to play Christmas music a little earlier.

The day after Halloween, the Disney resorts pulled down all their pumpkin decorations and re-themed their resorts for Christmas. On November first I started getting ads for Black-Friday specials and encouraged to start Christmas shopping. It seems that everyone is eager for the largest holiday of the year.

So is it too early for Christmas songs? My personal thought is I have to restrict how many times I hear certain songs that become popular at the end of the year. The most popular Christmas song is Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is you." It turns out that it is also the most hated holiday song. I fall into the later category and want to limit how many times I hear it.

One advantage I see with starting the holiday song list early is it gives me time to learn more Christmas songs on my guitar. I generally take a few weeks to memorize one and if I wait until the month of December, I never really learn them. That being said, I have to like the songs I learn because I play them so many times.

So what do you think? Is it time to play those old familiar favorites or should we wait another month? Let me know your thoughts.

Avoiding Stores on Black Friday

While some people like my sister live to find great deals on Black Friday, I am one of those people that avoid shopping at all costs on this day. This year's Black Friday is coming to a close and I can safely say that I did not visit any stores. I didn't purchase anything online either. Instead I spent some time outside hiking, spending time with family, and doing things around the house.

My wife took some downtime today to do some online shopping for me. She thinks she is done with buying Christmas gifts for me. Unfortunately I have not even started for her. I know what she needs and wants so it should be easy once I find some time to get the gift purchases taken care of.

I did notice an unusual amount of e-mail in my inbox today. I had so much e-mail I had to empty my inbox twice. I had the usual mix of outdoor equipment, guitars, and consumer electronics solicitations, Alaska airlines knew my one weakness and sent me information on their BOGO sale. That means they have airline tickets available at a two-for-one price. The last time they did that, I bought tickets to Hawaii and climbed Mauna Kea with my wife. I mentioned the sale to my wife and she told me to buy tickets to places we know we are headed next year. Where's the fun in that? Fortunately the sale only lasts today and if I can hold off experimenting with flights, I'll be good . . . until Cyber Monday when I am sure they will offer the same deal again.

Does Black Friday Still Exist?

This morning I rode up the chairlift with someone that works for a large online retailer where I asked about Black Friday and if it still exists because people do so much online shopping. To help illustrate the point, I got an e-mail on Monday and ordered a expensive ski jacket online at a huge discount. It arrived today and I didn't have to wake up early or stand in a line. In fact, I went skiing on Black Friday and had an excellent day. The person we rode the chair with said that her company had coupons that didn't get sent until Black Friday. She expects it will have more of an effect for Cyber Monday, which is where most online retailers see the largest number of purchases for a given day.

I watched the news last night before heading to bed and they said a lot of people were out shopping but we didn't have the crowds as has been seen in years past. The shoppers interviewed enjoyed being able to find great deals without having to deal with large crowds. I didn't see any stories of women and children being trampled by large and unruly crowds. I'm happy about that.

My wife and I have long since given up on quantity over quality when it comes to Christmas gifts. We spend a lot of time thinking about what people really want for that special day of the year. That has not always been the case as young kids care more about the number of packages they get to open, not about if they want what they are receiving. This year we know exactly what we will get for each of our kids. While we could wake up early on Black Friday and try to save a few dollars, ultimately it is easier to just go to our trusted sources for what we are looking for. After all, time is money and a great deal on something you don't plan to buy is worthless.

The Biggest Shopping Day of the Year

Some people think the biggest shopping day of the year is the day after Thanksgiving or Black Friday. Actually it is the day after Christmas. That is when people bring back the wrong size gifts and exchange them for the right size. It is also the day that everything goes on sale and you can find a great deal on something you may have wanted for Christmas but didn't get.

Naturally I try to avoid being anywhere near a store on this day. I don't want to get trampled. I also know that today is one of the busiest ski days of the year and so I even avoided skiing at a ski resort. Once again, I don't want to get trampled. Instead I grabbed my youngest son and we went for a hike . . . with our skis on. We headed out just North of Alta ski area and headed up Grizzly Gulch for a morning of hiking and bottomless powder. We had quite a nice time and avoided the crowds.

After skiing there are some things I needed to pick up. I recently bought a new truck and certain items will make the pick-truck more useful. My oldest son showed up at the house shortly after I did and was more than happy to help me spend money. Remember that I didn't want to go anyplace as the stores can be chaotic. Instead we looked online. I started with a bed cover as I hate shoveling snow and don't want to have to shovel it out of the bed of my truck. I found one online before Christmas but had trouble finding it for the same price after. My son suggested Amazon. Sure enough, a name-brand cover that I wanted was even less expensive than I had seen it previously.

Next I needed to get a ham radio for the new vehicle. I had done my research several weeks ago and went to my usual source: Ham Radio Outlet. I loaded up my virtual shopping cart with the radio, antenna, and antenna mount. Then my son suggested I look at Amazon. This time, the radio cost significantly more and so I stuck with my original source.

Amazon has great prices on certain things and can be a great place to shop. Sometimes there are better prices elsewhere and so it pays to do a bit of looking around. Fortunately it doesn't require driving to a different store or even any walking. You can do it all from the comfort of your couch.

Printed vs. Online Catalogs

I got a nice 4x4 catalog in the mail today. Normally I would just toss it but today was different. I spent a good part of my morning replacing the starter in the Jeep Cherokee that my oldest son drives. It was a fairly simple and painless task. More importantly, we both felt a huge sense of accomplishment once we were done and the vehicle started right up. After working on the Jeep, it was kind of fun to sit on the couch and just look through the catalog seeing what modifications we can make.

This got me thinking about paper or printed catalogs vs. online shopping sites. The last thing I wanted to do this afternoon was to log onto my computer and browse 4x4 websites. Sitting on the couch doing basically the same thing seemed like an excellent idea though. I had 10 minutes while I was waiting for something and reading the catalog was fun. Ok, I didn't really read the catalog, I just looked at the pictures and pointed out things to my wife that I might want for Christmas.

My 10 minutes with the catalog were up and it was time to head off to my next task for the day and I tossed the catalog in the recycling bin. Why? Well the store that sent me the catalog has an online store. They also have a physical store here in Salt Lake as well as in other cities across the country. If I know what I want to buy, I will just go to the website and order it. If I need something immediately, I will just go to the store and pick it up.

So the question that needs to be answered is if the printed catalog was useful? Yes it was. I now know what products are offered as well as the relative price. Without the paper catalog I would never have known I could get a simple product that turns my trailer hitch into a useful step. Now that is a sweet stocking stuffer. Oh yea, Christmas is coming so be prepared for the annual deluge of paper shopping catalogs.

Why Do We Have Malls

Last night I went with my youngest daughter to do some Christmas shopping. She had a list of places that she wanted to go and one of them was at the local shopping mall. I was amazed that we parked only 3 spaces from the front door. Then I was even more amazed at how empty it was inside. Sure it was a Tuesday evening, but I remember not being able to walk through a mall when I was a kid trying to do my own Christmas shopping.

I think online retailers have really taken a significant share of business from the local malls. How can small businesses compete with online prices? Everyone wants to get a good deal and an online presence is a lot less expensive than a brick-and-mortar storefront.

We visited exactly 3 stores in the mall. The first was the Vans store because I wanted to see what cool styles they had. I am looking for something specific and wanted to see if they had it. Nope, they didn't. However they did have a display where you could custom order your own shoes. No need to go to the mall though, just visit their website and order it from there.

The next store was a candy store where they had every candy I could think of. Naturally I had to get a little something for myself. That was one store worth going back to visit later.

The last store was Bed, Bath, and Beyond. While some of the stores had nobody in them, this one was full of women and girls picking up items. There were 4 check-out stations running as fast as they could and there was still a 5 minute line. It was as if the whole mall existed for that one store.

Naturally I came home and surfed the Internet for gifts to give my siblings. 20 minutes later, I had everybody shopped for and got the best prices available. I could see why the mall was seemingly empty. This leads me to the question of why we still have malls? Surely it can't be because of Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Christmas Shopping

My kids are funny. They won't let my wife and I talk about Christmas until after Thanksgiving. They are always running around telling us to, "Respect the Turkey." Now that the day of feasting has passed, we can focus our attention on the biggest holiday of the year.

A decade ago, we just worried about Black Friday. Now we also have Cyber Monday, which was yesterday. When I got off the plane and into my office, my inbox was flooded with countless e-mails from every possible online retailer. The funny thing was that I had finished all of my Internet Christmas shopping. I still have one or two gifts to pick up, but they are the kind of gifts that I need to pick up in person.

As you go your own Christmas shopping on the Internet, there are some things to keep in mind:

1. Shop early. This morning I got an e-mail from FedEx saying that severe weather has hampered package delivery. This could happen again and so you don't want to assume a last-minute purchase will arrive on time.

2. Shop around. You may think you are getting the best deal at one site, only to discover you could have done better somewhere else. Doing a bit of looking will help keep you from discovering you could have paid less.

3. Shop quickly. Some of those great deals won't be around forever. When you find something you like at the best price possible, grab it. Assuming you can pick it up the next day may be a mistake. While you may be able to find it at a better price the closer it is to Christmas, you also run the risk of it being unavailable.

4. Shop with a budget. It is very easy to use your credit card to pick up all of your Christmas gifts. However you will eventually have to pay for them and you don't want to spend above your ability to pay.

Remember that this is the holiday season and it is supposed to be "the most wonderful time of the year." If you find yourself getting frustrated or angry, take some time off and relax a bit. Then try again when you feel better.