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Survival guide to last-second gift-shopping
Dec 23, 2011 3:15 PM

If not done shopping for holiday presents, you're in good company. The latest Consumer Reports poll finds that 18 percent of us rarely or never finish our holiday shopping on time. But there's good news for last-minute gift-shoppers: You have options, plenty of options.

With Christmas falling on Sunday this year, you still have Christmas Eve for some hurried shopping. As reported in the media, many retailers such as Toys"R"Us will have various brick-and-mortar outlets open until late Saturday evening. Macy's, for example, expects to have up to 27 stores open until the wee hours—2 a.m.—of Christmas Day.

Don't live near any of these retail paradises for procrastinating shoppers? Try:

1. Supermarkets.
Plenty of major chains are open at least part of the Christmas Eve day. Some, such as Safeway on the West Coast, even have stores that will be open on Christmas Day because they are 24/7 operations. And with many of the larger supermarket chains stocking a wide variety of items—food baskets, baked goods, DVDs, gift cards for other retail outlets and restaurants, or even LCD TVs—you should be able to scrape up a decent gift.

2. Drug Stores.
CVS, Walgreens, and others have positioned themselves as the desperation play of choice by stocking toys, electronics, perfumes, and of course, greeting cards and wrapping paper. Again, many drugstores will be open 24 hours (thanks to the pharmacy department), so a pre-dawn shopping run on Christmas Day can be done.

3. Certificates from online retailers and media-streaming services.
You can e-mail or print out gift certificates from shopping sites such as Amazon and Buy.com. If your recipient has broadband at home, consider gifting an online service such as Hulu Plus or Netflix so they can stream digital videos, movies, and TV shows.

4. Just give cash.
You may have some of this around the house. And if you don't, there's always the never-closed neighborhood ATM.

5. "IOU a gift" certificates.
According to the Consumer Reports holiday shopping poll, 41 percent of us resort to this tactic.

Good luck on your scramble to find last-minute gifts! (And hopefully, you'll do a better time budgeting your shopping time for Christmas gifts next year.)

Toys R Us to stay open round the clock till Christmas Eve [CNN]
Shopping for Presents While Most Are Asleep [NY Times]
Final Holiday Shopping Marathon: Stores Stay Open 112 Hours in a Row Before Christmas [Time]
Macy’s, Toys ‘R’ Us Offers 24-Hour Shopping Ahead Of Christmas [WCBS-NY, CBS News]

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