I do all my shopping for my relatives, who live halfway across the country, online. It saves me a trip to the post office. Usually I order from Amazon, where we have the “free” two-day shipping. We order from them a lot because of my husband’s business, so the membership fee to get that free shipping is worth it to us.
Most of the rest of our holiday shopping is done in stores unless I find a really good deal online. For example, our daughter asked for a good digital camera this year. I found a brand new Nikon CoolPix for much less than anywhere else, plus a stand-alone Canon printer at 60% off. I was able to get both of those things for the usual cost of just the camera. It made my day! Those deals were online. Everything else for the kids and my husband’s family is either bought in stores or homemade.
Tomorrow I’m hitting a lot of the local shops for stocking stuffers and gift basket fillers. I doubt I’ll find great prices there, but I think it’s important to buy locally when possible. I just hope I make it out of our local bookstore with buying gifts for myself. That place is way too tempting.