Christmas gift cards – they are wonderful! So easy to buy, so easy to mail and since I usually only buy them from places that offer free shipping, they save me money. If you’re like me, you know well that saving time and money are key components to making a caregiver’s life a bit easier. BUT with so many businesses struggling this year, they may NOT be the best choice for a gift for us this Christmas. The last two places I bought computers from have both gone out of business unexpectedly. Linens N Things is closing. These are stores I would never have thought would close! So for me, it’s back to the drawing board as I think about Christmas gift shopping that takes the least amount of time and money! I don’t have any earthshaking solutions, but I do have some great places to point you to that might be a help.

Fatwallet is my favorite research site. It is a forum where people send in any kind of “hot deal” they have spotted online or in regular “brick and mortar” stores. I personally go straight to their Hot Deals forum – http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/ . Type in the item you are researching in the box labeled SEARCH TITLES. Voila, hopefully you will find lots of great deals and information. Not always though. That’s when I use their ALERTS tool. Go up to the top menu to TOPIC ALERTS. Fill it out with a keyword or two, add your email, and click the forums you want to check. I usually only do Hot Deals, but during the time leading up to Thanksgiving, I am also checking Black Friday in case my item(s) goes on sale the day after Thanksgiving. Fatwallet will send a confirmation email to you. You must click on the link in that email to finalize the sign-up process. Then, once a day (or more often if you choose that), they will send you emails if any hot deal comes in. Shhh, don’t tell, but I’m currently getting alerts for a Christmas gift for one of my kids.

Refund Makes Cents – I’ve mentioned this site before at http://www.sandwichink.com/up-up-and-away .  I just checked her site and she has some excellent deals listed for digital picture frames that would be wonderful gifts for elderly parents. This is a membership site, however it is well worth the cost. She does offer a free newsletter as well, though, and I highly recommend signing up for that. http://refundcents.com/index.asp?RefID=FMNC

Amazon.com – I love to give books and calendars for Christmas. Using Amazon, I can save time, money and open up the world for the special people in my life. Whether it is a gorgeous Kinkade calendar  for a beloved aunt and uncle or Little House on the Prairie books for darling nieces, nephews, and grandchildren, I can find almost everything I need at Amazon. They carry music CDs, DVDs (we are particularly partial to Max Lucado’s Hermie series for the kids), and even music downloads so you can send the gift by email. I have used Amazon to send groceries, vitamins, cookies, etc. You can purchase toys and game through them. They are wonderfully useful! They even offer free shipping for purchases over $25 although this does not count for items they sell from other companies, so be sure to watch for that.

Well, that’s all for now. How about you? Do you have any favorite shopping resources to share with us? Please leave a comment with your suggestions or email them to Kaye@SandwichINK.com . Thank you