Online Christmas Shopping: Ten of the Best Websites Plus Gift Ideas

It may only be 10th October today but trust me it is not too early to start your Christmas shopping. I do know people though who, by now, already have every card written and addressed, plus each and every present, not only bought, but wrapped and labelled. One person in particular buys from the January sales each year. Now to my mind that's taking organisation to the extreme.

I much prefer to do a little on-line Christmas shopping from October onwards.

Let's face it shopping on-line offers you:-

• Bargains. Shops that also have outlets on the high street often have better deals on-line.
• Goods delivered to your door, sometimes for free.
• 24/7 shopping.
• Shopping from the comfort and warmth of you home.
• No parking or safety issues and no struggles with the elements or other shoppers.

TOP TEN OR IS IT TOP  ELEVEN?

First off then I will give you a link to a good cash-back site that I use. If you use the link and I receive some pennies, thank-you. If you don't well I hope you receive some welcome cash back to ease the burden of Christmas shopping;

1. http://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/EileyTopcashback offers money back from many well known high street retailers. Special offer discounts are also posted on the web site. It can take some time for the cash back to be cleared but after using this site for more than a year I have not experienced any problems.
2. Charity gifts are available on-line in many shapes and forms. Check out the selection for inspiration. It can be so satisfying to give a gift and have the added bonus of helping those in need. Adopt an animal, buy gifts from a charity or fill shoe boxes with small toys for distribution in countries such as Romania. Do not go mad though like we did and buy masses of expensive gifts to put into the boxes for orphan children. The website offers good advice so that each child's shoe box is similarly filled.
3. Want to buy a gift that is a little off the wall? Try this website. It has a wonderful, strange selection of Christmas gifts on-line. From antiques to toys to lingerie the choice is vast.
4. For those recipients who love a good read you cannot go far wrong with Waterstones. This great high street bookstore offers great choice on-line and free delivery when you spend more than £10 currently.
5. Sometimes you just want to buy something a little quirky as a Christmas gift. Peculiar Stuff has lots of unusual.sports related items suitable for Christmas gifts.
6. These days of course it is possible to buy a special day out as a Christmas gift. This UK website offers a selection of days out from Theatre visits, tours of your favourite football clubs to a journey on an old steam train.
7. For those who have little disposable income at Christmas, value will be the prime consideration. Cheap does not have to mean boring or tacky though. Check out the random shop for good value inspiration.
8. So still on the theme of saving money take a look at overstock. This website has a great selection of gifts from household to personal items. Anything and everything that you might need for your Christmas gifts will be available. It is an American website but offers UK delivery also. Shop early though to avoid disappointment.
9. For those friends and family member who are computer crazy there are a wealth of gifts to choose from. The Simpson Family on a mouse-mat, a computer mouse in the shape of a football, a new microphone or even photo printer paper are all possibilities. None of these will break the bank but if you want to spend more what about virus software or an external hard drive?. In the UK Maplin has some great offers. You will find that Maplins also stock quite a few electrical and electronic items also.
10. I Want One Of Those offers a selection of gifts for all ages. Robot kits, retro sweets in a hamper and digital photo albums are but a few of the gifts on offer.
11. Sending gifts to those that live across the world is never easy. If you are lucky enough not to need to count the pennies, dollars or pounds why not shop at Harrods? The choice here is vast. You may find though that some items are available elsewhere but a little cheaper. Still Harrods wrapping should impress the recipient. Harrods do offer more gifts that are exclusive, also.

So there you have ten, or as it ended up eleven, of the best as far as choice goes. I hope that they are all honest traders. Having only dealt with some of them I cannot rest my reputation on the fact that they are. Obviously retailers such as Maplins and Harrods have a long standing reputation.

Make sure that if you are using on-line shops, for your Christmas shopping, the shops involved have secure payment facilities. If you register at the site only give out the minimum amount of personal information. If you feel that they are requesting too much information shop elsewhere.

Further gift ideas include:-

• Seasonal flowers.
• Food hampers than contain luxury items.
• For older people perhaps a regular food hamper would be useful.
• Nintendo games.
• Wii games
• Blank CDs or DVDs
• Cinema tickets for a season or the like.
• Theatre tickets to a favourite show.
• Collector's items.
• Music lessons
• Dance lessons
• Membership to a club.
• Pampering at a local Spa or Health Club.
• A pedicure and manicure treatment.
• A gift voucher.

These days most of us have many hobbies and interests. Try to think about the person you are buying for and not simply grab the first box of smellies that is within your price range. Work out your budget if you need to and set a limit for each gift. Once you have considered the person and their activities make a short list of gifts that they would love.

With this in hand get busy on the Internet. Even if you decide to shop on the High Street eventually the Internet will give you the research tools available. However with such a vast choice on-line why make shopping a chore?

If you put the thought into your gift shopping this year could be the one when all your recipients receive exactly what they want. Gifts that please come in all shapes and sizes. One of my most successful gifts was a plastic, submarine shaped radio that was for use in the bath. The 50 odd year old, male, recipient was over the moon as it brought back childhood memories of a similar looking toy. The gift was not expensive and was bought as a little extra, so you never can tell, can you?