Stace and I did a bunch of our Christmas shopping while we were in Scotland, so the shopping anxiety level is at a new low for me. I hate ending up at Woodfield mall the week before, because mall stuff tends to be pretty generic. If I really panic, I end up buying gift certificates. Eek, nothing says "I don't know you" like an Amazon gift certificate. Buy a free oil change or something. If you don't have ideas, you gotta show some effort.

I've found a few interesting gifts for friends and Stacy online in some channels I wouldn't have thought to look. I still have my Dad to figure out, but that's always a tough one. He does a great job surprising me. He just has a gift for holiday shopping. I think I have a good idea, but I need to do some research on the specifics.

Holiday shopping can be fun. Stay away from the malls and don't cave into gift certificates. Unless it's for your work grabbag and you don't have a clue who Nancy is.