Each year the family swaps holidays with each set of Grandparents. This year we’ll spend Thanksgiving with Ronda’s side of the family and Christmas with my side of the family. Next year we’ll switch holidays. It’s something we’ve always done, long before the kids ever came along and it works for both us, and our families.

With Thanksgiving comes the annual start of the Christmas shopping season and Black Friday. It’s a day I’ve tried to avoid like the plague. I hate crowded malls, the parking nightmare, and hoards of people. While the girls don’t seem to mind the experience, shopping at one set of Grandparents on Black Friday just to transfer it to another set of Grandparents for Christmas does raise the problem of attempting to smuggle it back home in the car so the kids don’t see what we’ve bought. Then there’s the added problem of transporting the presents to and from Grandmothers house for the Christmas holiday. (Can you imagine the shipping charges or airline baggage fees associated with all those presents under the tree?? Yikes!)

I’m happy to report that most of these problems have been resolved this year thanks to shopYTB.

I’ve always been a big fan of shopping online and have been doing it for years. This year, because of what YTB has created for both ourselves, family and friends, we can all eliminate the nightmare of shopping the traditional way this holiday season – along with the added bonus of getting cash back when it’s all said and done. So far, it’s looking as if the shopYTB concept is the start of a new tradition in our family during the holiday season.

What got the ball rolling was my wife and mother who have been planning just what presents to get for the kids this year for Christmas. Mom had found the perfect doll house for Brittany and wanted Ronda to see it. While the two discussed the item over the phone, Ronda went to the internet to look it up online.

Not only were we able to find the item online, but also found one of the better prices through WalMart.com.

As an added bonus for everyone involved – Ronda can access the WalMart.com web site through the shopYTB portal, purchase the doll house, and have this large item transferred (site to store) to the WalMart near my parents for my mother to pick up free of charge. It also keeps the item out of Brittany’s prying eyes and hands here at home and she has no idea it will be sitting under the tree this Christmas.

We’re also finding other items from stores that offer free shipping, which eliminates the need to even hit the crowded stores and malls this Christmas season. In addition, I’ve had the unpleasant experience of hitting several of the same stores because one store was completely out of stock. I’m seeing more and more products offered exclusively online that are not found in stores – expanding the offering with more products to choose from.

While I’m also aware of the extended hours each store operates during the Holiday Season, it still doesn’t beat the 24/7 hours available from the comfort of our own home. Just after the kids went to bed last night, we ordered new bathroom decor for the kids bathroom that they’ve picked out. (A new beach and surf theme, fresh off their cruise experience.)

This year, not only is shopping for Christmas going to be far less of a hassle, but it will be nice to actually receive a check with cash back for doing it this way come the beginning of the year. Each purchase saves money in an assortment of ways.

If you’re like me, it one heck of a deal – and avoids all the hassle of the Christmas shopping season.

Just one more reason and example that makes YTB a great value for me and my entire family!

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Tags: Christmas, Christmas Gift Ideas, shopYTB, Thanksgiving

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under Christmas, Home Based Business, Kids, Thanksgiving, shopYTB. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.