Shopping online for all the birds in the classic "The 12 Days of Christmas" can be an exercise in patience and frustration. Plus it can be darned expensive.

We're sure you heard the big news: It now costs over $107,000 if you were to buy all the items listed in the "12 Days of Christmas" song, according to PNC Wealth Management's annual "Christmas Price Index," or "CPI" as it's so very cleverly referred to. But that's not the whole story, because six of the items in the list are birds.  

What if you really want to buy all those birds for your "true love," and you wanted to buy them them online?

PNC got their numbers for the birds from the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, and they, of course, don't have an online retail store. And where do you get a "French Hen," or a "Calling Bird," let alone four of them? 

Shopping for all the birds in the song online is a real budget buster, especially when you consider shipping. After all, you can't exactly get the supplies for shipping a live goose "a-laying" at Kinko's.

Many of the providers are small farms that have their own websites, and are listed here for example, and for humorous purposes. OK, mainly the latter. Another big caveat is that most hatcheries require you to place your order in advance for the next round of breeding and are already sold out for 2012. It's also a lot easier and cheaper to buy birds as chicks or eggs, and then grow them to size, rather than trying to buy and then having breeders ship an adult bird. For that you're better off driving up to a few farms to fill your order. So, start planning ahead for Christmas 2013!

Also, yes, PNC provides an index showing the online cost of buying these items that's costlier than the main index that gets reported. But it doesn't receive as much attention and we wanted to go check out the online prices ourselves and compare them to the central Christmas Price Index.

Last, owning another living creature is a right and a privilege and you shouldn't place any real orders, let alone as a joke, unless the recipient can truly care for it as long as they own it. 

That said, ho ho ho and fa la la la la, let's dive in.

7 Swans-a-Swimming

Swans mate for life, so to get seven you're going to need to buy eight. Maybe you can use the extra as backup in case one of the swans is a poor swimmer. Purelypoultry.com is a site for a small farm in Fremont, Wis., that also subcontracts orders to other hatcheries and breeders. It's like drop shipping for cygnets instead of cellphones. They sell pairs of black-necked swans directly online for $4,500, with a $400 shipping cost. Not to your doorstep, however, but to your local post office. It's not exactly the kind of item you can leave next to the newspaper and stable boy statue.

Let's not forget either that the swans are supposed to be "a-swimming." For that, you can get four kiddie pools on Amazon for $79.96. You need four because swans are very territorial. The National Aviary quoted $7,000, an 11.1 percent increase from last year, but our online shopping cart total came to $19,679.96.

The cost of this one item alone means you'll be well over $107,000 if you were to buy up all the items in the "12 days of Christmas" song.

6 Geese-A-Laying

There's a big problem with this part of the tune. Geese usually lay their eggs in the spring, and Christmas is usually in December. And by usually I mean always. So tell your true love that these geese will be "a-laying" in a few months from now.

Another note of discord is that in order to get six geese making goslings, you'll need a dozen geese in all. Six females, and six male partners, as geese are monogamous. At metzerfarms.com, they're sold out for 2012, so you might as well place an order for twelve goslings and grow them to size in time for the next holiday season. Prices for 2013 aren't set yet, but in 2012 it was twelve Roman Tufted goslings for $16.09 each, plus free shipping! That beats the National Aviary quoted price of $210 -- a 29.6 percent increase from last year, by the way, reflecting this year's drought and the ensuing skyrocketing price of grain. Total: $193.08

4 Calling Birds

What the heck is a "calling bird?" In the oldest extant written version of the song, the items in this verse were listed as "canary birds." Later versions switched it to "colly birds," "colly" being a term for "coal-covered," i.e. "blackbirds." That's sort of a weird holiday gift, so let's stick with those cute little chirpers. 

It was hard to find a reputable-looking online store selling canaries but there are a slew of private breeders. Caveat emptor in this dodgy world full of shady characters, so check out their selling history and ask for references. The cost range was $60-$100 per bird, plus around $40 shipping. Total: $280-$560, which means the National Aviary's price of $519.96 came in at the high end.

Their price was the same last year, perhaps reflecting stability and low costs in the domestic coal market.

3 French Hens

Hens? We got those. What makes a French hen? Does it wear a beret? Well how about the "Houdan," a breed of hen native to France, boasting an eye-catching mottled plumage, a large crest that makes it look like it's going to a masquerade ball, and five toes instead of the usual four. The French, always on the avante-garde of fashion.

Billing itself as "The Web's Source for Waterfowl, Chickens, and Game Birds," eFowl.com sells a minimum order of fifteen chicks for $2.59 each, plus a $9.99 small order charge for being under 26 chicks. Like the geese, you'll need to acquire these for the spring and raise them for your true love's holiday package by winter. Rearing them yourself and absorbing the corn costs handily saves you $116.16 off the Christmas Price Index. Total: $48.44

2 Turtle Doves

Turtle doves are a bit harder to come by. Strombergschickens.com listed pairs for $215 shipped, a bit pricier than the CPI listing of $125, but their farm isn't selling them anymore. However, a nationwide search of Craigslist turned up a guy in Michigan selling the deuce for $12. He didn't respond to inquiries about shipping, so we're left to assume you have to pick them up yourself. Total: $12, plus cost of plane ticket and car rental.

And a partridge... 

If you want to order partridges online, you'll have to get them as a chick or an egg, and you can't get just one. Every site we saw had a minimum of 30-50 partridges. Cacklehatchery had 30 at $2.67 each for $80.10, plus $23.10 shipped at 1 day of age and a guaranteed 2-3 day delivery. Total: $103.20, a bit more dear than the the CPI's $15.

...in a pear tree.

One 6-7 ft Ayers Pear Tree, large enough to support the weight of a partridge, could be had at The Nursery at Ty Ty for $59.75 plus $20 shipping. The CPI's cost listing was $189.99. Our Total: $79.75.

marblesthebrainstore.com

36 Cube is a game that challenges the mind. Think 3-D Sudoku.

You don’t need to spend a lot to find nice holiday gifts for everyone on your list. You just need to know where to shop. The editors at ShopSmart magazine searched the web and found 25 sites that have unique gifts for $25 or less.

“A lot of gift guides start at $50, but we thought we should go lower,” said deputy editor Jody Rohlena.

“We looked for websites that people may not know about that offer a variety of great gifts at the $25 price point.”

Here’s a sample of what they found and recommend:

MarblesTheBrainStore.com lets you give the gift of intelligence for both kids and adults. The games and puzzles they sell are fun, but meant to build brainpower and increase creative thinking. A few examples: the Modern Art Memory Game, 36 Cube (think 3-D Sudoku) and Solitaire Chess.

Hipcycle.com specializes in green gifts that anyone would like. Everything it sells is made from stuff that would have gone to the landfill. They call this “upcycling.” The items are cute, clever and unusual. For less than $25 you can get a colorful bracelet crafted from reclaimed tin, picture frames built with old shipping pallets or a cheese platter made from a flattened wine bottle. ShopSmart ordered a bowl made out of chopsticks. “It’s beautiful,” Rohlena told me. “The chopsticks were arranged so artfully. You have to see it to believe it." 

SetBoutique.com features a wonderful assortment of clothing, jewelry, bags and housewares from socially responsible manufacturers: bowls carved in Kenya, organic cotton tunics from Peru and silk handbags made in Cambodia. Spend $20 or more and the site will donate $5 to the charity of your choice.

Pier1.com is what you’d expect from this well-known retailer. This new website sells Pier 1’s eclectic mix of merchandise: from elf aprons to flashing lightbulb earrings. They also have a large selection of unusual salt and pepper shakers, including nutcrackers, chubby cats and flying pigs. For just $8, ShopSmart bought “gorgeous” brass candle snuffers, hand-crafted in India.

Wag.com has reasonably priced pet products for the furry friend on your gift-giving list. Whether it’s a hoodie for the pooch, a mouse-shaped rope toy for the cat or a hand-woven bungalow for the rabbit in your life, they’ve got you covered.

OldTimeCandy.com specializes in retro candy. And who wouldn’t want to get a box of candy from their childhood for a gift? Choose from a variety of old favorites:  Pop Rocks, Mary Janes, Atomic Fireballs, Turkish Taffy, Pixy Stix, Bit-O-Honey,  Zagnut, Goo Goo Clusters and many more sweet treats. Pick a favorite or put together your own collections. Smart Shop got two pounds of candy for $24.

Vat19.com sells what it describes as “curiously awesome” products. These tongue-in-check gifts include a giant Gummy Bear on a stick (90 times bigger than the original), a flying alarm clock and a wine glass large enough to hold all the wine in the bottle.

Because ShopSmart is published by Consumer Reports, every recommended site has been vetted to make sure it’s a legitimate business, has a good privacy policy and user-friendly customer service. The editors also ordered several items from each site to see the merchandise themselves.

“25 Great Sites for Gifts Under $25” is in the December issue of ShopSmart Magazine.

Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.

More money news:

• Cowabunga, dude! Retro toys are hot this holiday season
• Dangers on toy shelves: Dora's guitar, balloon launcher 
• Check out the 2013 toy of the year nominees 
• Video: Say 'no' to debt: Give holiday gifts that matter
• Sign up for our TODAY newsletter

Follow TODAY Money on Twitter and Facebook 

Leah-Anne Thompson

Is it a good idea to give the boss a holiday gift?

Holiday gift exchanges at work can be veritable political minefields, and few are trickier to navigate than the question of "gifting up" -- giving the boss a gift.

Some employers may expect gifts from their employees. Others may disdain them. And when it comes to how the boss treats the employees, some employers land squarely on the "nice" list and others on the "naughty."

Sherri Athay, author of “Present Perfect: Unforgettable Gifts for Every Occasion,” generally advises employees not to get the boss a present. However, she says that small gifts, such as baked goods, are appropriate.

April Masini, who pens the online advice column, AskApril.com, cautions that it’s important to understand your workplace’s culture.

“If you're not sure, ask around. Some companies are very easygoing about gifting up and anything goes. Others frown on it. And still others expect it,” Masini told TODAY Money. "This kind of etiquette isn't going to be in a human resources handout. Use your social skills to figure out your company's unwritten rules.” 

While the experts say skip it, or at least proceed with caution, employees also have mixed feelings about giving the boss a gift.

“I’ve never done this or wanted to – then, my last boss was a really bad one, a bully," said Susan Moon of Seattle. "My current boss is terrific, I have more appreciation because of my immediate prior bad experience, and I’m finding myself wanting to find a small gift to 'gift up' this year.” 

Most employees who were comfortable with the idea of giving the boss a gift felt it should be more of a token gift rather than a big, under-the-tree type of present. “I usually just bring snacks for the staff and our boss on holiday weeks. They are all men, so they would eat anything I bring, but they always make me feel as though I saved the day when I bring food to work,” said Megan Okerstrom of San Angelo, Texas.

Where employees can really start to get resentful when it comes to gifting up is when bosses seem to expect (or at least accept) large, lavish gifts. “It still makes me mad that my co-workers at the dental office expected us to give $50 to get our bosses stuff like a new camera and a Longchamp bag," said Ky Ivany of Pomfret, Vt. "They were dentists; I think they can afford their own cameras.” 

Of course, the best gifts are priceless. “I like to give my boss the gift of pretending to care about my job every day,” said Jeff Mac of Albuquerque, N.M.

The type of organization you work for can have a lot to do with the practice of gifting up. Those in the military, who work for the government or who are members of unions are likely to find the practice frowned upon, if not banned outright.

Even if you leave the service, you might find some of those values sticking with you, come gift time. “My attitudes were formed in the Army, but I think they are universal,” said Rob Mood of Houston. “Demanding or even accepting 'stuff' from subordinates is a sure sign of abysmal leadership and probably much more rot at the heart.”

While some employers may enjoy or even expect gifts from their subordinates, others are uncomfortable with the idea. “From the perspective of a boss, don't buy me anything,” said Maggie Reed of Davenport, Iowa. “I am a firm believer in the separation of boss and employee for ethical reasons." 

Jody Gowdy of Maple Valley, Wash., echoed those sentiments. "I would never expect something and honestly find it uncomfortable when it has happened in years past. We give the employees something every year as a thank you for job well done. But I would say no."

If you do decide to give a present to the boss, experts have some advice on how to do it gracefully. “Make sure you keep it humble and a token of your appreciation," Masini advises. "It's inappropriate to 'one up' your boss's gift. It may make your boss feel uncomfortable.”  

Masini also notes that employees should make sure any gift is in line with their salary. "If you make minimum wage, and you give your boss an Hermes scarf or a ... bottle of champagne, they're going to think they're paying you too much or you're terrible with money.” 

Masini also warns employees to make sure to gift in the proper chain of command. "In other words, don't gift jump by ignoring your immediate boss, and gifting your boss's boss. Gift jumping is bad politics and will yield you in hot water.” 

How do you feel about the practice of gifting up? Tell us about it on Facebook.

Dana Macario is a Seattle-area writer who likes a small gift for a good boss – when you get a good one, it’s nice to let them know.

More money news:

• Cowabunga, dude! Retro toys are hot this holiday season
• Dangers on toy shelves: Dora's guitar, balloon launcher
• Check out the 2013 toy of the year nominees
• Video: Say 'no' to debt: Give holiday gifts that matter
• Sign up for our TODAY newsletter

Follow TODAY Money on Twitter and Facebook

Maybe “Cyber Week” would be a better name.

Just as Black Friday spilled over into Thanksgiving night, Cyber Monday has gone from being a one-day event to a tentpole for more than a week’s worth of promotions and discounts. Online sales on Thanksgiving, historically not a banner day for e-commerce, jumped 17 percent, according to research conducted by IBM. On Black Friday, online sales grew by 21 percent.

As of noon ET on Cyber Monday, onlines sales were up 24.1 percent compared to last year, according to data from  International Business Machines Corp. In 2011, the early Cyber Monday year-over-year growth was 15 percent. IBM tracks transaction data from 500 U.S. retail websites.

This year’s kickoff to the holiday shopping season was intensely competitive, with retailers offering price-matching and pricing merchandise aggressively. Shoppers responded, spending $59.1 billion over Black Friday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation. Research company comScore said online shoppers spent a record $1 billion on Black Friday and predicted that today’s sales will hit $1.5 billion.

For the past couple of years, stores have pushed their Black Friday openings earlier in a bid to get shoppers off their computers and into stores. With stores opening as early as 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving this year, online retail upped the ante and started promotional blitzes even earlier.

Cyber Monday was first conceived in 2005, two years before the iPhone even existed. Today, ubiquity of smartphones and tablets also makes this spillover inevitable, as users comparison-shopped electronically even while in brick-and-mortar stores over the long weekend. And thanks to widespread penetration of residential broadband access, Americans don’t have to wait to get back to the office on Monday to have the entire Internet at their fingertips.

“Consumers shopped in store, online and on mobile devices simultaneously to get the best bargains,” IBM’s report noted.

“[Cyber Monday] continues to be strong, and what's happening is that we're seeing just more shift to the web channel overall even on other days like Black Friday and Thanksgiving,” said Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru.

Amazon.com is a big likely winner for Cyber Monday sales, said Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at the NPD Group. “They’re doing a really good job of suggestive selling. They’re making the site much more efficient,” he said. “You have to basically put them in the forefront.”

Analysts had high hopes for big-box stores including Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy, and said retailers with a strong online counterpart to their physical stores, like J. Crew, Ann Taylor, Apple and Williams-Sonoma, were in a good position to take advantage of Cyber Monday shopping. 

In an interview with CNBC Europe, Eric Abensur, group CEO of Venda, said that savvy retailers could avoid the threat of cannibalizing sales by using online and mobile promotions to drive customers to their physical stores, while other analysts said the strong showing over the weekend could be at today’s expense.

“Our sense is that while today is still the major day of the cyber period, it may not be off-the-charts historic,” said Joe Feldman, a senior analyst at Telsey Advisory Group. Feldman said overall spending is likely to grow over last year, but consumers are spreading out their purchases over a much longer time period than before.

“What we’re seeing is the front loading of the holiday business,” Cohen said. He said the early promotional hype could backfire if consumers’ appetite for spending fades. “They’ve sort of shot themselves in the foot.”

But Andrew Lipsman, vice president of industry analysis at comScore, Inc., disagreed with that assessment. “I think it's a misconception that Thanksgiving or Black Friday promotions must pull from Cyber Monday,” he said. “They may pull dollars from later in the season or represent incremental spending.”

More money news:

• Cowabunga, dude! Retro toys are hot this holiday season
• Dangers on toy shelves: Dora's guitar, balloon launcher
• Check out the 2013 toy of the year nominees
• Video: Say 'no' to debt: Give holiday gifts that matter
• Sign up for our TODAY newsletter

Follow TODAY Money on Twitter and Facebook

toysrus.com

Remember Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? They're back, and retailers are betting they'll be big this holiday season.

Nostalgia sells. 

At least that's what toy manufacturers and retailers are hoping this holiday season. Former Generation Y hit toys like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers and Furby are surging in popularity this year, contrary to the assumption that all kids care about today are toys with screens.

On Monday, the Toy Industry Association released its nominees for its 2013 Toy of the Year Awards. In the running for “e-connected toy of the year” is Hasbro’s Furby, a robotic critter that first debuted nine years before the iPhone was invented. This year’s iteration has an iOS app.

toysrus.com

Hasbro's Furby, a robotic critter that first debuted nine years before the iPhone was invented, is on top toy lists this holiday season.

Furby also landed on both the girls’ and boys’ lists in the National Retail Federation’s 2012 Top Toys survey at number three and number nine, respectively.

Slideshow: Hot holiday toys for 2012

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles make multiple appearances on the Toy Industry Association’s list, nominated in the categories of top toy for boys and most successful brand growth for the year.

Experts say there are a few reasons why these blasts from the past are suddenly hot again.

Retro toys “tend to be more popular in times of economic difficulty,” said Gerrick Johnson, equity research analyst at BMO Capital Markets. “On both the supply and demand side, they’re safe,” he said. “You know it worked for one generation of kids.”

Parents with tight holiday shopping budgets might gravitate toward toys they remember enjoying a generation earlier. ”This year’s top toys... have some staying power, meaning children won’t get bored with them within a few weeks,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.

Toys typically resurface in 20- to 25-year cycles, Johnson said. Companies calculate that adults who see familiar characters or games on store shelves will be in the right age range to have kids that can discover them for the first time.

“There’s no doubt that shelf recognition helps,” said Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of industry analysis for the NPD Group. “It’s equally a familiarity factor."

And although parents remember them, old-school toys are new and exciting for today’s kids, said Toy Industry Association trend specialist Adrienne Appell. “Sometimes the nostalgia and the back-to-basics factor is a 'wow' factor for the kids because they’re so used to the technology,” she said. “It’s what parents are comfortable with.”

They’re also cheaper to produce. “A lot of these toy companies that bring back retro toys, it’ll be less expensive for them to do so,” Johnson said, because the R&D investment has already been made.

Although brands are counting on the nostalgia of Gen Y parents to fuel demand, they’re not relying on it entirely. Earlier this year, Nickelodeon released a new "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" television series. The Power Ranger franchise is reintroducing many of its classic characters in a new season on Nickelodeon timed to coincide with its 20th anniversary early next year. In a release last month, owner Saban Brands said the launch would be supported by “a robust global consumer products campaign, character appearances, retail promotions and advertising.”

Classic toys are filling a vacuum in the market. Thanks to the economy, there just aren’t as many potential new breakout hits this year. "Innovation has been somewhat lacking," Johnson said.

Toys take a long time to go from an inventor’s sketchbook to store shelves. Development, manufacturing and shipping from China — where most toys are produced — adds up to an 18- to 24-month lead time. To be in people’s shopping carts now, a toy would have had to be green-lighted as early as late 2010. Back then, the NRF predicted a meager 2.3 percent increase in holiday sales over 2009, so companies shied away from big investments that might not pay off.

What’s more, manufacturers and retailers have to forecast months in advance which toys will be hot for the upcoming holiday season. Even though economic indicators are inching up, they’re unwilling to risk getting it wrong and having to slash prices when the new year rolls around.

“There’s less risk in terms of returns or not utilizing shelf space well” by sticking with proven franchises, Crupnick said.

By 2014, Johnson said new toys will probably be popping up on store shelves as toy companies regain confidence in the market and start investing in the search for the next big hit. But there’s probably still one more holiday season of retro toys ahead of us.

“We’re seeing this trend likely to continue and intensify in the coming year,” Appell said. Parents who hung onto boxes of childhood memorabilia might very well have next year’s most sought-after toy buried at the bottom.

More money news:

• Dangers on toy shelves: Dora's guitar, balloon launcher
• Check out the 2013 toy of the year nominees
• Video: Hardcore shoppers line up for Black Friday
• Sign up for our TODAY newsletter

Follow TODAY Money on Twitter and Facebook

The holiday season is almost here, and shopping online is likely to remain a popular alternative to the department store. The analytics company comScore said in a press release that consumers spent $35.3 billion online between November 1 and December 26, 2011, a 15 percent increase over the same period the previous year.

Online shopping offers a safe and comfortable respite from unruly crowds, but it has its own hazards. Many people who have gifts shipped to them have the packages left at their doorsteps by their carriers, and these unattended parcels prove irresistible to thieves, who need to do nothing more than walk away with them when no one’s looking.

The most obvious way to prevent this is not to have packages delivered to your home in the first place, and have them delivered to your workplace or a post office box instead. However, not everyone has these options.

“Companies don't want the mail room logistical issues or potential liability issues that come from handling employees' personal packages,” NCR Corp. Public Relations Manager Mark Scott said in an e-mail. However, he said that some companies offer options for their customers who can’t get packages at work and don’t want to rent a post office box, but don’t want to risk having them stolen off of their porches either.

“One thing many retailers are now implementing is order-online/pick-up in-store,” he said. “Customers can go to the retailer's web site, order a product and select an option of having it available at a nearby store.”

One online retailer that helps its customers negotiate this potential theft problem is the e-commerce giant Amazon.com. It has introduced Amazon Locker, a service that allows products ordered through the website to be delivered to secure locations, such as participating 7-11 stores.

Customers choosing this option choose a location by address, zip code or nearby landmark during the checkout process. When the package is delivered, the customer receives a pick-up code by e-mail or text message, which he or she uses to open the locked compartment where the package has been delivered.

There are limitations to what can be delivered via this option. Package dimensions cannot exceed 11.8 x 11.8 x 11.8 inches, and its weight cannot exceed 10 pounds, so that flat-screen TV with 5.1 surround-sound speakers and separate subwoofer is sadly ineligible. However, the service is ideal for the delivery of phones, mp3 players, cameras and other products that represent an expensive loss when stolen.

There are also the tried and true methods of package security that have worked for decades prior to the invention of e-commerce, such as making arrangements with a neighbor to accept packages for you. You can also ask the U.S. Postal Service to hold your mail if you anticipate being away while a package is being delivered.

Finally, if you don’t receive a package that you were expecting, it may not be that it was stolen from in front of your house—you may be the victim of mail fraud. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service recommends that you first contact the shipper to make sure the items were sent correctly. If they were, it is recommended that you immediately file a complaint with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Related CNBC.com stories:

A stress-free holiday is only one app away

Dear bargain hunters: Don’t be a turkey on Black Friday

Holiday tipping guide 2012

Even as most kids are still sorting through their trick or treat bags, major retailers are already turning their attention toward another favorite time of year for kids: The winter holidays.

The holiday shopping season – long crucial to most retailers’ financial success or failure – is starting earlier and earlier, especially online.

As of Halloween morning, retailers such as Amazon.com and Toyrus.com are already featuring holiday toys lists prominently on their home pages. Wal-Mart’s website was touting ways to get your home ready for the holidays alongside a last-minute Halloween costume promotion.

In all, the National Retail Federation said more than six in 10 online retailers were starting holiday promotions before Halloween.

Some may grouse about seeing Christmas trees in October, but a significant minority of shoppers do start  thinking early about holiday shopping. Retail analysts at NPD Group expect that more than two in 10 shoppers will start their holiday shopping by Thanksgiving, a slight increase from last year.

Nearly four in 10 plan to do holiday shopping online, about the same as last year, according to NPD.

Still, the presidential election – and more recently, Superstorm Sandy – are probably a bigger distraction to people right now. C. Britt Beemer, a retail analyst with America's Research Group, said his recent polling has found that to be the case.

"Over half the country said they had to get through this presidential election before they could even think about Christmas," he said.

The early promotions - along with other discounts, free shipping deals and limited-time offers - are among the ways online-only retailers are trying to get an edge over traditional retailers' promotions such as Black Friday.

For retailers with both an online and a physical presence, experts say it's a way to entice shoppers to buy from them whether they are at the mall, using their smart phone or on their laptop. 

"They’re really starting to realize that it’s a total picture. You can’t just pay attention to online or brick and mortar," said Vicki Cantrell, executive director of shop.org, the digital division of the National Retail Federation.

There are good deals to be had online, especially as we get closer to the holidays. But Beemer said consumers can still expect to get a good deal the old-fashioned way: By getting up really, really early on Black Friday and heading to a traditional store.

"There’s nothing better than those early bird specials," he said.

But Black Friday may not be such a good deal for those who aren't willing to wake up at the crack of dawn, and cost-conscious consumers have gotten more savvy about using online tools to compare prices and hold out for the best deal.

Cantrell said consumers are increasingly thinking of the period from Thanksgiving day to the Monday after Thanksgiving as an elongated shopping period, where they may shop online or in person, depending on what is cheapest and most convenient.

Overall, experts are predicting a decent holiday season as consumers grow a little less nervous about the economy, The National Retail Federation is estimating that sales will increase 4.1 percent, to $586.1 billion.

Many people used to think of layaway as that relic of the past that your grandmother used during the Great Depression.

But the weak economy and  an increasing interest in keeping down credit card debt has pushed the holiday savings plan back into the spotlight.

Retailers including Kmart, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us are offering special deals and discounts aimed at getting people to start using layaway early.

Experts say layaway can be a good way to get customers into stores early, for shoppers it can be cheaper than using a credit card. But others note that those shoppers may be better off just saving money on their own, if they have a savings account, and holding out for late-season discounts.

Related:

Big retailers offering free pre-holiday layaway

To get into the holiday spirit, most people prefer the mall.

To get their holiday shopping done most easily, they prefer going online.

And to get the best deals on holiday gifts? A new survey finds that consumers are about equally divided on whether the best price can be found online or in person.

The survey from StrategyOne finds that 87 percent of people think shopping at a retail outlet is the best way to get into the holiday spirit. But 74 percent say the easiest way to get your holiday shopping done is to go online.

The survey of more than 1,000 people, conducted between Nov. 29 and Dec. 1, found that 52 percent thought the best deals could be found online, while the rest thought they could save more money shopping in person.

Although there are clear perks to online shopping, the survey found that most people – 59 percent – prefer actually shopping at stores.

Still, online holiday shopping is growing in popularity. ComScore said Wednesday that consumers spent $17.5 billion online between Nov. 1 and Dec. 5, up 12 percent from last year. More than $1 billion of that was spent on the Monday after Thanksgiving, dubbed Cyber Monday because many companies offer online sales and deals.

Maybe you were too much of a traditionalist to shop on Thanksgiving, and perhaps you opted to sleep in rather than brave the crowds on Black Friday.

But now it's Cyber Monday - the day when many online retailers are offering big holiday promotions - and you are finding yourself drawn by the siren call of shopping.

There are plenty of cyber shopping deals out there, on Monday and further into the week, but it pays to make sure you are getting a good one.

WalletPop has five tips for getting a deal on Cyber Monday. Among them: Compare prices to make sure another website isn’t going to give you an even better price, use coupon sites and read up on reviews to make sure you are getting the best quality product for the price.

Readers, are you shopping on Cyber Monday? Click here to vote and discuss.

The holiday season is here, and the shopping must get done, but most workers say they will avoid the temptation of shopping online while at work, according to a survey out Monday.

Nearly one-third of workers surveyed by the staffing firm Randstad said the biggest work-related mistake you can make during the holiday season is to do holiday shopping on company time.

The vast majority said they will limit their holiday gift buying, online or otherwise, to non-work hours, although about a quarter  those surveyed said they planned to engage in online shopping during work hours. The survey of about 1,000 workers was conducted a few weeks ago.

In a separate survey by staffing firm Adecco, only 14 percent said they plan to do any online shopping during work hours. That survey of about 1,000 people was conducted in mid-November.

The recession and recovery has left many workers working harder – in some cases for less money – and nervous about job security. That could be mean they are are anxious about the possible consequences of spending any work time on non-work activities, such as shopping. Or perhaps they simply don’t have the time.

Still, it's somewhat surprising. For years, the idea that people would indulge in a little online shopping during work hours was so ingrained that it even got its own day: Cyber Monday, the first work day after the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

These days, however, many more people have high-speed Internet and computers at home. Online retailers also have started promoting virtual sales long before that Monday, with some encouraging shoppers to hop online on Thanksgiving evening or even earlier.