Last year marked the start of a Hallmark holiday of sorts that quickly gained popularity with last-minute holiday shoppers; Free Shipping Day. On Free Shipping Day last year, more than 100,000 shoppers picked up Christmas gifts with free, guaranteed-in-time-for-Christmas shipping at more than 250 retailers including big names like Kohl's, JCPenney, Victoria's Secret and many more.

Thanks to its first year success, Free Shipping Day is back for a second year and as founder Luke Knowles told WalletPop in a phone interview, "Free Shipping Day wants to join the ranks of Black Friday and Cyber Monday as an annual tradition."Luke explained that last year Free Shipping Day came together in a matter of weeks and resulted in a huge interest from both retailers and shoppers. "Now, with a full year of planning for the event," Knowles said in a press release, "we expect to double the number of participating retailers."

This year, expect to see more than 500 retailers participate in what Knowles calls the "perfect shopping event for procrastinators." Free Shipping Day 2009 takes place on Dec. 17th and offers free shipping that's guaranteed to arrive by Christmas Eve day on orders placed Dec. 17th.

All participating retailers will be listed at FreeShippingDay.com and while encouraged to offer free shipping on any size purchase, retailers can choose to limit free shipping to purchases that are over a certain limit so pay attention to the details if you order.