christmas shoppers

When Emily Russell's sons wake up on Christmas morning, they'll find that Santa left them a note instead of the videogames they requested. Some people have always postponed Christmas celebrations because their jobs don't pause for the holiday. But in the weak economy, folks are delaying Christmas for another reason: money.

Retailers keep getting creative with old concepts to wrest money from reluctant consumers' pockets this holiday season. Now, Home Depot Inc. (HD) is putting an environmental twist on trade-in deals by offering to take back old power drills and Christmas lights in exchange for discounts on new,...