gifts

Retailers should be swooning this year: Spending for the lover's holiday is forecast to top $18.6 billion, a 5.8% jump in spending over 2010. That amounts to about $125 per person who buys a gift for that special someone.

While it may sound more Scrooge than Santa Claus, Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, has filed a patent for technology that would allow customers to return -- or "convert" -- gifts they don't like, even before they actually arrive.

When you were deciding what to do with your holiday shopping budget, you may have followed the prevailing advice for making your recipients happy and spent on experiences, not items. this season. But did you consider a possibly more important gift-giving goal than even the fun togetherness of...

Retail sales have perked up, but consumers aren't resuming their old habit of using credit cards to splurge on gifts. According to a new poll, more than half of American adults say they're sticking with cash this holiday shopping season.

Even Santa is feeling the pain of the recession this holiday season. To help relieve some of the strain on your wallet, consider making gifts for friends and family. You can throw most of these presents together in a few hours, and none of them will set you back more than $20. 1. Stylish Wine...

When it comes to holiday gift-giving, I love to make gifts that are not just unique and expressive of my creativity but can reflect the recipient's personality. But knitting a dozen-and-a-half pairs of mittens for my boys and all my nieces and nephews would keep me busy from July right up to New...

For anyone old enough to have ever had a Sears catalog at home, the memory of being a child and circling the toys they wanted for Christmas is a strong one. Sears printed the catalogs from 1896 until 1993, and while the catalogs that millions of children tore into is now long gone, they're...

The headlines that read, "Is Plaid the New Black?" don't refer to the latest craze in fashion (though, coincidentally, plaid is the new black). Instead, it refers to a local-shopping movement started in Oakland, Calif. and taking root in communities across the nation. While Black Friday is named...

While it probably should have done this long ago, Amazon will now let you send an e-book to anyone, Kindle owner or not. The online retail giant's move is aimed at undermining a similar one by rival Kobo -- and shows how hard it is to outmaneuver Amazon in the marketplace.

Enjoy the festivities this gift-buying season by keeping some green in your wallet. Several websites offer customers new approaches to traditional holiday shopping. Use the computer to hunt down the best-suited presents and save cash. As Black Friday draws near, every little tip on comparison...