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This is why online shopping was invented! I try to do most of mine online. I usually have a bunch of vacation time to use up in December, so whatever I don't get online, I buy on my days off, early in the morning before the crowds gather. I work/get my bus near Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall & Fifth Ave. Needless to say, as much as I enjoy the holiday season, I'm so sick of being bumped into, I'm glad to see it end.

Just be thankful you're not a woman. Try buying stuff in stores from registries for bridal & baby showers. Before the internet, you actually had to go in the store, find the registry and buy the item. After one such adventure for a bridal shower, a friend and I were going to start a business where scantily clad men would serve hors d'oeuvres and drinks and parade housewares around so we could buy the gifts for the bridal shower in a more comfortable environment. :D But then the internet registries started so we never got past the planning stage.