If you decide to go a local mall, make sure you do it during first two weeks of November. You'll avoid majority of Christmas shoppers and you are guaranteed to find what you're looking for at lower prices.

4. Take advantage of Online pre-Christmas Sales.

Most stores offer deep online discounts (up to 70%) on toys, clothing, accessories, gifts, candles, and more before Christmas during months of October and November. They even offer Free Shipping with your order.

5. Buy from comfort of your home.

Every year, more people buy online to save time and money. By buying online, you'll be able to see every item on every gift category you're interested in without hassle of searching a whole store or waiting in long lines, only to find out that what you're looking for is not available or is overpriced.

You'll also receive items you purchased early, giving you time to wrap them in advance.

The Christmas Season should be spent with family and friends instead of worrying about looking for time to go Christmas shopping.

Have a great Holiday Season.

I helped Alice to untangle this group of extended family relationships bit by bit. The first thing we addressed was fact that even though Mike had been a positive role model for her stepsons, he does not have an actual family connection to them. Alice was their stepmother; Mike was only their stepmother's husband. As their former stepmother, Alice's continued relationship with her stepsons is reasonable. While married to Mike, it was appropriate for her to foster a connection between him and her stepsons. However entire basis of that connection is their shared relationship to her. Both of her stepsons are adults now, and both are married. It's a safe bet that they know how to pick up phone and initiate contact with Mike if they want to maintain a relationship with him on their own.

Next, we looked at Alice's relationship with Mike. Had her mother and friend passed away while she was still married to Mike, she would have been entitled to expect him to provide emotional support to help her through grieving process. However, now that she's no longer married to him (and he's married to someone else), she's not entitled to expect emotional support from him. Alice needed to adjust her checklists and her expectations in relationship. She realized that she could no longer relate to Mike as a romantic partner, or even as someone with whom she shares a committed relationship.

Ultimately, she recognized that while she can still maintain a cordial relationship with Mike, he doesn't meet criteria she sets for her friends. If he were truly a friend, he would have offered some support to her when she needed it. Since she can't expect him to be there to support her, she needs to adjust her expectations of relationship. He's not someone on whom she can count for emotional support, and that's perfectly acceptable. Their relationship has evolved. They're still peripherally involved in each other's lives; nature of relationship is more of a pleasant friendship (Alice described it as "neighborly"). Once she adjusted her checklists, she was able to let go of anger she was feeling towards him.