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Here .coms Santa Claus

In an ideal world, all anyone would want for Christmas is their two front teeth, and maybe world peace if your name isn’t George W. Bush. And if gifts absolutely had to be exchanged, the thought would actually count as much as the price tag.

In an ideal world, all anyone would want for Christmas is their two front teeth, and maybe world peace if your name isn’t George W. Bush. And if gifts absolutely had to be exchanged, the thought would actually count as much as the price tag.

Unfortunately we live in the age of crass commercialism. We are expected to give until it hurts, and receive in kind.

In addition, we are expected to intuitively know exactly what the people we give gifts to want. If we miss the mark, that goes to show that we; A) are thoughtless; B) were not listening; C) are cheap; or D) left things to the last minute.

That’s a lot of pressure to handle on a good year when you’re at home and can do your Christmas shopping right up until stores close on Christmas Eve. But if you find yourself living in Whistler, thousands of kilometres away from your family and friends, then the pressure is really on.

Unless you send your gifts by courier or express post – or celebrate the orthodox Ukrainian holidays – you have about a week left for Christmas shopping if you crossed an ocean to be here, and less two weeks left if you’re from anywhere on the continent.

Ordinarily this would be a good time to panic, but fortunately the Internet can help you with shopping, shipping, and even your Christmas cards.

Shopping

The Internet is one big mall where you can buy virtually anything, only better There are no parking lots, crowds or store greeters to avoid. You don’t have to listen to muzak. It’s open around the clock, and you don’t need shoes, shirts or even pants to get service.

There is one catch – shopping online often requires you to put your credit card and mailing information online.

I’ve done this a dozen times, and have yet to be burned. The only drawback is that once I spent money online, the word got out pretty fast and the number of spam e-mails I received easily quadrupled.

Consumers have to realize that their credit card numbers are already out there. Restaurants keep records, airlines and gas stations keep records. They don’t send their records back and forth over the Internet, but they are in an electronic form somewhere, and thus vulnerable to hackers. Even the major financial institutions get hacked now and then for information.

However, if you’re worried then you should know that there are lots of different ways of paying online without using a credit card. If you do use a credit card, some systems are safer than others.

To learn about the different online payment services out there, visit the Network and Telecommunications Research Group and a page by Michael Pierce at http://ntrg.cs.tcd.ie/mepeirce/Project/oninternet.html that catalogues more than 100 types of Internet payment services.

Most Web sites will try to steer you towards a partner processor, but they are flexible.

There are a number of interesting tricks as well, such as the ability to purchase a credit card number that is good for one use only from Orbiscom ( www.orbiscom.com) . The only catch is that you have to use your credit card to purchase the number.

A smart consumer will also check a company’s privacy policy before shopping there. If it’s not posted on the Web site, don’t make any purchases from there unless you’re prepared to delete 50 spam e-mails a day from your inbox.

Another smart move would be to find out whether your credit card protects you from online fraud by calling you to verify any purchases before giving authorization. Most credit cards will offer this service for an annual fee, which might be worth paying if you use your credit card often to shop online. Some cards will offer it for free, or as part of your annual fees.

It’s also a good idea to find out what a credit card’s policy is if fraud somehow occurs. You can’t have too much insurance these days.

Shipping

Canada Post ( www.canadapost.ca ) does just fine and at a reasonable price when it comes to the holidays, providing you give the home team a reasonable amount of time to get from point A to point B.

If you’re running late, you can ship your gifts by Xpresspost and track them all the way to the North Pole and back. It costs more, but you probably should have thought of that before you left your shopping to the last possible minute.

That’s of course if you buy your gifts in Canada. Another basic online shopping rule to keep in mind is to always consider the source – if you live in Australia, buy from Australian Web sites. The product will be found in an Australian warehouse, and shipped by the Australian postal service, courier service or kangaroo for less money, and far less time.

If gifts are expensive, then you might want to consider purchasing insurance and sending them via registered mail.

Christmas Cards

For some reason the civilized thing to do on Christmas and birthdays is to open the card before the gift and make a big fuss over it. I guess the purpose is to hide our greed, and prove we’re worthy by demonstrating self-control, and proper appreciation for the gift in the spirit it was given. This goes against every fibre of our beings, and is a complete ruse, but it’s mandatory.

You could always go the environmental route, however, and send an e-Card ( www.ecard.com , www.123Greetings.com ) instead. If anyone calls you on it, just mention the fact that the rainforests are disappearing and that pulp and paper mills are majors polluters of coastal rivers. Inks are no picnic either.

Some of the larger chain stores also offer customers the ability to include custom cards along with wrapped presents.

Two years ago I sent a huge package of books, CDs and other knickknacks from Indigo ( www.indigo.ca ) and they let me choose my wrapping paper and customize the text in the card. It arrived two days late for Christmas, but apparently the bugs have been worked out of the system since then.