There is only a week and a half left until Christmas. Is your holiday shopping done? No? Then allow me to brag - mine is.

Between having a full-time job, a social life and a journalism addiction, I could not think of a time to get all of my Christmas shopping done. I nixed the idea of trying to squeeze it in after I go to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and before starting a cookie-baking marathon. Then it occurred to me - why not shop online?

I rarely shop online and I have never done it in bulk, but I figured that it would allow me to truly buy the presents that I want to get people without running out of time and having to get them something mediocre.

According to Dow Jones, I'm not the only one indulging in this shopping trend. Technology Researcher comScore Inc. raised its expectation for e-commerce retailing during the holiday season to 11 percent growth after a strong jump in spending this winter. It also mentioned that online sales have surpassed those in 2007, right before the recession. (Economic recovery?)

Through my new shopping venture, I have discovered that around the holidays, organizations offer a ton of online deals - free shipping, free gift wrap and they might even throw in an entirely free gift if you spend enough money. 

Shopping online is also good for an impulse buyer like myself. I spent less money on holiday shopping this year because of fewer point-of-purchase temptations. Yeah, I know, I can stumble upon a lot more impulse-buys on the Internet, but I have the time to reconsider. Would my brother really want a tie that doubles as a beer bottle opener? Probably not.

I used Amazon.com for my shopping needs last week and all of my gifts have arrived already (shipping was free!) This has been the least stressful holiday season (so far) because of my online buys. Even in an economy only fit for Scrooge, it looks like people are still giving while being savvy and turning to the Internet for their gifts this holiday.