When I was younger I paid little attention to Christmas shopping and would always leave it until the very last minute. These days I am far better prepared and use various online stores to carry out all of my Christmas shopping.

But when I was a young man I would always leave my Christmas shopping until the eleventh hour on Christmas eve when most shops had already clossed. Sometimes the only place that remained open was the local all-night garage.

This led to some memorable gift exchanges on Christmas morning. I remember one year in which my brother generously gave me a half eaten kebab and I gave him a sack of barbecue charcoal. That was the year that my mum received a set of wiper blades for a Ford Mondeo (she drove a Volkswagen) and a years supply of in-car air fresheners. This was due to leaving my Christmas shopping until the very last minute after spending the day drinking cider rather than braving the shopping centre on what is often the busiest shopping day of the year.

One of the potential advantages of last minute Christmas shopping is the chance of finding some great bargains. With many people tightening their belts due to the effects of the recession some shops are not selling their Christmas stock so you are likely to find a few money saving bargains.

Or you may be unlucky where you are and find that the shops have all sold out and you are forced to get what you can from your nearest all night garage.

One way to avoid all the hassle of Christmas shopping is simply not to do it. Take all the cash that you would have spent on gifts and donate it to your favourite charity. Or why not let people choose the charities for your donations. After all, Christmas is about giving and not receiving so it’s good to give to those who would benefit most from your generosity.

BTW – for some great Christmas gift ideas pay a visit to raymears.com. You’ll find some of the best quality outdoor clothing available online along with all those neat gizmos and gadgets used buy Ray in his TV series. And the Ray Mears DVDs and Books which would make ideal Christmas gifts for any lover of the outdoors.