If you're doing more of your holiday shopping online this year, welcome to the club. Online shopping this season is expected to increase this year, according to Associated Press:

Internet analysts at comScore Inc. expect online retail revenue to rise 3 percent to $28.8 billion for the months of November and December. That includes the Web sites of traditional retailers, such as Macy's, but excludes auctions, travel and large corporate purchases.

How to make the best of it? New York Times writer Tara Siegel Bernard offers some tips on Site Hopping for Holiday Savings,  (Bernard likes to access shopping sites via intermediaries like FatWallet.com, which offer coupons and discounts.)  Washington Post writer Brian Krebs provides advice on how to stay secure while shopping online this season.

Online shoppers can also benefit from this year's search engine wars: Bing vs. Google. Microsoft's Bing offers Cashback, while Google now features Google Checkout, which offers one login for stores all over the web, along with discounts at selected stores.

And here's a post from the Times' Bucks blog about taking advantage of online price wars.

And before you press the "Purchase" button, open up another tab and do a quick search for Promo Codes for whatever site you're buying from. For example, you can get free shipping from Harry and David's this way.

Just for fun, if you want to go off-line and travel the backroads of rural Vermont for your holiday shopping, (actually, not a bad idea!) here's Janice Brown's Fussy Diner picks for best Vermont general stores. A very fun post.

Okay, and if you can't get to Vermont, but you still want to shop a country store, try the online version of one of my favorite New England places: The Vermont Country Store. The apothecary section offers a mix of fun-and-retro potions and lotions, including, Kiehl's-like products like this one at much lower prices.

                                                                      --BJ Roche