This article was originally published on Bankrate.com.
While fall is my favorite season, winter has all my favorite holidays. I look forward to the cooler weather, the Christmas tree search, the cookie decorating and, yes, even the present shopping. While I would love to get wrapped up in the whimsy of the season, I’ve also been paying attention to rising inflation, mailing delays, the growing trend for businesses to do pre-orders and smaller launches that may or may not be restocked later.
