(picture from Flickr)

A new survey by the National Retail Federation http://www.nrf.com/ reveals that the average person will spend $749.51 on gifts, décor, greeting cards and other holiday items. That's up from $740.57 last year. On average, shoppers will spend $421.82 on children, parents and other relatives. Additionally, they will spend $75.13 on friends, $23.48 on co-workers and $28.13 on others, such as pets and community members. Total spending on holiday décor will reach $6.9 billion this year. 

It seems like we have already been hearing about Christmas for a while since stores were decorated in early October, at least. But we knew it had to get closer at some point. Well with only 18 days left 'til Black Friday (and I know there are many Black Friday shopping rockstars out there) now is the time to make plans for your next couple of paychecks! Or, if you are like me, you need to just decide which people on your list go with which store gift cards. 

-Shelly Knight