’Tis the season
to shop

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

On your mark, get set . . . shop!!
While retailers have been stocking their shelves with holiday gifts and decorations for weeks, the official shopping season arrives on Friday morning.
That’s when serious consumers will set their alarm clocks for pre-dawn hours in hopes of buying those most sought after "door-buster" items.
Just how merry this season will be for retailers is a matter of which consumer survey you believe, though the general consensus predicts a real nail-biter. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2007 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, U.S. shoppers will spend an average of $923.36 on planned holiday-related buying, an increase of 3.7 percent from 2006. That gain, however, falls below the 10-year average of 4.8 percent.
Rising gas and heating-oil prices, along with high mortgage expenditures, may cause middle-of-the-road shoppers to rein in their budgets this year.
Finding that perfect "Red Ryder" gift within your budget will be even more complicated this year as parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles navigate toy-store aisles after several months of product recalls. Millions of toys made in China have been recalled by major manufacturers for serious health concerns — typically for high levels of lead paint, but there also were coated toy beads that, if ingested, metabolized into a so-called date-rape chemical that rendered some youngsters unconscious.
A parent’s main worry when buying toys for their children used to be those darned small parts that could pose a choking hazard to the wee ones or, in the case of the parent, cause a cursing fit when stepped on in bare feet. The good ol’ days indeed.
Shoppers were still returning Aqua Dots Super Studio to the KB Toy Store in the Roosevelt Mall last week, said assistant manager Gina Hriczo. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled about 4.2 million units of the toy, which had been included on the "Hot Dozen" list in Toy Wishes magazine prior to the recall.
But the chemical controversy claimed much of Aqua Dots’ luster. According to CPSC, a coating on the beads that enabled them to stick together with the addition of water contained a chemical — supposedly a component of date-rape drugs — that could turn toxic if beads were ingested. Based on reports of the hospitalization of several children who had done just that, the agency warned that youngsters who swallowed the beads could become comatose, develop respiratory problems or have seizures.
A parent herself, Hriczo understands shoppers’ concerns for their children’s safety. In addition to a list of recalled items that is posted in the store, consumers can find it online by visiting the Web site at www.kbtoys.com
Toys ’R Us posts a similar list at www3.toysrus.com/guest/prodRecallsList.cfm
If your kids are a little older, sports equipment and memorabilia might make a good gift.
According to Derrick Morgan, regional sales manager for Modell’s Sporting Goods, merchandise related to Eagles running back Brian Westbrook is flying off the shelves. The Flyers’ new jersey has been extremely popular, especially No. 48, worn by center Daniel Briere. Additionally, folks are grabbing Eagles’ 75th-anniversary memorablilia.
"After this season the old yellow and blue replica jerseys won’t be available," Morgan said, referring to the garish uniforms worn by the Eagles in a game earlier this season to pay tribute to the team’s inaugural 1933 season.
If you don’t feel like fighting the crowds, you could join those shoppers who will spend roughly $39 billion by shopping at their computers this holiday season, according to JupiterResearch.
For the person who has everything, you might consider giving them a membership to their local historical society or community theater, or making a donation to their favorite charity.
Aid For Friends, the Northeast-based agency that helps homebound clients with meals and companionship, offers holiday cards that it will send to a requested recipient if you make a donation to AFF in the person’s name. According to executive director Steven Schiavone, whose agency helps more than 2,000 people, you can make those arrangements by visiting the office at 12271 Townsend Road or mailing a check there, along with the recipient’s name and address. There’s a minimum donation of $5 for each card. For more information, call 215-464-2224.
The Heifer Organization has a fabulous online gift catalog devoted to gifts of livestock — from a flock of chicks for $20 to a whole ark for $5,000 — to help needy families around the world. There are also gifts of trees for $60. While Heifer provides personalized gift cards for each recipient, you also can make or purchase an ornament representing your gift animal.
If you give a flock of ducks or geese, as well as trees, you can be creative and present your loved one with a flocked tree. Get it?
All right. For more information, check out the Web site at www.heifer.org
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com

Your shopping survival guide . .
Have your shopping shoes on? Here’s some information that might be helpful.
Black Friday store hours:
Target: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Wal-Mart: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sears: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Macy’s: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Modell’s Sporting Goods: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
KB Toys: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Toys ’R Us: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Franklin Mills: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Roosevelt Mall: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Holiday shopping tips:

• Review a store’s exchange or return policy before making a purchase. Ask about re-stocking fees.
• Check for expiration dates and maintenance fees on gift cards and gift certificates.
• Keep all records and receipts.
• Be careful making purchases at unfamiliar kiosks and stands. Seasonal businesses may not be around to assist with returns or repairs.
• Do not carry numerous credit cards or your Social Security card in your wallet or purse.
Online shopping:
• Do your homework. Research the seller before you make a purchase.
• Understand shipping costs and delivery times.
• Review the refund and return policy. Find out who is responsible for the shipping costs on returns.
• Read the privacy policy.
• Print out all confirmation messages, receipts and e-mail communications between you and the seller.
• Use anti-virus and firewall protection and make sure the software is up to date.
• Watch out for look-alike Web sites used by scam artists to collect credit-card information and personal data from unwitting consumers.
For additional information on these and other consumer-related topics, visit the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Web site at www.attorneygeneral.gov