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2016 holiday shipping deadlines: Dates you need to know to ship gifts in time for Christmas 11/28/2016 04:07pm • WASHINGTON — The holidays are coming up faster than you may think, and if you’re planning to send packages or cards, you’ll want to plan ahead. Here are all the dates you need to know to get your gifts and goodies to your loved ones by Christmas. U.S. Postal Service holiday shipping dead Giant Holiday 16 11/28/2016 08:26am • Get Ready for the Holidays with WTOP and Giant!  The holidays can be crazy.  Be prepared for the hectic season and visit your local Giant. From last minute meals for busy weeknights or large platters and veggie trays for entertaining, Giant offers tons of solutions at great prices, so you can foc Prepare Your Finances for the Holidays 11/27/2016 07:00pm • Slash spending.If you're concerned about your gift, travel and food budget during the holidays, try to cut spending in other areas of your life. Tamp down on meals out, movie theater visits and non-gift-related shopping sprees. Get to work.A seasonal job can help you make ends meet and pad your budg Gift ideas for stargazers 11/25/2016 12:50pm • Welcome to the WTOP "What’s Up? The Space Place" Black Friday edition to get some great gift ideas for that stargazer of yours. If you search online, you will find specials and sales on astronomical items. Here are my tips to help you. Say you have someone on your gift list who loves the star 6 best Cyber Monday sales for 2016 11/24/2016 08:37am • This year, Cyber Monday -- the year's biggest online shopping holiday -- is set to be larger than ever. Many major retailers are launching once-a-year sales that will kick off on Sunday and run through the entire week. Survey data from Offers.com found that Cyber Monday may even outshine fellow shop Tips for creating and sticking to a cost-saving holiday budget 11/24/2016 04:45am • WASHINGTON — Money coaches say it's fairly easy to create a cost-saving holiday budget. One trick, though, is making sure your list is complete. "Make sure that you include things like decorations and wrapping paper (and) the cost of postage," said Timothy Johnson, vice-president of community i 8 Ways to Simplify Black Friday Shopping 11/22/2016 07:00pm • Besides readying your house for company, preparing a Thanksgiving meal and, well, working, nabbing the top deals on Black Friday can seem like an impossible task. However, with experts predicting that the average consumer will spend more than $935 on the holidays this year, some shoppers may be hesi 5 holiday packing tips for travelers 11/22/2016 09:30am • You don't have to own a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to know that what you carry aboard an airplane matters. Whether you're planning to fly or drive, it's a smart idea to pack strategically. Before you map out items to place into your suitcase, use these tips to ensure you comply with ever-changing TSA air 6 Credit Card Blunders to Avoid This Holiday Season 11/21/2016 07:00pm • If you've just finished paying off your credit card debt from last year's holiday shopping, you know that gift buying and paying with plastic can be a dangerous combination. There are so many things that can go wrong (and right) that it would take forever to list every possible way you could spend 5 Reasons to Plan a Trip to Chicago This Holiday Season 11/21/2016 07:00pm • With the Chicago Cubs' historic World Series win sending Chicagoans and visitors into a festive frenzy, the holidays in the Windy City will certainly be filled with throngs of tourists with vibrant celebrations in full force. Whether you want to shop, ice skate or admire bright light displays, here The Hottest Black Friday Doorbusters of 2016 11/20/2016 07:00pm • As the legend goes, the first "doorbuster"appeared in the 1980s when a Philadelphia department store ran a special on calico. Offering the coveted material at a penny a yard, the deal drew crowds of eager customers. When an overzealous shopper broke a door window, a store official famously said, "T 8 Holiday Gifts That Give Back 11/20/2016 07:00pm • If you've stepped foot into any store lately, you've probably noticed that retailers are already in full-on holiday mode. They've hauled out the decorations and piped in the jingle bells, which depending on your personality, can either make you feel excited for the shopping season ahead or stressed Why Do We Find It So Hard to Say Thank You? 11/17/2016 07:00pm • When I was a little girl, my aunt would mail our family a box filled with treats from her home in Fresno, California. Each year, I would eagerly anticipate the contents. Would she include my favorite -- bastegh -- a sweet, delectable Armenian treat made from the juice of freshly squeezed grapes thi 9 Apps, Tools and Items to Make Holiday Travel Smoother 11/17/2016 07:00pm • The holidays are stressful enough without traveling during some of the busiest days of the year. And while these tools may not be able to help with crowded highways or family arguments, they can reduce your travel stress level and make getting from place to place a little easier. Don't hit the road 7 Ways to Avoid Holiday Financial Stress 11/17/2016 07:00pm • Black Friday sales are springing up online and in your local stores. But you still have time to pull together a financial plan for the holidays that will keep your bank account in the black. Carve out some time in the next few days to do the following, and you should be in good financial shape for