CHRISTMAS SHOPPING Wrap it up early

Clothes, toys and electronics always seem to be the hottest items of the Christmas shopping season.
By JAKE GROVE
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Holiday shopping is, at least for some, one of the most painful experiences on the planet.
Just think about it: You go into a store or mall packed with hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of like-minded individuals all striving to find the perfect gift for family members. Then, five hours later, you emerge from the store and have nothing more to show for it than a sausage sampler, a sweater that even your dog wouldn't wear and a framed piece of "art" that says "I'd rather be golfing."
Man, it must be Christmas.
Well, the holiday season doesn't have to be like that again this year. This year you can -- we all can -- be ready with a little preemptive strike. Sure, we've just put Halloween candy behind us. But it's never too early to get in a little holiday shopping ... and then laugh in delight at all the suckers out there trying in vain to find that last sale-priced stereo.
There are three things that all people get or shop for come Christmas. No matter the age, no matter the gender, these three things will come out of more boxes and wrapping paper than anything else during the Yuletide season. Clothes. Electronics. Toys.
Clothes, we are going to skip. After all, clothes depend on style of the person you're buying for, price, favored name brands and about six dozen other things most people don't want to think about. I know I don't, so I'll let you go through the clothing debacle on your own. The other two, however, are easily doable.
Electronics
This is the big one. Every Christmas there are more electronics sold than just about everything else (except maybe -- pardon the necessary joke -- fruitcakes). According to Donna Beadle, spokesperson at Best Buy, holiday season buying accounts for 40 percent of their consumer electronics sales for the year. That is huge, and this year it's all going digital.
"Everything is digital products this year," Beadle says. "Digital cameras, digital camcorders, MP3 players, digital TVs, personal digital assistants. These are the things that will fly off the shelves this year."
It's a bold statement, but true. Just look at the average ad in Sunday's newspaper; every electronic outlet already has deals on digital everything. But you may want to get in on the action now while you have the chance; by Christmas week the options may be trimmed down a bit by the crowds.
Beadle says digital will make a big splash this season thanks to lower prices, more products and better quality. The immediacy of digital cameras and camcorders is very appealing to shoppers, and the difference between digital and analog television is painfully obvious. Plus, everyone seems to want the latest technology, no matter what it might be.
If that is not your bag, look to the DVD players for inspiration. The DVD revolution really started last year, but it will be complete in the next couple years. Just about every home in America has one of these babies, and as more technology comes out with them, the more they will sell. Add Surround Sound to that Christmas wish list and you've got a rush on your hands.
"Surround Sound with DVD players are real hot items right now," said Allen Watson, manager at Rex Audio/Video. "They are spending so much on a digital TV that they want to put it together with a home theater system that really looks and sounds good."
Also in electronics look for video game systems and games to keep their stranglehold on the youth of the nation. Every kid from 5 to 35 is going to want -- if they don't already have -- a game system. Although there is no new system out, the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube have all come down in price and will certainly add gift options all the way till Christmas.
"The hardware will do great, with PS2 and Xbox coming down $100 and the GameCube coming down $50," said Chris Corley, a manager at Toys "R" Us. "Then a lot of great new games are on hold for the holidays, so gaming will be just as big as ever."
And finally, just getting accessories to go with these things people already have is a good idea.
Toys
Toys won't be as widespread as the electronic world, but with so many kids tugging at parent's pants you can believe the toy stores will be ready.
So far this year, Corley says, what is old is new again. If it was popular in the '80s it very likely will again be awaiting Christmas shoppers.
"Toys that were big when I was growing up are on the shelves again," Corley says. Already, Transformers, G.I. Joe and He-Man are out there in the action figure sections. And the Care Bears and Cabbage Patch Dolls are coming back in full force, tempting young girls to fall in love with them all over again.
Corley says this resurgence of old toys is appealing to parents as well as kids. Today's new parents want their children to have the same types of toys they played with as children. So they buy the toys as much for themselves as for their kids.
This year Mickey and the gang are focusing their attention on girls. All sorts of merchandise are out there, from dolls to alarm clocks with the faces of Disney's most famous princesses -- Jasmine, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Cinderella.
Add to that old favorites like Barbie and Legos and this should be one rollicking Christmas for the whole family. But Corley warns not to finish shopping for toys too quickly; if you are looking for the next Teddy Ruxpin or Tickle Me Elmo, you'll have to wait a bit to see what that is.
"The things that are most popular might be new or they might have sat on the shelf for years," he says. "The trendier toys won't show themselves until late in the year, and then they will be gone."
Ah, Christmas.