I wish everyone I sent Christmas presents to celebrated Boxing Day or Kwanzaa instead. That's because most of the time my presents truly do arrive a day too late, on December 26.

But now deadlines keep rolling in on when packages need to be mailed in order to get to their destinations on time. The latest one is the U.S. Postal Services deadline for mailing packages to troops overseas, which is Thursday, Nov. 13.

For shipments to folks in the U.S., the deadlines are a little bit more in the future. That helps me, because I usually I go online to order in mid-December, see that the standard delivery deadline has passed, then have to spend more bucks for the expedited or fastest delivery route. And you know how it is with the Postal Service -- two-day delivery service means jack during the holidays.

Procrastinating shoppers like me have no excuse this year for shipping late. Dealhack has released a list of 130 Internet retailers and their online-purchase shipping deadlines, from Amazon to Wine.com. Each retailer has announced their Standard delivery service deadline, and Dealhack has guesstimated the Expedited and Fastest order-by dates.

There does seem to be something sleazy about the idea of buying someone a "thrift gift." How cheap can you be? Here's a different spin and all it takes is a bit of thought and creativity.

Like any kind of gift buying, gift shopping at thrift stores is easier and more fun for people you know well. This is particularly true for people who have passions of their own - the friend who loves sailing, dogs, cooking or art, for example - is the person to have at the back of your mind as you travel the thrift shop circuit. There are also occasions that readily lend themselves to thrifty gift shopping.

Here are a smattering of ideas:

• If you are visiting a friend in the hospital, you don't need to drop $20 at the hospital gift shop. You can find a great vase for $1 or less and fill it with twice as many beautiful flowers for half the price you'll otherwise pay.
• Look for small covered boxes. You can frequently find nice ones for $1 or $2. Add a piece of jewelry and give it to your favorite teenager.
• Buy a pretty basket - watch especially for the ones designed to hold letters. Decorate it with ribbon, fill it with stationary and add a nice pen.
• For a friend starting a new job or opening an office: art, a dictionary, thesaurus or desk encyclopedia, a covered glass candy jar (which you'll sanitize in the dishwasher and fill).
• For the new mother: books on babies and children. These can often be picked up mint - either because the mother already had it, received three copies, or didn't have time to read.

Come back tomorrow for five more thrifty gift ideas!

As the holiday season approaches, we thought you might appreciate some gift suggestions with a twist, appropriate for those on your list who aren't satisfied with the same old, same old.

Most of the gifts we've recommended in this series are meant to add a little well-intentioned, if off-kilter, fun to the holiday season. But what if you have to gift a really bad person -- the guy that treats the five bucks you owe him like the subprime scandal, that has to tell you, for your own good, that you've developed a little chunk in the trunk, that feels its her moral obligation to tell the boss you cut out from work a half hour early to score Hannah Montana tickets for your kid.

For such pond scum, we have the perfect gift: fake lottery tickets. Celebrate the season by watching the joy of miraculous fortune on your nemesis' face fade into the scowl of indignation. But keep an eye out for the flying bottle of retribution.

For the person who can't believe you don't (heart) them to death, say it with lottery tickets. It's a gift they'll never forget.