By Meghan Streit
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

The holidays are fast approaching. But before we can all gather around the table for a relaxing meal with our families, there is a lot of shopping to do! Oftentimes, that means battling crowds at the mall, overspending on last-minute purchases, and dealing with traffic in snowstorms.

Holiday shopping with less hassles
Imagine if you could do all of your holiday shopping right from your own home and have your purchases delivered right to your front door. You can—on the Internet.

The online shopping industry has exploded over the last several years, making shopping for everything from the latest toys to hot new electronics a breeze. You can compare prices at multiple stores, and some online retailers will even deliver gift-wrapped packages directly to your out-of-town relatives.

Tech-savvy Sedgebrook resident Jean Noble says she avoids the hassle of crowded shopping centers by making most of her purchases online. “I’ve been doing that for the last several years,” she says. “I buy all my books online, and I haven’t bought clothing in a store in about three years.”

In-house tech support
Noble is a retired school principal, and she says she got up to speed on technology when her office started using computers in 1992. Instead of retiring before she was ready, Noble challenged herself to learn how to use the technology. Now that she lives at Sedgebrook, she puts her knowledge to good use by teaching computer classes for other residents.

Pat Nelson, another Sedgebrook resident, had some basic knowledge of computers before she moved to the Lincolnshire retirement community. But she says Noble’s classes have helped her learn how to use a computer for things that actually make her life easier. Nelson says she uses e-mail to keep in touch with her children and grandchildren, and she exchanges photos with her family over the Internet. Nelson says she also recently used a word-processing program to update and organize her Christmas card mailing list.