Nerf Stampede, Paper Jamz & Sing-a-ma-jigs are among 16 of the must-have toys for the holidays. But what is the 'it' toy of the year? More

8:44am: Heavy snowstorm on a crucial post-Christmas sales weekend, deep discounting and shopping fatigue dampened last month's sales momentum. More

Jan 5: Consumers in 2010 made some surprising tweaks to their list of favorite stores for gift shopping. So what's in store for 2011? More

Dec 30: A local North Carolina jeweler promised to refund holiday shoppers their money if its snowed more than three inches. Hundred of his customers won the bet - and some free jewelry. More

Dec 29: Sales for the season rise 13%, better than expected, on strength in devices such as iPad, comScore says. More

Dec 29: Ranking of e-tailers shows some surprising insights into what holiday shoppers liked and didn't like about their favorite websites. More

Dec 29: ShopperTrak estimates that the heavy snowstorm that pounded the Northeast on Sunday cost retailers about 10% of crucial post-Christmas sales. More

Dec 27: Heavy snowstorms that wallop the East Coast strike a blow to retailers hoping to cash in on big day-after-Christmas discount purchases and gift card redemptions. More

Dec 17: From Thanksgiving to New Year's, American households produce 25% more waste, or about 1 million extra tons of trash. More

Dec 14: Total sales in November rise 0.8% , topping economists' estimates. NRF lifts its holiday sales forcast to 3.3%. More

Dec 10: Big holiday parties aren't roaring back to Wall Street despite record profits and sky-high bonuses. Instead, some employees must pay to attend their holiday parties. More

Dec 9: Holiday gift cards could get swapped for cash and other traditional holiday gifts this year. More

Dec 8: Online shoppers spent more than $800 million on four separate days last week, including a record $1.03 billion on Cyber Monday. More

Dec 2: Month-long bargain bonanza boosts retailers' store sales in November; specialty chains, department stores log big sales jumps. More

Dec 1: Americans spent $1.028 billion on Cyber Monday, according to comScore, setting a new one-day record for online sales. More

Nov 30: Customers spend more per order in 2010 as online holiday shopping shows signs of strength. More

Nov 29: Many plan on taking care of their holiday shopping on the job today. More

Nov 29: Online shopping is seen up more than 10% this year, as shoppers shun retail crowds. Overall, store sales were flat to higher for this year's holiday shopping bonanza. More

Nov 27: Preliminary reports of Black Friday sales are starting to come in. The verdict so far: The crowds were bigger and people walked away with arms full of goodies, but shoppers spent only modestly more this year. More

Nov 26: Small businesses in a New Jersey town don't get doorbuster crowds on Black Friday, but this year's holiday shopping season should be better than last year's More

Nov 26: For consumers who haven't had their fill of Black Friday deals, online merchants will serve up another round of deep discounts, free shipping and other gimmicks on Monday. More

Nov 26: Malls and discounters see big crowds as shoppers scoop up bargains to kickstart the holiday season. More

Nov 26: Toys R Us' flagship store in Times Square draws customers from around the world for its 10 p.m. open. More

Nov 26: Crowd-control methods learned after a 2008 tragedy appear to work. More

Nov 26: Flagship store in Times Square draws customers from around the world for its 10 p.m. Thanksgiving open. More

Nov 24: Sears reports strong sales on Thanksgiving Day, but the real wave of shoppers is coming. More

Nov 24: Retailers are offering users discounts for "checking in" on location based services like Facebook Places, Foursquare, and Gowalla during the busiest shopping day of the year. More

Nov 24: Flat screen TV prices will continue to fall even after Black Friday, with the best deals happening at the end of this year or the beginning of 2011, experts say. More

Nov 19: Demand for air travel is picking up, and so are fares. Airlines have no incentive to offer last-minute deals, experts say. More

Nov 19: Bargain-hungry Black Friday shoppers need to know these tricks before they hit stores on the day after Thanksgiving. More

Nov 18: Company-sponsored parties hit a 22-year low, survey says, as bosses worry about perception during tough times. More

Nov 18: With Thanksgiving day store openings and deep price slashing, retailers are anxious to ignite a buying frenzy for holiday gifts this year. More

Nov 18: Retailers are upping the ante to bring shoppers into the stores but some of those same discounts can also be found online. More

Nov 17: Black Friday won't disappoint bargain hunters, but job concerns mean the run-up to Christmas won't ignite a shop-till-you-drop frenzy. More

Nov 16: AAA forecasts an 11% increase in holiday travel, saying an improving economy will send out 4 million more people. More

Nov 13: HDTVs, Blu-ray players, iPod Touch with a $50 gift card, kitchen appliances for $2.97, $4 clothing and DVDs for less than $2 among discounter's early post-Thanksgiving specials. More

Nov 11: Retailer will kick off 'doorbuster' deals on Thanksgiving night, its earliest start ever to Black Friday sales. More

Nov 11: In its race to capture early holiday sales, world's biggest seller sets free online shipping offer on 60,000 items with no minimum purchase. More

Nov 10: Retailer's 'doorbuster' deals reportedly include a 40-inch LCD HDTV for $298 and a free $10 gift card when you spend $100 or more. More

Oct 13: World's largest retailer confident of increasing sales in its critical year-end holiday shopping quarter; pegs toys, electronics as hot sellers for gift seekers. More

Sep 16: With Christmas gifts already on consumers' minds, searches are soaring for products like Nerf Stampede, Sing-a-Ma-Jigs, balance bikes and flip cams. More