It's almost the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas. College students are able to go home after going through a week of finals, and many workers get to truly see how crazy people are when it's the holiday season. But what do I mean by "workers get to truly see how crazy people are?" — I'll tell you.

It all starts after Thanksgiving. Yup, you guessed it. Black Friday. The most stressful time of the entire year. After people fill up on turkey and pumpkin pie, they head out and start their Christmas shopping. Now, Black Friday in a way, is actually a very smart idea if you are a shopper who happened to be keeping a look out for certain presents.

If you are not prepared and you're just buying something because it isn't as expensive as it usually is — but honestly, everyone does that — I'm just going to shake my head at you. If you're going to Best Buy and you want to buy a new television set, you should do your homework before you just go and buy a TV. And, if you're the customer who then gets into an argument with another customer over something you saw at the store . . . WHY? Online shopping is a thing — heard of CYBER MONDAY!?

Shopping is a stressful thing, no matter what the occasion. Whether it's for a party, a banquet, a wedding, or a play, shopping stresses everyone out and it's 10 times worse when it comes to the holiday season.

These past few days, I have been Christmas shopping for my family and even though I had a pretty good idea what to get each person, I still didn't like being there. The mall is over-filled with people, your back hurts from walking around so much, and you get a little sweaty from your large winter coat that you don't feel like taking off. Don't even get me started on parking.

When it comes to shopping at the mall, there isn't a right way or a wrong way, but there is a smart way. What I have learned from shopping with my parents is this, if every parking spot is close to the door, you know you aren't going to find parking, so you park somewhere where no one else would park. Then, you go off find the presents you need and meet back at a specific location. That way, you're in and out.

As I get older, I've realized that a lot of the things I want are online. It's easier to get and you don't have to worry about going to store. Of course there's still the uncertainty of if the package will arrive on time.

Besides the fact that I don't physically like going shopping, I like that when I am shopping everyone is in the Christmas spirit. They're ready to open presents and be apart of the Christmas cliche.

On that note, Happy Holidays!