Every year I make the same pledge, I will do all my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving and then sit back with a smug look while I watch everyone else scramble to get it all done in time. There are now 25 shopping days till Christmas, by the time you read this there will be even less. In the immortal words of Britney Spears “Oops, I did it again” and I now join the rest of you procrastinators, but all is not lost.

 At this time of year the internet can be your friend if you know the right places to go to avoid being ripped off by those online retailers who know how truly desperate you are.

 Cyber Monday has come and gone but the deals remain as retailers still hope to revive a lack luster season.

  One website above all others has been my perennial ‘go to’, my online version of the Hail Mary pass. Savannah Candy Kitchen is located in City Market in Savannah and one of the main reasons that I shop online with them is that I have actually been there several times and have seen what they have to offer.

 Born out of a home business more than thirty years ago, the store is quintessentially Southern offering pralines, pies, cakes and a seemingly endless variety of turtles and gophers.

  I like to send friends and family out of state a little piece of the South and you don’t get much more Southern than this. I especially recommend their Best Sellers Trio, a delectable mix of fat, gooey gophers divinity and pralines priced from $25.95 to $39.95.

  And to sweeten the pot, the Savannah Candy Kitchen is offering Beacon readers a special shipping deal. Send one item or twenty items to the same address and shipping is a mere $5. Just mention the word ‘Beacon’ when placing your order. For details on their ongoing specials which are featured regularly, visit their website at www.savannahcandy. com.

 It is said that there is no such thing as a free lunch but if you plan to eat out at all this holiday season www.Restaurant.com is the place to go to save a serious stack of cash. I’m not even sure how they make this web site profitable and quite frankly I don’t really care. Restaurant.com offers hundreds of gift certificates to your favorite restaurants at less than half price. Sign up at the website, enter your zip code and up pop the participating restaurants. On average you can purchase most gift certificates at below half face value. The higher you go the more you save. For example, a $25 gift certificate will set you back $15 but you can also purchase a $100 for $40.

  Purchase the certificate online and print it out. There may be certain conditions depending on the restaurant but those are clearly posted. Most gift certificates are for ‘dining in’ only and there is usually a minimum charge.

 Periodically the website will send special deals direct to you in email, usually a $25 gift certificate for $2 or $3. And just when I thought I couldn’t love this website any more they come out with their annual ‘Feed it Forward’ campaign. Basically they are giving away $40 million in $10 gift certificates.

 You are free to email these gift certificates to up to 40 friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers etc every day until Dec 31st.

 The rest of my special deals will have to wait until next week as I only get 600 words and the editor will cut me off if I go ov……….dang!

 If you have a great website, tip or deal you would like to share just send an email to TheWebSlayer@gmail.com