This is what modern holiday shopping looks like.

As much as I hate to say it, it’s time to start thinking about holiday shopping. Personally, I think the holidays have devolved into a ridiculous festival of consumerism. However, for many families, celebrating the holidays by buying gifts is an important tradition.

If you can’t afford to buy gifts for people without taking out a no fax cash advance, it might be best to explain that. Or you can consider thoughtful gestures in place of gifts. However, if throwing a little money around during the holidays makes your family or your significant other’s family happy — and you have enough money to do that — here are some ideas for big gifts that don’t cost big money.

Holiday shopping easier than ever

The good news is, you can buy just about everything on the Internet nowadays. One of the hardest parts of the holidays has always been going to stores where a lot of stressed out people fight over the last Tickle Me Elmo. Thanks to the wonder and magic of the Internet, you can avoid all of that this year. I highly recommend it.

Of course Internet shopping  means shipping, which means planning in advance. That’s why I am telling you now to get started. Take the crazy stress out of the holidays by making a list, checking it twice, and ordering all of the material crap your loved ones want over the Internet. Need some ideas? Let’s get started.

Motorola Droid, $199

You might have relatives or close friends who are on the fence about whether to switch from their five-year-old flip phone to a smartphone, even though they know they’d love one. OK, I admit, I am talking about myself. The Motorola Droid, which has gotten great reviews and runs on Verizon, which has the largest coverage area in the country, is a great gift idea.

The $199 price tag comes attached to a two-year contract, and you must redeem a mail-in rebate. If you or the gift recipient doesn’t mind a slower processor and the absense of a real keyboard, you can pick up the HTC Droid Eris for only $99. Not a bad idea if you have cash concerns.

Netbook, $299

Every time a gift-giving opportunity arises, my boyfriend mentions that he wants a laptop, and I always think “Yeah, right, when we win the lottery.” However, netbooks, the little laptops that are geared specifically toward internet use, are getting downright affordable.

Prices for netbooks have been slowly creeping downward, from $400 to $350, and for the holiday season, many are going on sale for $299. Check for offerings from HP. If $299 sounds like too much for one gift, consider getting family members to chip in for other family members.

E-reader, $259

For book lovers, e-readers are becoming the newest craze. The Amazon Kindle will retail for $259 this holiday season, as will the Barnes and Noble Nook. Of course, as with most technological devices nowadays, these gadgets do much more than display text. Check out the features on these two products to pick the one that’s right for the recipient.

For a less pricey option, the Sony Reader is only $199, but make sure saving $60 is worth it. Grilling your relatives about which features they want in their gadets might take some of the surprise out of it, but what is the point of spending that much money if you’re not getting the person exactly what they want?

How much longer will these be around? Image from Flickr.

We all saw it coming. Well, at least people who are even mildly interested in e-book readers saw it coming. The Barnes and Noble Nook has entered the scene as the next big contender in the market for devices used to electronically read books.

A few other companies have or will attempt to produce an e-book reader that will knock Kindle out of the first-place spot when it comes to sales of e-readers, but experts say the Barnes and Noble Nook just might do the trick.

How will Barnes and Noble Nook win?

Engadget dubs the Barnes and Noble Nook superior to the Amazon Kindle, but its only piece of evidence is the fact that the Barnes and Noble Nook has a feature that lets people lend out books. While this does mean the Barnes and Noble Nook is closer to simulating a real book, will it be enough to get people to spend the $259 to buy it?

While an e-reader isn’t the type of thing people get an instant cash loan for, I predict these will be very popular Christmas gifts. I think parents who want to find creative ways to get their teens and tweens to read will be all over these things. The question is, which e-reader will parents choose?

Price wars

The Barnes and Noble Nook retail price, $259, is $20 cheaper than the price of the latest Kindle model. That $20 difference might just be the winning factor, as the two products are very similar, besides the fact that Barnes and Noble Nook lets you lend out books and Kindle doesn’t.

Kindle has a keyboard built in below the reader screen, while Nook has a touch screen that lets users use a virtual keyboard when they want to do searches. Kindle has a longer battery life and a text-to-speech feature, but will that be enough to get shoppers to spend the extra $20?

Rumor has it the Barnes and Noble Nook will be for sale online and at Best Buy on Thursday.