How do you get ahead for the holidays?

I set December 1 as the deadline (OK, goal) for buying all my holiday gifts. This leaves room for any last-minute, time-consuming crises — like the work commitment that took me out of town for most of December 2000, and a job transfer across the country that came in December 2001. Here's hoping for a quiet December 2002.

This tip comes from Real Simple reader TAMMY RAO, Halifax, Nova Scotia.