MOMVERSATION MONDAY: Online Shopping or Brick and Mortar Shopping?

Momversation and I are in sync today!! Maggie Mason of Mighty Girl asks online shopping or in-store shopping.

I actually went shopping today with Cpl. Mayhem for Christmas. No kids, hubby home equals opportunity!!!

We decided to check out the stores in the next town, we have nothing in our town so we have to take a drive to the closest mall which is a ways away.

When we got there we made a quick plan: Wal-Mart, the mall and out. We don't have time to linger around. I chose to start at the stores because I believe in shopping at local businesses first.
I love to look around in the stores and find unique gift ideas that I don't think you can find online shopping sometimes. For example, they are not a gift but it's something neat my husband pointed so we got them.

(so cute!)

So we got half of our list and now I'll be online shopping. I love but I also hate online shopping. My love with online shopping comes with the convenience for me. Since I live in a small town with no shopping whatsoever, we need to travel to other towns to get our shopping done. Gas, energy, time is wasted doing this. Plus my patience is shot when I need to shop with the kids.

I love that some shops will wrap your presents for you (YEAY!). I love that I can just go to the site that I know will have the item so I'm not running from store to store searching for the Handy Mandy Motorcycle in twenty store only to find that they don't carry it or when they do the wall that would have them is bare. Yeah, that's fun!

My only downside to shopping online is that I'm home, I enjoy getting out and interacting with other people.

So what about you? Online shopper or the good old mall?

Side note: I just came back from a town meeting and they are looking in to re-zoning a residential are to a commercial area so there can be more shopping in our town! It's about time!