You're busy, work gets hectic around this time of year and all you're really looking forward to is finally having some time off during the holidays.

Don't stress though, here's what you need to know to make it all go smoothly.

Buying clothes

Nick Aston hasn't done his Christmas shopping yet.

The business owner and father of two said he'll be doing it all at the last minute because he's a "bloke."

He's not the only one, according Jo Ucukalo, a consumer affairs expert and CEO of Handle My Complaint, who cites research from Commonwealth Bank indicating that "last-minute gift buyers are more likely to be men".

Aston is planning to buy his clothing presents from online stores like asos and The Iconic because, although he said he is a "friendly guy", salespeople "suck the life" out of him, so he'd rather avoid that awkward small talk and shop online.

What he didn't know is that the asos standard delivery cut-off date was Wednesday. Still, the last order date for express deliveries is Tuesday, December 19.

Fortunately for him, orders from The Iconic run up until Friday, December 22.

Nick Aston always leaves his Christmas shopping to the last minute. Photo: Christopher Pearce

Myer's Christmas cutoff for standard deliveries is Sunday at midnight for metro areas in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia. Its express delivery option will get you your gifts in time if you order before midday on Thursday, December 21 while for same-day deliveries, the cut-off will be midday on Friday, December 22.

Aston thinks some people will care if their gift doesn't arrive in time, but "those same people probably don't deserve gifts".

"It's the thought that counts isn't it?", he says.

"When I was a kid I used to like getting gifts late. It's like a second Christmas!"

Sending gifts

Every year Aston sends gifts to Canada where some of his family lives. But, according to Australia Post, his gifts won't arrive in time unless he opts for international express shipping.

The expected arrival times for overseas shipping vary from country to country and depend on the size of the package. You can get an estimated time of arrival for your package using Australia Post's delivery times calculator.

Australia Post says to allow two business days for deliveries between addresses in the same city while deliveries between rural locations should be set off by Monday.

Crunch time at Australia Post. Photo: Josh Robenstone

Deliveries between Sydney and Brisbane and Sydney and Melbourne will likely take between two to three working days, but other interstate orders should arrive between three to six working days.

Christmas cards and letters will take two to six business days to arrive through standard and registered mail, while priority mail will take up to four business days, depending on location.

Pack & Send couriers won't guarantee delivery of parcels on or before Friday, December 22 if you make an online order for a standard domestic or international delivery after Monday, December 18. If you miss that deadline, you can pop into one of their service centres to organise an urgent delivery but take note that, like many courier services, they won't deliver internationally or locally between December 23 and December 27.

Fastway Couriers tells Sydney customers to lodge their parcels by Wednesday, December 20 for shipments to capital cities on the east coast. Deadline dates for Christmas orders vary from town to town, so make sure to check their cut-off listings.

Buying toys

Phoebe Cunningham spent half an hour every day over three weeks doing her Christmas shopping.

Her busy life looking after two kids under the age of three means most of her Christmas shopping is done online.

"Last year I found out how quickly toys sell out and I missed out on the things I wanted," she says. "That prompted me to get organised earlier this year."

Now she's waiting for her orders to arrive.

For those that are not as organised as Cunningham, here are the key delivery deadline dates you need to know for your toy shopping.

Late scramble for toys: Toys "R" Us' deadline for Christmas deliveries has already come and gone. Photo: Joe Armao

Target advises you to allow five business days for deliveries. Keep in mind Christmas is following a weekend this year.

The Toyuniverse order deadline is Wednesday, December 20 for Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and Canberra but cut-off dates for all other metros and regions are earlier. Perth, for example, is advised to get orders in today.

Kmart's last postage date is Friday, December 15, for metro areas. Everybody else is out of luck as the deadline has passed. The BigW and Toys "R" Us cut-off dates have already come and gone, too.

At Mrs Cunningham's house, "deliveries have arrived every day for the last week", she says.

"Now the courier and I have actually become friends", a fact she finds "slightly embarrassing."

If the gifts that are still coming in the mail don't arrive before Christmas, she plans to screenshot and print a picture of the item and put it in that person's Christmas card.

Buying fresh

Marina Darby does all of her food shopping online through Woolworths.

She said she loves it because it's easy and if something isn't up to scratch she can get a full refund.

The mother of two has been doing this for the past two and a half years - even at Christmas time when it's most busy.

Darby said she doesn't do much planning for her pre-Christmas food shopping. Despite all her ordering being done about four days before Christmas, everything has arrived in time for Christmas in the past.

To be safe, Woolworths advises you to send your orders in by Monday but orders before Wednesday should make it to your address.

Woolworths will deliver on Christmas day, but Coles will not.

Coles has closed its pre-orders for meat and seafood but for all other products, get in by Wednesday at the latest.

But be advised, Woolworths and Coles have messed up people's Christmas orders in the past.

Darby said to get in early in case something is out of stock, in which case you may have to go to the shops to find it.

Consumer affairs expert Ucukalo notes that "Australians have been slow to embrace online grocery shopping mostly because of their proximity to a local big chain supermarket."

But according to an IBISWorld report, Australians will spend less on electronic gifts, toys and luxury gifts and more on food and alcohol this Christmas.

Its report projects that alcohol sales this Christmas will be up 4.2 per cent, while supermarket sales will be up 2.4 per cent.

Latest research from Neilsen has online grocery shopping increasing seven times faster than the rest of the Australian grocery market.

Buying tech

Anthony Cakar does a fair amount of research before committing to big expenses like tech.

This year he was on the market for an iPad for his wife, so he used Static ICE and OzBargain to find the best option that suited him.

Static ICE is a price comparison site specialising in technology goods, while OzBargain lets users share links to bargains they find on the web.

In the end, he went with JB Hi-Fi because he trusted it more than the site with the cheapest price.

If you have doubts about the online shop you arrive at through these sites, Cakar advises you "punch the shop name into Google followed by the word review" to see other people's experiences.

Cut-off dates for Amazon Australia deliveries vary between third-party sellers. Photo: Joe Armao

As to delivery cut-off dates, Harvey Norman's deadline was on Thursday.Cut-off dates for Amazon Australia will be different for each third-party seller, with some not taking orders a week out from Christmas.

JB Hi-Fi has same day and three-hour deliveries so you can probably get your packages in time if you order by Friday, December 22. There's also the option of selecting the 'Pick up in store' option when putting in your online order. Last year e-vouchers were delivered in time for Christmas if they were made before 2 pm on Christmas Eve.

Ms Ucukalo says click-and-collect, which allows buyers to order online and pick up in store, is growing in popularity for customers and retailers.

"Customers experience the convenience of online shopping with the perks of collecting from a store" where they can visually inspect the item. And an added bonus is missed deliveries are avoided, she says.

Cakar feels "more organised when shopping online".

He can look at different shops at the same time and see reviews of items, as opposed to the salesperson telling him what he wants to hear to get him to buy.

His mum, on the other hand, would rather go into a brick and mortar store so she can get help from staff if she needs it.

Cakar said she once took her printer to Officeworks because "she didn't know how to find out what ink her printer took".

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Buying from overseas

Xanthe Bennett won't be home for Christmas.

The uni student is on exchange in Spain, so she has resorted to doing her Christmas shopping online this year.

She bought her mum a Belgian pillowcase from what she thought was a small shop in Belgium.

"I hope my mum doesn't find out it actually was from Canada," she says.

Her delivery took two weeks to arrive, which gives an indication that it's probably too late to ship from smaller retailers overseas using standard shipping.

For reference, New Zealand Post's express deadline to Australia was on Wednesday

Still, some items from Amazon US should arrive in time for Christmas in capital cities if you get your orders in by Saturday, December 16 using 'global priority shipping.'

FedEx International economy shipping from coastal cities in the US should deliver by Christmas if you put your orders in by Friday, December 15, and arrange to pick it up from one of their centres. However, it all depends on how big the parcel is.

And if you are really cutting it fine, FedEx and DHL offer time-sensitive express services throughout Christmas, which can leave on the next flight or the morning after your order is placed.

Amanda Resurreccion on Sydney's Pitt Street mall with some of her Christmas shopping. Photo: Daniel Munoz

Amanda Resurreccion is a graduate and public relations consultant who is planning to spend a week's pay on Christmas presents for her friends and family.

This year she "was a little unorganised so there will be no online shopping" for her.

Instead, she'll be doing her shopping in store this time around.

She likes "to walk around the shops to get ideas for presents anyway."

This year, Australia's major retailers have had the weakest pre-Christmas sales in four years according to Citi research.

Christmas retail spending is down compared to last year, indicating weak household income growth and increased spending on essentials like mortgages and utilities, according to Citi's shopping analysis.

Citi said there has been an increase of shoppers planning their purchases online, which has cut down on "window shopping".

But Christmas Day will be on a Monday, which means there will be a late surge of shopping.

If you think you fall into this category, here's what you need to know if you're game to brave the shops last minute:

Melbourne's Northland and Central shopping centres and Brisbane's Wintergarden and Indooroopilly shopping centres will be open until 6 pm on Christmas Eve.

All Westfields in Sydney will also be open until 6 pm on Christmas Eve.

Parramatta Westfield will be running a "non-stop shop" from 9.30am on December 21 until 9 pm the next day, while Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne will keep its doors open from 8 am on Saturday, December 23 until 6 pm on Christmas Eve.