From the first of December, and often earlier, the high street becomes transformed. We are not just talking about fairy lights and garish decorations here. In pursuit of the best Christmas Gifts, the stores bustle with frenzied shoppers, risking life and limb for that limited edition toy or the last pair of novelty Santa socks. All of this set to a persistent and grating soundtrack of 'Jingle Bells' and 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas'. You part with your battered credit card and drag your newly acquired (and very heavy) Christmas Gifts through the doors, against a tide of shoppers out into the cold and the rain. Then, with a sudden realisation that you've forgotten to get Christmas Gifts for your great-aunt's next door neighbour's sister's children, you hastily dive back in, grab the nearest hideous soft toys, little caring that they're bound to despise them. Finally you join the mammoth queues for Christmas Gifts snaking around the shop. Sound familiar?

The benefits of online shopping are ever more apparent. Sitting in your comfortable desk chair in your pyjamas if you so desire and sipping your coffee, your mouse hovers over potential Christmas Gifts, warm and relaxed in your own home. This could be midday or midnight and the service available will still be the same. All a far cry from the sullen shop assistants forced against their will into Santa hats, sulkily pointing out the Christmas Gifts aisles and silently taking your money and handing you back very little change.

Christmas Gifts can even be bought in a lunch hour; so finding an entire day to devote to Christmas shopping and getting a babysitter to watch the kids (or even worse taking them with you) is no longer an issue. Even if you do forget your great-aunt's next door neighbour's sister's children, the internet can be switched on within five minutes, but with none of the unnecessary stress.

So apart from the fact that you can now buy Christmas gifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week via the internet, the costs are likely to be lower too. Shoppers can easily compare websites and prices to get the best deal and, therefore, save time and money buying Christmas Gifts. With services offered such as tracking an order to see when it has been despatched, and direct phone numbers if you need any help and advice, internet shopping is easy and stress free for anyone.

The internet also offers a variety of Christmas Gifts that may simply not be available or may be more difficult to find on the high street. These include everything from cheeky stocking fillers to larger, more extravagant presents. Personalised Gifts can be ordered weeks in advance of Christmas and so provide unique and individual Christmas Gifts. Experience Day Gifts (such as flying lessons or rally driving) are also easier to buy on the internet, as shoppers are able to tailor their packages and compare the different Christmas Gifts on the market, thus choosing the most appropriate experience for the intended recipient.

If you begin your Christmas shopping early to spread the cost, it can be difficult to find Christmas Gifts on the high street, as stores are still clearing their leftover Summer and Autumn stock. This is not an issue for online shoppers as Christmas Gifts websites and decoration sites operate all year round. So there's no excuse to leave it to the last minute. Finishing your Christmas shopping early also brings the added bonus that you have more time to focus on the things that really matter during the festive season. Spending some quality time with your family and loved ones perhaps...

In an age where technology is constantly developing and pushing the boundaries, it makes sense that so many people are updating the way in which they shop to fit modern lifestyles. Ever more shoppers are now turning away from the traditional high street and choosing to browse the internet when they purchase their Christmas Gifts.

Bizarrely, some shoppers claim to miss the hectic snatching and fighting that comes with buying Christmas Gifts on the high street, but if that's the case, you could calmly saunter into town and relax in a coffee shop, watching the chaos surrounding you as a dispassionate observer. You're safe in the knowledge that your specially chosen purchases are in the post and will land on your doorstep tomorrow, as if delivered by Santa himself. It is little wonder that the high street is headed for the high road this Christmas.