The much-needed money will be spent right away on post-holiday sales, provide a morale boost and will show you care about the 6 percent out of work.

Since recipients will probably spend the gift during the post-holiday sales, they can get more than if the gift had been purchased before the holidays.

A blast of icy Yuletide weather and spectacular post-holiday sales saved the nation's retailers from a devastating season.

Some New York area retailers found it hard to lure many shoppers to spend heavily on the first day of post-holiday sales.

Mr. Ehrenhalt attributed much of the clothing price decline to seasonal factors, mainly post-holiday sales.

So far this year, most of these sites report that weekly revenues are actually increasing, despite the fact that post-holiday sales to consumers have leveled off.

For clothing, post-holiday sales of fall and winter wear more than offset price increases for new spring and summer merchandise.

These decorations were not necessarily easy to find, particularly after the January post-holiday sales and before stores put up their Christmas trees in November.

"It helps with the budget," she said, adding that she will buy gifts for herself later, when the post-holiday sales are in full swing.

But like many retailers, Bloomingdale's includes the week after Christmas as part of its fiscal month, so post-holiday sales could make a significant difference, he said.