I’m trying to get into the holiday spirit. Here’s one little widget that made my day. Shawn Collins passed it on to me.

Meanwhile, I’m not alone in getting ready for Cyber Monday. Reports say that 30 percent of U.S. shoppers will do more of their holiday shopping online this year, as compared to the 2006 holiday season. According to the survey, conducted by Vizu, a market research company, and sponsored by buySAFE, 46 percent of respondents would rather shop online for the holiday season than face the hassle of malls or pay the high cost of gas.

However, at least 50 percent of respondents said they experienced at least one serious problem when buying online, such as the item never arrived, and nearly one third of those have had at least three or more problems with online purchases. Nearly three quarters of the respondents said they would spend more online this holiday season because of lower shipping costs. Nearly 35 percent cited procrastination as the main reason they plan to shop OFF-line this holiday season. Check out a complete copy of the report.

Other recently released reports on holiday shopping indicate that online traffic is already picking up. The Hitwise U.S. Retail 100 Index indicates that visits to major retail websites were up 7 percent for the week ending Nov. 10, 2007 from the previous week and (Nov. up 13 percent compared to the same week a year ago.

Amazon.com remained the most-visited website within the HitWise Index last week, receiving 11 percent of visits among the Retail 100 Index. Wal-Mart received the second-most visits with six percent. Overstock.com was the biggest gainer for the week, as their traffic increased 18 percent compared to the previous week.

I’m also curious if any online marketers are planning to take advantage of Oprah’s Favorite Things of 2007 show today. Her yearly show that promotes a gaggle of gifts usually sees those items flying off the shelves. Maybe promoting those specific items on affiliate site will produce some good results. I’d love to hear from anyone leveraging this tact.