With days dwindling down before the big ''ho, ho, ho,'' you don't have to settle for picked-over sweaters, ''almost like it'' toys and ''not quite what you wanted'' electronics. Take your gift list to the Web. There's still time to have your order delivered well ahead of the holiday. Online stores are open 24/7, there's no long line at the checkout and you won't even have to lug your purchases out to the car when you're done.

http://www.stpg.com/html/shopping.html. Want to do a little research before you start to shop? Visit the Starting Page. Not only have they taken the work out of Web shopping, they're trying to do away with the worry as well. Check out the stores before you check out at them.

http://www.buyersindex.com. The Buyer's Index site includes 20,000 Web shopping sites and mail-order catalogs with over 300 million product offerings. But a search for, say, Winnie-the-Pooh returns the best places to shop in less time than it takes to reattach Eeyore's tail. Even better, when the results do pop up on your screen, you'll see how many items are available, where the store ships to, how long they've been in business, what their return policy is and, in many cases, site reviews by BizRate and PublicEye site rating services.

http://www.2400hrs.com. Not really into doing massive searches and calling up a dozen single sites to find what you're looking for? The 2400 Hours site has done the legwork for you at several hundred stores. Use their fast click system to narrow choices to a general selection or take advantage of the super fast search tool to get to a specific item fast.

http://www.shoptopten.com. At the Shop Top Ten site, they've narrowed your choices to the top 10 stores in each of 19 categories. Their claim is that they have turned a critical eye to the many e-stores and have only listed the best of the best. One thing is for sure, they have done their homework. Their comments about deals, discounts and free shipping offers could save you big bucks come checkout time.

http://www.loudbrain.com/subjectshopping.asp. Articles have been written about the time and effort the LoudBr@in folks put into their selections. Calling themselves the ''people powered Web guide,'' each site listed here has been hand-picked by one of the LoudBr@in guides. It offers lots of search muscle and avoids the junk sites you normally have to sift through.

http://www.lizardlips.com. Finally, here's one of my favorites. Lizard Lips is a visitor-friendly site with a very personal approach to the whole shopping process. It makes for a gentle entry into the sometimes scary world of Internet shopping.

Jan Perry is a freelance writer. Send questions or suggestions to her at SiteSeer2K@aol.com.