Should you put yourself through all that hassle, crowds and annoyance? Perhaps it may be wiser to shop during the blistering summer month of July when everyone is outside enjoying the nice weather.

If you hate crowds and fighting them during the Christmas season, then this is just the way to go.

Retailers usually have slow summers, due to the lull between Mother's/Father's Day and Thanksgiving, and they often have many great deals hidden throughout the store in an attempt to bring people in.

Going shopping in July for all those Christmas gifts will not only save you money, as some retailers will often have sales in December with prices higher than they are in July, but it will help you beat the crowds.

Of course, this does not work for everything. Certain things, such as video games released in the Christmas season, pets and food cannot, of course, be bought in July.

However, minus those few exceptions, July Christmas shopping is something not enough shoppers do.

One thing to take into consideration is the hiding of presents. Instead of only hiding gifts for a few weeks, you will be hiding them from your loved ones and friends for nearly six months, so choose a spot wisely!

Another way to save money, but not fight the crowds, is to shop throughout the year on various sale weekends like Columbus Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day.

These long weekends provide you ample opportunities throughout the year to slowly pick up the presents you need. Granted, there will be crowds but the sale prices will be excellent and the crowds will be nothing compared to those of the Black Friday to Christmas Eve sort.

If you live in Canada, use the day after Christmas, Boxing Day, to start picking up presents for the following year. Prices are usually the cheapest at this point but crowds will be pretty bad.

You fall into the same situation here as well, with having to hide presents for 364 days, rather than a few weeks.

Whichever method you choose, there are plenty of ways to beat the crowds, save money and not stress yourself out over this Christmas season.

Unless, of course, you like the joys of shopping for presents during November and December.