Christmas sales available now

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Christmas is just around the corner and many families are trying to figure out how pay for Christmas gifts on a budget.

However hard economic times have also hit retailers and the bargains are big.

This holiday season, you don't even have to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to get great deals.

Malls have kicked off the Christmas shopping season early by putting out festive decorations, lowering the prices and placing Santa on active duty.

Cottonwood Mall will soon offer free tickets to local sporting events, like Scorpions hockey and Thunderbirds basketball, to the first 40 people who buy a Simon gift cards valued at $100 or more.

Dollar stores and dollar sections are also great ways to get stocking stuffers on the cheap. They're also a good place to pick up some extra batteries for holiday gifts.

Also don't forget to rack up points, rewards and cash back by using promotional credit cards.

With hot deals around Albuquerque, it's never too early to start thinking about next year. It's easy to store holiday gifts in a secret location for that special event in the future.