Give co-workers gift? Get gifts in the mail.

Aren't we a generous bunch?

Forty-eight percent of workers plan to buy a holiday gift for a colleague and 34 percent hope to surprise the boss with something special, according to a survey by OfficeTeam of 455 workers.

Not so many expect gifts in return: Thirty-six percent thought they'd get one from a co-worker and 29 percent from their supervisor.

Of course, maybe we won't be as generous as we were last year.

The National Retail Federation predicted that holiday spending on co-workers will decline 15 percent - to $19.26 per person from $22.63 in 2008.

- Philip Walzer

SHIPPING

It's time to get our ho-ho-ho-ing done

Even Santa, with all of his magical powers, needs time to prepare his deliveries.

That's why he created shipping deadlines. And they are fast approaching.

To ship with UPS, gift-givers should plan to drop off packages sometime this week to be safe, said Karen Cole, a spokeswoman at the delivery company's headquarters in Atlanta. Most UPS ground shipping takes five days or less, she said, so gifts on the road by Dec. 19 should arrive by Christmas Eve. To know for sure, consumers can use the "time-in-transit" calculator on the company's Web site.

Shipping company FedEx and some online retailers - such as Amazon.com, Bed Bath & Beyond and Banana Republic - have set a ground-shipping deadline of Dec. 17 for packages to arrive in time for Christmas.

Dec. 17 is scheduled as Free Shipping Day by Freeshipping.org, which organizes and promotes retailers who agree on that one day to deliver orders at no cost by Christmas Eve. According to the company, more than 450 merchants had signed up as of Monday, compared with 250 that joined Free Shipping Day last year.

For the U.S. Postal Service, the deadline to mail items by parcel post is Dec. 16 and by first-class/Priority mail is Dec. 21, said Fran Sansone, a local Postal Service spokeswoman.

Retailers such as Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel and Eddie Bauer will take online orders as late as Dec. 22 and still deliver them by Christmas with standard shipping, according to Dealnews.com Inc., a site that searches retail prices and discounts.

Gift-givers who cut it even closer can use overnight delivery to make sure gifts arrive in time for Santa to carry them down the chimney.

- Carolyn Shapiro