We're in the home stretch for Christmas shopping, but some procrastinators could actually do quite well by waiting this year.

That's because there could be some good deals still to come both in stores and on the web, according to retail analyst Jim Rutledge. "Every day you'll even see daily specials as we lead into the last few days."

Of course, that comes at the cost of huge traffic delays, parking problems and picked over merchandise. 

But Rutledge says you may be able to avoid some of that by shopping late at night as many stores are now staying open late or open 24 hours.

With Christmas now less than a week away, some people are ready to get serious.  Rutledge suggests checking on-line before you head out to the store for special offers.  And he says check return policies before buying and be sure to keep all receipts.