The days of holiday spending sprees are a thing of the past, it seems, with more shoppers looking for the biggest bang for their buck. That is why retailers think gift cards and layaway will make a big comeback this year.

With many people tightening their budgets, a growing number will be paying the old fashioned way this year, a little now and a little more later. Jim Schilling at Good Vibrations and Sound Pro in Great Falls says, "People end up making a choice early but they don't have to pay for it all right up front. They get the item they want at the best price, they can have it all ready to go, gift wrapped, and then they're not scrambling around at the last second for Christmas."

At Good Vibrations and Sound Pro, employees say layaway allows gift-givers to make purchases early in the busy holiday season when selection is at its best. Schilling says, "People know the hottest gift items, they know what they want and too many times in the past, they have come and shopped late, only to find that some of the better items are all gone."

Over at Target in Great Falls, they are expecting gift cards to be in high demand this yer, especially for those who are unsure what to buy their loved ones. And the store is making creative changes to help lure in the gift givers who find the cards to be too impersonal.

Shawn Zook, the Logisitics Manager at Target says, " Target's using some really creative and unique gift cards to make it less of here's a gift card that's not very personal, that's not very festive, that's not very fun by making the gift card animated or play a tune or light up."

Although gift cards may eliminate the need to return gifts, make sure to read the fine print for hidden fees or expiration dates, before you hit the cash register. Zook says, "The twenty dollar gift card [from Target] that you give today to your grandson will still have twenty dollars on it if it's not redeemed five years from now."