Anneslie Mom Blogs Holiday Tips

Rebecca Klein is naturally inclined to share her shopping secrets.

"If you say to me, 'Hey, I love your shirt, I like your dress,' I'm not just going to say 'Hey, thanks' and move on," she said. "I'll tell you where I got it, the price, and I might even offer to pick one up for you somewhere next time."

For this year's holiday shopping season, the Anneslie mom will be dispensing her advice on a wider scale as host of new "GURU" blog. That stands for "Get Ultimate Retail Updates."

A friend told her Towson Town Center was looking for a blogger, and she ended up winning the spot.

In her audition video, she approached friends, neighbors and strangers and asked them to pitch for her.

"In the end, I used all the people I knew," she said. "But it was scary to go up to a few people and ask 'What's your first impression of me and why?' "

It was enough to convince Towson Town Center management. Since then, the freelance writer and 39-year-old mother of two has had the chance to explore many of Towson Town Center's nooks and crannies, while getting a head start on her own gift shopping.

"I have a lot of shopping to do, being that we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah," she said. "So two kids, eight nights, you can do the math. It's a lot."

Besides finding things to put under the tree, Klein said the other hot items to look out for are hostess gifts, the topic of her recent post where she asks customers what they'd want.

"What I'm seeing is there are really exciting gifts at every price point," she said. "You can spend under $20 and you can find something really great."

She sees her tips as a way of passing on coupons to friends, magnified through the power of social media.

For Klein, one of the most enticing parts of the blog is being able to engage with readers to help them solve their shopping woes. One reader has already asked to join her on a shopping trip. On Thursday evening, Klein will host a meet and greet on the first floor.

"I really would love for people to throw their challenges at me," Klein said. "I realize that people are juggling a lot these days. Work, kids, all the holiday events and everything else that happens over these few months. They don't have time to necessarily pore over all the deals and figure out what is out there, so I figure that is my job to do for them."