Are you hard-hearted cynic who hates Christmas? Perhaps you have not heard about the Christmas Miracle of 2011: The K-Mart Mystery Christmas Layaway Payoffs.

Not that you need any more proof that the economy is falling to pieces, but it seems layaway shopping—the installment payment system left over from the Great Depression—is now on the rise, as crafty retailers try and figure out how to get people to buy stuff for the holidays. Unfortunately, the trend is restricted to discount stores at the moment, which means if you're doing your Christmas shopping at Barneys, you'll just have to settle for just running up your credit card balance. [AMNY, MSNBC]