Here's a guilty pleasure: I love coming home to find a box from UPS or FedEx waiting on my doorstep.

As the song says, brown paper packages tied up with string — especially when they're on my porch — are one of my favorite things. Even if I know I'll find some mundane item inside, like vacuum cleaner bags.

On Cyber Monday [1] (the Internet equivalent of Black Friday [2]) or any other day, another one of my favorite things is doing the bulk of my holiday shopping online. I can browse for the perfect gift through several stores and guides [2], compare prices, and read product reviews. I can ship gifts directly to far-flung friends and skip trips to the post office.

But how eco-savvy is online shopping? Is it better for the planet to drive to the mall to get all the gifts on my Santa list? Products I can't buy locally need to be shipped, regardless of whether they end up at a store or at my door. UPS and FedEx will have to deliver my packages, but the trucks regularly cruise through most city neighborhoods anyway.

So where's a good-intentioned gift-shopper to shop? While eco-experts have grappled with this question more than you might think, the jury's still out. One column, Ask Umbra [3] at Grist [4], says that's partly because so many variables are involved: Do you live an hour away from the nearest shopping mall? Is the item something that might be made locally? It's case-by-case.

I live within 10 miles of a few major shopping centers; so if I want to go on a spree at one of them, it's probably better for the planet to drive. But if I need to drive all over town to several different shopping centers or standalone stores to check off my list, it seems smarter to shop online.

One downside to online shopping is the added, and often excessive packaging [4] that often comes with each order. But I can reuse the shipping containers and packing material to ship those gifts I do buy at a brick-and-mortar store.

Once I factor in the added peace of mind I get from shopping in my living room, it's a no-brainer. Even if I'm not sure what's better for the planet, I know works for me: Reducing unnecessary stress during the season definitely makes the holidays a lot more fun.