Santa Claus may be hard at work as the holidays approach, but he will find many Americans struggling with a troubled economy. A CNN poll on holiday shopping suggests that what many of us suspect is true: This will be the worst Christmas shopping season on record.

Let's take a look.

CNN Shopping Poll

Slow Sales And Layoffs

Here for the holidays: Slow sales and layoffs. The Small Business Optimism Index fell 5.4 points in October - the third-worst reading in the history of the survey. Moreover, the number of owners reporting increased sales over the past 3 months fell to the lowest level in history of the survey.

Fewer Gift Cards this Holiday Season

On October 21, speculating about the bankruptcy of Circuit City, I offered these Circuit City-inspired Christmas Shopping Tips, centered on my advice "to shop less and save more. Your job could be in jeopardy - and you may not even know it. Frugality is the new reality for consumers and businesses alike."

Circuit City did go bankrupt; following its demise, a Retail Tsunami Hit Gift Cards.

The National Retail Federation reports shoppers will give fewer gift certificates this season and head to the sale rack instead.

And CNN says that spending is expected to be more Scrooge than Santa this year.