I’ve been thinking about the question ever since Wendi Thomas asked it a couple of weeks ago: Can you remember three gifts you got for Christmas last year? No, off the top of my head, I couldn’t.

But this week was my birthday, and I’m shopping for Christmas, and I realized that indeed there are gifts that I don’t forget. It’s been a difficult time — lots of work, lots of friends having troubles – so I decided to draw some strength from the gifts and love that my friends have given me over the years. I put on my lovely blue cashmere sweater from Rosemary, who told me when she gave it to me that she pictured me wearing it while I was writing a newspaper column. I added the fabulous earrings from Becca that I’d never have picked for myself, but that suit me perfectly. Andy bought me my cowboy boots years ago, just because. My toast this morning from my friend Lela’s kitchen; first bread she’s made in years, and she shared it with me for my birthday. And my desk at work is full of tokens of friendship; I particularly love the colorful tile from Lisa that says “Desire What You Have.”

While Wendi’s point is well-taken — we generally give way too much stuff with way too little meaning — for me, today, the gifts that my friends and family have taken time to pick for me stand for much more. They are tangible representations of love, caring and time.

What gifts could be better than those?

The long-awaited movie adaptation of the wildly popular book, “The Kite Runner,” opens Friday, and though the film has been dogged by controversy — read about it here — it’s totally worth seeing. Though not if you want light holiday entertainment; the story is brutal, though the emotions are powerful and pure. The thing that struck me when I saw the movie in preview was how true to the tone of the book the movie is, and how sere and barren the setting was. Does Afghanistan really look like that? Hosseini’s evocation of his homeland made it seem beautiful, despite its troubles.

Did you read the book and are you going to see the movie?

The search for a Wii for the perfect Christmas surprise has reached fever pitch for lots of the people in my life. I listened this afternoon to a co-worker talking to a friend who is driving to North Carolina and stopping at every Wal-Mart on the way to see if they have one. (My idea of the perfect nightmare.) But evidently they can be found, even if in Jacksonville, NC.

Or can they? Where have you looked for a Wii? And why is this the gift of choice this year? Weren’t they around last year?

Signed, Game-impaired Diva

Are you totally kidding me? Of course I grabbed up O, The Oprah Magazine the minute I saw this cover line, and the story inside did not disappoint. The tip that stung the most: Dump the dowdy jeans and turtlenecks, illustrated by the photo, left, which is basically what I wear every weekend, and whenever I can. But there’s lots of other good advice that doesn’t sting quite so much, including 25 Top Clothing Items that Just Gotta Go. (Thankfully the list includes holiday sweaters with appliques ….)

Interestingly, all this advice is from the forthcoming book of the same name by Charla Krupp, a longtime fashion/style editor in New York who you might recognize from her segments on the Today show (or by her picture on the book’s cover). Read the rest of this entry »

My hands-down favorite book to read this time of year is “I Don’t Know How She Does It,” a hilarious tale of an overscheduled, neurotic working mom and her inner struggle to be everything to everyone. Sound familiar? Sure does to me this time of year, as I was up this morning at dawn, slicing up homemade shortbread to take to the kid’s Christmas Around the World feast today at his school before I head to the office early to get a jump on my Christmas column for the newspaper and think, as I go, of all the presents I still have to find. And did I mention that we haven’t even put up our tree yet? Well, it’s standing in the living room, but with no lights, ornaments or anything.

No wonder I feel on the verge of tears all the time.

But, unlike Kate Reddy, the heroine of my favorite novel (wonder when will it be a movie?), I have help. Actually, way more than help … I have all the support I need, if I can only remember to ask for it.

Read the rest of this entry »