O, Tannenbundt

Confused, the boy was, as to why his toy box had been moved from under the big office windows to the dining room.

"Well, let's go see," I said, guiding him back to the office, where sat the large white cardboard box with the artificial Christmas tree inside. "What do you think is going to go in that spot?"

Ryan contemplated a few seconds before responding excitedly. "A big cake!"

I received Wednesday off to try to squeeze October and November's forgotten shopping into one day, but ended up restringing the porch lights (with the right sets this time) and teaching my son how to "pump".

I'm sure this is legal.

Despite a long list of people I need to buy for (though I don't shop based on lists -- I'm more of an impulse shopper), I only found a few things to buy later at the mall, so this year's presents may consist of a lot of small, unique intangibles, such as "Your Name in a Limerick" or "Coupons Redeemable for Moral Support."

We did get most of our Christmas cards folded, stuffed, and labeled, continuing a two-year trend of being unable to personalize them, what with the little hand already well past the 1. But at least we got them out before Groundhog Day.