Mr. Heb and I have decided that, this year, we're going to try a gift-free Christmas. There'll still be food...and drink...and decorations aplenty...but there will be a Scrooge like absence of gifts. We decided upon this course of action last year when we realized that Christmas had become a little too commercial...and instead of trading gifts it merely felt like we were trading checks.

Which was all very well and good and virtuous from January through November but now I can't help but wonder what Christmas morning will be like with nothing under the tree...a feeling which probably comes from watching too many cautionary cartoons as a child...where Christmas was canceled and misery overtook the land. Perhaps I should purchase a precautionary gift...a "break now in case of emergency gift"...an "I need to rip something utterly useless open right now" gift...like this inflatable fruitcake...inexpensive, seasonal, and providing a sense of achievement once you get it blown up. Perfect.