I'm going to get my little buddy lots of books. Maybe some blocks.

A really great long camera lens.

And hoping the Bear finally decides he wants a tablet so I can get that for him.

For Jesse, the simplest toys were the best, and the age appropriate indicators on the boxes were fairly reliable. He let us know when he was ready for more complex diversions, around the time he was 5.

I'm not much of a one for Christmas gifts - I have pretty much everything I need, but I love getting cards. I really enjoy the annual MeCha Christmas Card Exchange. I've already bought my cards for this year.

Not sure what to get my parents- someone mentioned doing a cute calendar of grandkid pictures for their parents, but my rat-fink father made his own damn 2013 calendars already!

TPS, I highly recommend the Mirabelle books by Michael Muller if you don't have them already, they are super cute. For grandparents, you can put baby photos on basically everything if they already made calendars! For Hanukkah a couple years ago my brother and sister-in-law got me a mug with a picture of my nephew that said "I Love Aunt Alicia" or some other similarly cute thing.

I just do not even know. I told my husband that for my birthday/our anniversary, all I really wanted was Book of Mormon tickets. There's still time!

I will probably receive something painted with weird shit on it and some socks. My husband will likely give me Smartwool. My dad will likely give me some brand that is much thinner and possibly not my size.

My mother will probably give me used books that have nothing to do with what I actually read. Because it's reeeeeeally easy to shop for your daughter when the Little Free Library donation shelf is taking up most of the free space on your front porch.

Oh, and TPS: definitely anything by Mo Willems (Knuffle Bunny, but especially the pigeon books... oh my yes the pigeon books...) but I am also considering getting a set of my own favorite classics from when I was a kid, like the Virginia Lee Burton books (The Little House, Mike Mulligan, etc.).

A nice, snowy, week-long vacation in Maine would be nice.

My family officially agreed to stop doing holiday gifts a few years ago, since most of us are cash-poor for one reason or another, but I always find some reason to violate the rule. My brother's birthday is Xmas Eve, so this year I think it's time for him to have the ELO box set as a shout-out to our childhoods. I'll also get my mom a plane ticket out to California to spend the holiday here on the beach. And I'd like to upgrade my hubby's car with a proper AUX input / iPhone controller, so we don't have to fuss with our hideous FM transmitter as we sit gridlocked in crosstown traffic. My dad's the one with all the money and too many possessions, so he'll just get a sentimental card and a happy phone call.

All the adults in my family have enough stuff already, so unless something ridiculously appropriate turns up, for most of us it's secondhand books and digital or secondhand music only.

I am still craving that too-spicy sausage and onion pizza.

I was thinking of getting us Rockettes tickets this year. I've never seen them, and Jon seemed surprisingly interested. I love to see the tree, too. We tried to see the tree lighting one year, but couldn't get close enough, but I still love seeing it. And we like to send stuff up to Maine for Jon's family. Last year it was Katz's deli (pastrami, corned beef, matzo ball soup, knishes, half sours, even the sliced rye and spicy brown mustard) and Jacques Torres chocolates. This year we were thinking Italian -- there's this place on Arthur Ave. in the Bronx called Teitels that ships (I think they have a website, too -- I love shopping from the comfort of my couch), and maybe Dylan's Candy (they have these giant buckets of retro candy that Jon's nieces and nephew would go nuts for, or maybe a book gift card).

For my mom, I have this picture of us on my iPad I've been meaning to print and frame. Maybe some Katz's, too. We brought her Katz's before and she loved it. She shook her finger at Jon and said, I think you're half a Jew.

Laughing Baby! OMG! TPS he is adorable!

I have two daughters: just-turned-5 and about-to-turn-2.

Both are getting their own pile o' books, including matching sketchbooks/notebooks.

Also stocking stuffers such as: chocolate oranges, lip balm, nail polish, band-aids, sparkly crowns, tubes of tiny animal figurines.

Elder daughter is getting: a couple sets of Super Hero Squad action figures, a homemade knitted jackalope, a kit to make shrinky-dinks, a CD, a DVD of Where the Wild Things Are, a figurine of a chimera, and probably some other kind of action figure type of toy.

Younger daughter is getting: a set of play-dough utensils (rollers, stampers, that kind of thing), a pegasus figurine, some finger puppets, maybe a stuffed dragon or something, maybe a DVD of Wall-E.

I have not figured out what to get my husband. And I do not really want anything for myself.

We're thinking of getting Maddie a bike. Maybe, maybe not, I dunno. I've already got a stack of books for her and she'll get clothes and art supplies as usual. We don't get her toys at all (that's what other ppl give her) and she already has 10X more than she needs. I have a spoiled kid.

I am just going to request underwear. I'm gonna go get bras properly fitted, which I haven't done since I had the kiddo and my shape has changed somewhat.

I've no idea what I'm giving my husband.

Huh, I just had a dream about teaching someone to ride a bike. Just last night. A sign??????//?one?

Funny, we don't have a gift thing, even for birthdays. (Obvs, we're Asians in Asia, so.) I'd just like to survive moving back home after four years of being overseas at school 80% of the year. I think I might go crazy after a week. Family! Shorts would be nice, too, but I think I'll get them for myself this week.

TPS, Oliver's so cute. Babies!

We will probably take a trip to IKEA and make that our birthday/anniversary/xmas (yes, December is a big month for us) gift exchange. I want a couple Billy bookcases for my den*; the pair I have now are way too short. Or I have too many books. Nah, no such thing as too many books. I also want a new couch with full size bed pull-out. My futon isn't as comfortable as it used to be.

*It's also our guest room, but it's open to the rest of the house. We're going to build a wall to turn it into a bedroom. The room used to be the master bedroom, so it'll be easy to add a wall and create a closet. And it will be easier to sell a three bedroom home rather than a two bedroom home, not that we're planning on moving any time soon.

For my mom, I'm thinking some functional kitchen towels, like they have at bars, for a long term practical gift, and maybe a gift certificate to a bed and breakfast.

My girlfriend, I'm not 100% sure yet. Maybe a ton of cute stuff from Etsy.

Oh cripes, totally forgot about Mum. She's so hard to buy for. She has everything she wants and can buy what she doesn't have (and does!). It's a good thing she's not into big, fancy, tons o'gift type exchanges.

I am hoping to get some shelf organizers for my closet, which sounds really lame but its something I want but refuse to buy myself because they are more expensive than I think they should be.

What would really like is a personal assistant for a day to do all the things I've been putting off like submitting health insurance reimbursement paperwork and figuring out my new prescription program and taking a stack of my pants to the tailor for hemming. Not sure how likely that is.

I wanted to get bf a nice watch but he said he wants to get his own, so now I am trying to think of other things. My default gift for him has become concert tickets because he doesn't like "stuff" and we always talk about how we wish we went to more shows, but I am not sure if that is getting old.

For my sister, I know she wants a new hair drier.
Not sure yet about my mom- she is tough.
I usually get my dad books but maybe I will get him a weird plant this year instead.

DEAR EVERYBODY

I love nothing more than helping figure out presents for hard-to-buy people. I CAN HELP!