What Makes a Fitting Christmas Gift?
As I work to complete my Christmas shopping, I have been thinking over what makes a good Christmas gift. As I mentioned last year, we do three gifts per child (plus a stocking). And to some extent, I try to do as my friend Montse does: one toy, one book, one piece of clothing. But I give some leeway: I tend to get two toys for the boys instead of clothing, unless it's really cool clothing, like a hobbit cloak. (More on that later...) But beyond these parameters (and readers of this page know how much I delight in parameters), what other qualities transform something from a bargain piece of clothing to a bit of magic in a box known as a Christmas gift? Along with my ruminations, I'll include links to some gifts our family has enjoyed in the past, to share the joy with you. Weightiness. The first virtue of a gift, for me, is its quality: it must please the eye and hand, and that generally means quality. For some reason, I can't find myself shopping for Christmas g