Retail remains king, but Americans concerned about climate change and consumerism are continuing to have an impact on shopping habits.

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In our family Christmas grab bag, I have drawn the name of a cousin's fiancee, whom I have only met briefly once. Help me figure out something even a little clever or thoughtful to give this nearly perfect stranger! I follow her on social media, but pretty much all I know about her is that she:
- is in her mid 20s
- loves my cousin, and
- is studying to become a physical therapist

Beyond that, she seems to enjoy many of the same things my cousin enjoys, such as beer and music, but I don't necessarily want to give her something that's, you know, potentially more "for him."

It occurred to me that maybe something relevant to her profession, or being a med student in general, etc., might be good, but I don't know enough about those things to generate any particularly good ideas.

They seem pleasantly weird, as a couple, so off-the-wall suggestions are welcome too!

Thanks in advance, o wise mefite gifters.

It’s not easy trying to compete with Yuletide bling.

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Cooked under buttery puff pastry, seafood mingles in a velvety sauce for a fish pie that doubles as a stunning holiday centerpiece for Christmas Eve.

And just when you thought made-for-TV Christmas movies couldn’t get any cheesier.

Beautiful and bright, Yotam Ottolenghi’s warm upside-down lemon cake gives you that ta-da moment for the holidays.

Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, outside of Detroit, bills itself as the largest Christmas store in the world.

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In about two weeks, I may have to go to The Nutcracker for work, but I very strongly dislike professional ballet and don't care for the symphonic music of the 1890s. Help me find ways to make this experience less excruciating for myself! I may have to go sit in a dark theater and be subjected to the Nutcracker ballet for work, and I need something to do with my hands or mind to avoid wasting two hours in mind-numbing boredom. Here are further complicating details:

• I work as a mental health skills trainer and will working in a team of two to support approximately 10 clients while in the community.
  
• My work team consists of 1 manager, myself, and another woman, so it would be for all intents and purposes impossible for another person to step in, if my manager needs to remain at our facility.
  
• I loathe professional ballet for the appalling, patriarchal, and misogynistic violence it does to the bodies and minds of women. I am not looking to rethink this position.
  
• I do not care for the symphonic music of the period, so 'enjoying the music' is not much of an option.
  
• I have an extraordinary difficulty in sitting in the dark during the day for movies or concerts--I will not see a movie in a theater for this reason.
  

Some mitigating factors:

• I can knit and crochet, but it is hard to do in the dark, and can be challenging to put away quickly if someone needs assistance in a hurry.
  
• Although I don't really get on a gut level why why people want to go to this event, I also want to facilitate participation for folks who don't necessarily have easy access to this type of event.
  
• I am a percussionist so I suppose failing all else, I could sit and count measures endlessly.
  
• I do understand that sometimes you have to suck it up and make peace with the idea that 'if it doesn't get better, at least it gets over'.
  

At any rate, if anyone has any suggestions for productive or fun things to keep my hands (or mind) busy during the parts of the event where folks are sitting quietly and watching the ballet, I would love to hear them. Also, if you've had to go to a ballet or another such event featuring an activity that offends you, what strategies did you use to make it thought?

Although I might not have to go, I do want to be prepared just in case.

They are impossible to shop for! We are doing Christmas stockings only this year so I need a number of smallish things for each of them. So far I have things like a yeti mug, nice reuseable shopping bags, high-end hand cream, waterproof notepad, fun pens, and colorful playing cards.

Planning to add on some candies, coffee, maybe like a puzzle or something. They go all out on Christmas and doing stockings only was my attempt to scale back, but I absolutely need to add more.

They are both retired in their early 70's, both kind of artsy - he is a wood worker, she is a quilter. They're both very advanced at their craft so I would feel silly getting accessories/ supplies for them. They are obsessed with pickleball but how many pickleballs does a person need.

They live near Lake Michigan in a rural location and they are financially well-off. My husband and I live in another state. I want to stay away from tchotchkes and junk, and ridiculously overpriced stuff (like a 4-pack of fancy soaps that cost $48)... books and consumables might be good. Any ideas?

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Looking for Christmas gift ideas for future in laws. Challenge, must be able to fit in suitcase and last from US to Philippines. My son's girlfriend is going to see her mom in the Philippines for Christmas. I want to send a gift with her for her mother and her brother. Any ideas of something smallish that I can send with her for a ~40 yo woman and a ~16 yo boy? We have never met them before in person but we care very much for her daughter and want her to know that we think of them as extended family.

Open to things that they don't have there, food things (that are OK to take through customs), and more meaningful stuff too.

TIA!

The network has two new Hanukkah-themed movies. In one of them, the Jewish protagonist doesn’t know how to decorate a tree.

“It gets better” for misfit reindeer too.

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Cullman, Ala., has displayed a 30-foot-tall wooden Weihnachtspyramide, or Christmas pyramid, to celebrate the city’s German roots.

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A California congregation’s display is meant to highlight the plight of refugees and asylum seekers.

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Here’s what the statistics say.

Hi everyone! I took a stroll over to Santa’s workshop today. I have made it a habit over the past several years to check in on the workshop frequently during the month of December. Things there...

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