Janie, you are so lucky that your family has bit the bullet and gone to a name-draw for Christmas. I wish my in-laws would.

They are now quite a tribe: four surviving siblings in mid- to late middle age, with children in their 30s and 40s and grandchildren ranging from toddlers to voters. My husband, who normally loves to shop, just gives up in confusion once they pass the crayons stage, and he never knows what to get for his own generation -- but he never stops fussing and fretting over it. Now, if The Sisters would organize a name-draw for the adults, we could each focus on one family member without bracing ourselves to be thankful for a carload of stuff we neither need nor want. It has to be one of The Sisters, not only because they are the progenitors of most of the children and grandchildren, but also because they run the family. As the childless Come From Aways, all we can do is enter a plea.

And of course, I will now conduct the ritual of self-kicking and reminding myself that this is a truly wonderful problem to have at Christmas ...