My 2010 Christmas haul

My wife is the best gift giver on the planet.
In addition to getting me tickets to the last two Connecticut Forums in 2011 (Temple Grandin/Steven Pinker and John Irving/Jonathan Franzen/Azar Nafisi), she stuffed my stocking with three items that are my three favorite gifts of the year.

• A Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure pin (there was a time when I could recite this movie word-for-word)
• A New England Patriots house key
• A pair of boxers (she always gives me underwear) with images of headphones covering them (I live most of my life with a pair of headphones perched atop my head)

Some people might prefer a video game system or a fancy watch or a cashmere sweater.

I like these things, too (maybe not the sweater and definitely not the watch), but like the books that I write, I tend to like the quirky gifts the best.

These three gifts are simple, inexpensive, and infused with great thought and love.

I wouldn’t trade them for anything.