I hope that each of you had a wonderful holiday, whether that be Hanukkah or Christmas or Kwanzaa. I'm still in Boca Raton at my sister Karin's house. Thanks to the modern miracle of e-mail, I can write my column from anywhere in the world, provided I make my deadline. I got some wonderful gifts myself, including new cologne, the latest Eagles album, an iTunes gift card, and a Spiderman doll. Hey, don't diss Spiderman or I may have to hurt you. My brother and I went to Wally World on Friday to spend the $50 gift card I got. What a mob scene. I picked up another game for my new Nintendo Wii. Now we can play billiards, ping pong, the shooting gallery, and laser hockey. There's even a fishing game, which is really weird. I can't fathom fishing in real life, let alone doing it virtually. ...more

December 31, 2007

The buildup to midnight on New Year's Eve is always fun, but once the champagne's been popped and the ball's been dropped, there's a letdown. Why not try something different this year: a little friendly competition on that game console you got for Christmas. ...more

December 29, 2007

Just weeks ago, the holiday shopping season seemed headed for disaster. But in the waning hours before Christmas, the nation's retailers got their wish - a last-minute surge of shopping that helped meet their modest sales goals, according to data released late Monday by research firm ShopperTrak RCT Corp. ...more

December 25, 2007

•The guy in the red suit is bringing new movies to the theaters, so when you're bored with that new Wii, go see a movie. "Juno," "The Water Horse: The Legend of the Deep" and "The Great Debaters" all open Tuesday. ...more

December 24, 2007

With just three days left before Christmas, the nation's retailers are in a lather to attract last-minute shoppers to salvage what has been a mediocre December. ...more

December 22, 2007

To deal with frustration among holiday shoppers hunting for its Wii game console, Nintendo Co. and retailer GameStop Corp. are launching a rain-check program. ...more

December 15, 2007

System: Wii Also available for: Nintendo DS, Windows PC ...more

December 14, 2007

This time of year, as the leftover turkey in the back of the refrigerator begins its transformation into something unrecognizable and hordes of shoppers trample each other to grab the final Nintendo Wii on the store shelf, stress levels can rise faster than Dick Cheney's heartbeat on a three-mile hike. ...more

December 2, 2007

System: Nintendo Wii Publisher: Nintendo ...more

November 23, 2007

Each holiday season, a couple of hard-to-find toys send parents hunting from store to store. And each season, they're soon forgotten: Has your Elmo gotten any tickles lately? ...more

November 21, 2007