The gifts are bought and wrapped, the cookies are baked and the house is decorated --oh, yeah, sure! If you're like us, the Christmas countdown is bringing about its share of worries and joys. Each day until Dec. 25 we'll pass on some thoughts or tips on the holidays.

It's beginning to feel like a listless Christmas.

And I'm not referring to the economy; I'm talking about my annual everything-I-need-to-do-before-Dec. 25 list.

You see, I haven't written it yet. And I'm not planning to either.

I know there are plenty of hard-core shoppers who may scold me about the inefficiencies of plunging in without a plan.

I'm ignoring them.

Maybe it has to do with the ho-hum economy or the struggles of the past year. But I, like nearly everyone else in America, will be spending less and thereby depriving myself of one of December's joys: extravagance.

How can I muster much enthusiasm for a season where I'll be sending loved ones white ankle socks? (It's all my grandfather wants, I swear.)

This is a world apart from my youth, where as a teen-ager I would spend Christmas afternoon checking off the presents I had requested and received. I know it sounds awful, and in hindsight I'm glad I outgrew my material-girl phase. But as an unknowing kid, doing that gift-filled inventory was great fun.

Know what else was great about it? Socks never once appeared on my list.