December always arrives before you’re ready. I mean, with everything else you have to do, you suddenly need to find time you don’t have to shop for everybody on your list. I’m no Grinch, but just thinking about it makes me crazy. But, then I got together with a friend of mine last weekend and we started throwing ideas around about stuff we’d seen and what would make great gifts and now I think I’ve got a much better handle on my shopping this year. And like last year, I’m going to do it all online. No crowds, no parking, more selection and I don’t have to leave the house. Pour me an eggnog.

Anyway, I thought I’d put some of what we came up with here. Hopefully, it might help you get through the holiday crush in one piece. Voila.

For kids, the hot pick for the season is the Roboraptor, a high-tech remote-controlled dinosaur robot. Trust me, if you don’t get it, you’re too old. Oh, and check out the Scene It DVD games – trivia with a video twist. And think about scoring the Lord of the Rings trilogy, too. How can you miss?

Women? Just buy diamonds. Kidding. Not. Okay, besides the rocks, look for Lovely Sarah Jessica Parker. Not the actress, she’s otherwise engaged – her signature fragrance. Oprah loves it and so will you. And getting into shape after the holiday overindulgences is on many a mind. Think exercise ball and yoga mat. Or play to her glamorous side and look for a satin drapeneck dress or if she’s a denim diva, a pair of 7 for all mankind jeans.

For guys and other gadget-hungry giftees there are several electronic toys that are making big waves. I love the iPod nano 2gb, along with a bazillion other music lovers. Tiny, cute and seriously top-heavy with tunes. I already loaded blink 182’s Greatest Hits on mine. Put it together with the new Bose SoundDock and you’re covered with songs to spare at home or at the office, too. Also, check out a pair of Shure E3c Headphones – comfortable to wear and delivering great sound. In the video camera department, I like the Sony Handycam and my friend has great things to say about the VCamNow Digital Video Camera. Keep chaos under control with a cool new Axim X51v PDA. I swore I didn’t need one, but I’m beginning to think I was just posing. I’m also lusting over the moto razr cell phone.

Stuff that I can’t really cram into any category, but would make great gifts:
Sheets. Sheets. Sheets. You spend a third of your life in bed (if you’re lucky) so why not give someone something to look forward to at the end of the day like some egyptian cotton sheets – and make sure you go for nothing less than 400 thread count sheets. And have you seen those oggz? They’re like the lava lamp for the 21st century. Morphing, colorful egg-shaped accent lights. And finally, my friend just finished James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces and can’t recommend it enough. It’s kind of a dark memoir, really, but an exhilarating read.

That should be enough to get you thinking anyway as you get ready to put your credit card through its paces.

Anybody have any other hot tips?