At least now we’ll finally get Dickens!
Everyone, even stupid people, knows the holidays are a time when dreams come true. But they can also be a time of crushing disappointment: the bike you didn’t get; the engagement ring you didn’t get; the engagement ring you did get. Yes, the holidays can be all fuzzy [...]

The ecstasy and agony of eBay for the holidays
For 10 years, the bright spot on Black Friday has always been eBay. What started as a place to buy and sell Pez dispensers has—and you know you know this—morphed into a bazaar selling everything from the King of Cambodia’s sports car to a Russian MiG fighter [...]

Shop till you drop

ILLUSTRATION by JOE MCGARRY
Recent news reports have suggested that Al Qaeda operatives are planning to attack Southern California shopping malls during the Christmas rush. This news is—to coin a phrase—terrifying, since bomb-/gun-/pointy-stick-toting terrorists would mean additional competition for mall parking spaces . . . HEY! I WAS WAITING FOR THAT SPOT, DINGUS! [...]