We have a lot of holiday traditions in my family - things we do as a family every year and, well, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without them. One of my favorites is the ornament exchange. Since I can remember we've been buying special ornaments for each other. Sometimes to commemorate a birth or a graduation, or any of the year's momentous events. Mostly they're just for fun.

There are three things I like about giving ornaments as gifts:

1. They're small. They make perfect stocking stuffers. Or just for laughs, you can wrap a tiny ornament in a giant box with lots of filling. (This works especially well on the little ones.) 
2. They're Reusable. Every year, you get to decorate your tree with memorable moments from the years before. And with each new ornament exchanged, you're making more memories for next year's tree.  
3. They're perfect for collectors. You probably won't be surprised to learn I'm not the only collector in my family. Do you know someone who's mad about Mickey or bonkers for Betty Boop? Ornaments are the answer - you'll never have to worry about finding the perfect gift again.

Mrs. Beasley was one of my favorite dolls. I loved Family Affair and Buffy's frumpy little doll, so when I got one for Christmas, I was over the moon! I still have the original up in the attic somewhere, but I couldn't resist picking up a new one for my granddaughter. (And an extra for me.)

My brother got Lincoln Logs that year. He was mighty annoyed when he discovered that I was better at building than he was. His log cabins were always missing something - like windows and doors. Or they leaned this way or that and finally fell over from his constant fiddling.

Once he discovered action figures like Stretch Armstrong, his Lincoln Logs lay forgotten (which meant - by default - they became my toy!). We used to grab poor Stretch by his arms and legs and pull and pull and pull until the doll was as long as the kitchen table. It was one of his all-time favorite toys, so imagine my delight when I found out I could get him a new one this year.

Toy makers are going back to the pre-video game era this year. You can pick up lots of retro toys you remember from childhood and make new Christmas memories with toys from yesteryear.

It's hard to crown a king when it comes to animated dogs. Snoopy has to make the top ten for sure. And then there's Pluto, Clifford, Goofy, and of course, Underdog. They're all fine examples of cartoon canines, but Scooby Doo tops my list of top dogs.

His "ruh-roh" voice, his absolute passion for Scooby snacks, and his uncanny ability to accidentally solve ghostly crimes made for some of the best Saturday mornings I can remember. Sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of sugary cereal and laughing milk out of my nose...you can't trade memories like that for anything.

It's hard to believe that Scooby is 48 years old. That's 336 in dog years! What might be easier to believe is I still watch the show whenever it's on. I happened to catch one of my favorite episodes last weekend. Titled "Decoy for a Dognapper", it was one of the first episodes of the first season. Scooby poses as a decoy for a nefarious dognapper and is kidnapped himself! But the dognappers soon find out that Scooby is a decoy and set him free.

Then comes the very best part (and the reason this is a favorite episode): Scooby gets recaptured and finds Daphne tied to a post in a dungeon surrounded by his caged dognapped companions. Daphne says, "Scooby! Untie me!" But Scooby doesn't...not until she promises to free his friends, too.

Finally, the whole menagerie - human and canine - catch the evil dognapper and bring him to justice.

After that, well, Scooby Snacks, of course!

I grew up on Monopoly. I was pretty good at it, too. Half my family still thinks I should have gone into real estate. The other half thinks I would have just used my houses and hotels to hold more collectibles. Both halves are probably half right.

The game's roots go back to 1903. First called "The Landlord's Game", it was invented by American Elizabeth Magie, but lots of people contributed to the development of the Monopoly game I came to know and love as a child.

On November 5, 1935 the first Monopoly board game hit store shelves. In honor of this illustrious birthday, here are a few little known facts about one the well known game:

• There's no written rule about putting "Community Chest" and "Chance" money in the middle of the board and paying it out to the player who lands on "Free Parking". But that's how most people play it.
• Low rent properties pay best. People land on them more often (so you collect rent) and they're cheaper to develop than a high dollar high rise in Marvin Gardens.
• "Marvin Gardens" is a misspelling of an actual place - Marven Gardens - in Atlantic City. 
• Over $3 trillion in Monopoly money has been printed since 1935. 
• People play Monopoly in 114 different countries in 47 different languages.