The holiday season is upon us. We have made it through Thanksgiving and Black Friday, at least all of us but one are headed toward Christmas. The whole month of December has become devoted to Christmas and its activities.

Some occurrences relating to the month I am all in favor of, such as Breakfast with Santa, Holiday Expos, Christmas Pageants, belief in Santa Claus and any Christmas doings with children. Our lives are wonderful as we celebrate Christ’s birthday.

But as I grow older and more curmudgeonly it seems to me that the holiday has divided into being Christmas observance and presents. We fight spending more time on thinking about presents and shopping for presents, than we do the reason for the presents.

Still, there are good reasons for giving presents. We want to make our loved ones happy. There is a warm feeling when a present is given. In fact, I read recently that present-giving does a lot for our good health.

Therefore in keeping with an annual column tradition, I am proposing a list of fanciful presents for celebrities both in and out of the sports world. Some presents I suggest with a warm feeling, others not so much. I’ll start with political celebrities:

– President-elect Barack Obama — Harry Potter’s magic wand

– Vice President Elect Joe Biden — An uneventful four years

– Senator John McCain — Good sportsmanship award

– Governor Sarah Palin — Second runner-up award

– Senator Norm Coleman — A clean campaign redo

– Candidate Al Franken — The same

– Senator Hillary Clinton — History’s recognition

– Ex-president Bill Clinton — A worthy task

– President George W. Bush — History’s smile

Sports Celebrities:

– Twin’s catcher Joe Mauer — Recognition as the best player in baseball.

– Twin’s first baseman Justin Morneau — A two week shorter schedule

– Twin’s manager Ron Gardenhire — Manager of the Year award

– Twin’s shortstop Nick Punto — An applause machine

– Twin’s outfielder Denard Span — Another year like 2008

– Twin’s outfielder Carlos Gomez — Another year like 2008 only better

– Twin’s outfielder Michael Cuddyer — A Harry Houdini escape from injurys

– Twin’s pitcher Pat Neshak — Successful Tommy John surgery

– Viking running back Adrian Peterson — A long career

– Viking tackle Kevin Williams — A new improved Whizzinator

– Viking tackle Pat Williams — The same

– Viking coach Brad Childress — Success

– Gopher basketball coach Tubby Smith — His first Big Ten title

– Gopher basketball guard Blake Hoffarber — Local boy makes good award

– Gopher football coach Tim Brewster — Prozac scripts for good days and bad days

– Gopher football quarterback Adam Weber — Rose Bowl MVP award

– Gopher football receiver Eric Decker — An All American award

– To all our troops — A safe holiday

And in keeping with Christmas list tradition. Tiny Tim’s wish: “God bless us, every one.”