And now, a word about socks for Christmas...

In my e-mail basket Wednesday came the holiday pitch from Blacksocks.com.

As one might guess from the name, blacksocks.com is a e-tailer offering men's socks as a easy gift alternative. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the pitch:

"Choose any style and color of comfortable, high end socks for a special man in your life and have them delivered to him on a regular basis - the ultimate convenient gift for all parties involved."

The pitch recommends online-ordered socks as an alternative to such drab, unimaginative gifts as a Kindle, iPad, smartphone or laptop computer. It mentioned the ease with which customers can "cross any number of male friends and family off your shopping list without having to endure the chaos and stress of the mall at holiday season."

Okay, maybe there are dads, husbands and boyfriends who would prefer to have lovingly e-purchased socks arrive in the mail every month than than to receive a Kindle, iPad, smartphone or laptop under their Christmas tree.

I reject  Blacksocks.com for another reason, however. That reason is my family.

I have not purchased a pair of socks in decades because  I can always count on my dear old gritty mum to  steer her SUV the old fashioned way out to the mall and buy me - in person - more socks than I can wear out in a year.

I am 55 years old, and this continues to be true.

Last year's sock gift was, I believe, a dozen pair of thick Nike athletic socks that left strange black cotton lint on my feet when I removed them. I'm pretty sure they were not made with the kind of organic, free trade cotton that Blacksocks claims to have in all its socks. I'm  also fairly certain that they were not - as Blacksocks claims its products to be- made in Italy.

I still wear the Nike jock socks, though, because they were purchased by my mother. The lint problem has gone away.

My family has a rich tradition of buying for each other Christmas gifts that consist of things we would ordinarily buy ourselves. It makes for a lot of packages under the tree and a lot of gift wrap, but we can save money on things we would buy ourselves to spend on things for other family members

Some would ask, "why bother?" They might argue that gifts should be something extra and unexpected.

That Blacksocks.com has convinced 60,000 people to subscribe to a sock service online seems to validate our long-held position that no matter how mundane, a gift purchased, wrapped and given with love is still part of a big happy holiday.

Neckties, belts, undewear? I haven't purchased any of them in a long time, either.

I checked the price on Blacksocks.com. I could get my son three deliveries of  three pairs of socks for $89, or about $10 per pair.

Just to check, I asked mom where she got my socks.

"I got them at Sam's Club," she said. "I'm not sure how much they cost, but they were pretty cheap."

Not Italian, not organic, not free trade - I appreciate them anyway.

One of the challenges of gift-buying is that humans are so darned smart. They know the presents didn't really come from the North Pole. Unless it was something they had on their wish list, they can usually figure out where it came from and why.

Spend a little or spend a lot. Shop hard or shop easy. Buy something your loved one needs, or something they don't.

My shopping advice:  Just don't leave them wondering what you were thinking.