My salient magical childhood memory of Christmas occurred Christmas Eve at four years old, less than a month before an older next door neighbor would spill the beans about Santa, and years before I understood the traditional purpose for the celebration. This was the age of innocence and wonderment, when reindeer flew and everyone who loved you gave you presents (if you were lucky and good all year), and the season was ripe with benevolence and graciousness. Waking in the middle of a restless sleep, I stood at my window and looked up at the stars, wishing for just a glimpse of sleigh, not as proof but simply because on that night, for me − as it was for innumerable other children − nothing was larger in life than Santa.

Stories are the backbone of our holiday gatherings. This is the time when we trade childhood stories with our families, work stories with our colleagues and family stories with our friends. For some, the holidays are incomplete without a reading of “The Night Before Christmas” or a viewing of It’s a Wonderful Life. We here at I AM Modern, decided to compile a list of top books and movies for the holiday season. Arranged with various age groups in mind so you don’t have to worry about the repercussions of showing your sister-in-law’s kids Bad Santa by mistake, this list has a classic I AM Modern presentation − big helpings of enjoyable fare with a twist of irreverence.

Women are nurturers. We take great pride in our ability to cheer up a friend in distress (a little wine, a little conversation…everybody feels better). But sometimes even we gals are at a loss for words when a friend is in need of advice. Th is column gives suggestions – from actual women who have been through each of these situations – on what we should and should not say to our friends during these times.

For me, the most romantic time of year is the stretch of weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It may be that I lucked out in the in-law lottery and actually enjoy spending time with my husband’s family, or that I can always count on my mother’s arrival and thus a built-in babysitter for weeks at a time, but, in my marriage, the holiday season is one of the best “couples times” we have all year long. As much fun as I may have, I know that for many of us moms, the holidays mean crazy schedules, complicated family politics, one too many obligatory gifts and celebrations to deal with, and not enough “we” time with the hubby. As mothers, we are even more overwhelmed than usual with the desire to make this season of giving and family love a special time to remember for our kids. The unfortunate part is that, in the process, we usually give up on making it a special time for the two of us.

“Tis the season to be giving.” There is no better way to get into the spirit of the holidays then to give back during the holidays. There are many people who need help whether it be a cooked meal, warm clothes, or help with gift s for the holidays. Everyone can make a difference this holiday season and bring some happiness by volunteering or helping with providing supplies.

I’ve always cringed at the term starter marriage and its ugly implications, despite the fact that it’s now the most apt phrase I can use to describe my own. Looking back, it’s so easy to see how it happened—how the entire relationship was set up to fail from the start.

I was engaged at 23 and married shortly aft er my 24th birthday. All told, from fi rst date to our walk down the aisle, my husband and I had known each other for only a little over a year. We were really in love, but even I wasn’t so naïve as to believe that would be enough. I had read all the statistics and stubbornly ignored them. I was convinced that we were better than that, that we simply wouldn’t ever view divorce as a viable option, which is, of course, exactly what everyone else in my situation thinks..

Cosmo and Glamour seem like foreign reads to me nowadays... and they used to be my bible. But when on a girl's weekend sans children with younger gals, I happened to pick one up. I was reminded why I don't read them anymore... Between sippy cups and bedtime stories, I'm doing good just to get mine a couple days a week, so I really don't think I need to read an article about how young women have the time to groom their areas all day for a night of passion. Thanks, but No thanks. And by the way, a little overgrowth never killed anyone.

During a recent vacation, my wife and I received a rare and much needed break from our parental duties when family members helped look after our sons. But once we returned home, the challenges of 24/7 parenting left us feeling homesick and exhausted. There was only one remedy: hire a sitter and enjoy a night out together.

We headed to the Del Ray neighborhood in Alexandria to find outdoor seating where we could sip some drinks, enjoy a meal and relax. Mount Vernon Avenue is lined with interesting shops and restaurants, and it’s very pedestrianfriendly. Our first stop was Fireflies, where we nibbled on fried stuffed olives in marinara sauce on the patio. Storms had blown through earlier and billowing thunderheads, glowing orange from the setting sun, pulsed with flashes of lightning like a celestial strobe light in the distance.

The last thing I packed was my new leather journal. I tucked it neatly in the side pocket of my purse where I could swiftly put pen to paper and memorialize every step of our long awaited vacation.

As a birthday gift, I was treating my husband to a vacation in Normandy, France. Since this summer is the 67th anniversary of D-Day – and I had long given up access to the remote as he has the television parked permanently on the History Channel – I wanted to treat him to his very own Band of Brothers experience. My entries looked something like this:

I have enough experience to write a novel on this subject, but I will try to compress what I have learned in a short summary. I hope you find it helpful if you are in a similar situation. With five children, in-laws and ten grandchildren, my parents have had a very difficult time meeting expectations and being the “ideal” grandparents in the eyes of their children. The truth is, to some of us, they fail miserably. I think we kids would argue that our expectations were never unreasonable; we just couldn’t see that they were just matched with the wrong people. Everyone knows the family with the “amazing” grandparents. They take the kids on vacation and help keep the house when you leave town. Grandma makes meals when someone is sick and does the laundry, and Grandpa shows up to every single one of junior’s baseball games.