On a cheerier note, I’ve managed to get one more holiday present. No, no, it’s not for me. One of my co-workers has taken upon herself to gather a few gifts as a donation to the local women’s shelter. My part was to track down this over-marketed red muppet. Wal-Mart didn’t have a single one in stock, whereas Toys R Us had half a dozen different types of the critter in stock.

What’s the deal with Elmo anyways? Any kid would be traumatized if they saw a dozen Elmos leaping at them from the shelves.

Another family asked for an XBOX game, but I thought it would be best if I didn’t donate one of my older games. To all the parents out there, not all video games are kids’ toys, just as not all cartoons are meant for children. Case in point, the following games have a mature rating clearly labeled on the box:

• Behead monsters in Prince of Persia.
• Slaughter waves of aliens in Halo and Halo 2.
• Eviscerate Middle-Eastern insurgents with automatic weapons in Full Spectrum Warrior.
• Pummel beasts into a bloody pulp with fists of fury in Jade Empire.
• Slit terrorists’ throats as a covert agent in Splinter Cell.

Almost forgot Grand Theft Auto. Off the top of my head, it includes: vicious beating, stabbing, shooting, arson, wanton destruction of property, robbery, carjacking, pimping, prostitution, police corruption, drug dealing, drug use, racketeering, assassination, murder, vehicular homicide and explicit language use in every second word. There was also the uproar over the hot coffee scandal that got the game pulled out of stores for a while.

I can’t imagine any responsible parent not reading the game rating before buying a game for their child. Yet I can also imagine how hard it is for a parent to say no. While I was buying the Elmo, I heard one kid stammer out I’ll buy the game with my own money as he threw a tantrum.

Sorry, kid. You'll need a decent full-time job before you can afford a video game library. My Xbox, PS2 and 25 store-bought games cost me roughly two thousand dollars.

So, consider donating a gift to a charity if you can afford it along with the rest of your holiday purchases. For kids gifts, try reading up on the toy council suggestions.