It is certainly that time of year again. Thanksgiving is upon us, whether we are ready or not, and a plethora of winter holidays are coming at us fast. (Plus, Mariah Carey will be on repeat very soon…) For a lot of us, buying gifts is just a part of the holidays and with this, and the next, issue, we aim to help by providing some clever ideas and resources. December 1 is World AIDS Day and this year we have some great info about events that will be happening around Sacramento. Be sure to check out pages 5,6,7 and 9. Leafing further into the magazine, you will find a festive book reviewed, “The Jolliest Bunch – Unhinged. Do you need gift ideas? How about a local museum’s gift shop? During the holidays it might be important to know “You can say anything with a Smile.” And if you want to try something very different, book a trip to Provincetown, MA where they do the holidays, and New Year’s, right! Need more gift ideas? Check out page 18 for two lists of what toys are hot this year, curated by Stage Nine in Old Town Sac. Just look for the super cute Poo bear. On page 24, there are a couple of cute ideas, think sustainable, think local. On page 25, there are some high-tech ideas for the discerning listener or just all-around nerd. (Don’t wait till the last minute with these because they won’t be there the next day). We all know that entertainment makes for great holiday memories, right? Our Arts Editor, Chris Narloch, has an entire page of new music from Pop royalty. He also highlights four movies you can see after you eat too much on turkey day and sits down with Sacramento’s own Lauren Hess and Tish Sparks who talk about their micro theater in Sacramento, on the corner of P and 19th. You can read all about it on page 29. Not to be outdone, Matthew Burlingame has more things to do and see, in his Out & About column on page 30. See shows, eat great food, buy some loving gifts, or buy yourself something pretty. It’s all in this issue of Outword, but you will need to either click your merry way through our electronic publications or go grab a perfectly lovely, oh so analog paper version. We think you will be happy you did!