Over the nearly 20 years I wrote a weekly column for The Union Democrat, the final pre-Christmas entry was always tough. For a few years, I suggested gifts for public officials. But many were cheap shots that were not exactly in keeping with the season. I also regularly promoted the UD-sponsored Christmas Sing, and once wrote about 11th-hour Christmas-tree shopping (the remaining pines and firs, no surprise here, were cheap and scraggly). For a few years I detailed offbeat gifts available at local businesses. A Jimtown store, for example, once offered a âfossilized walrus oosikâ (hint: an oosik is not a tusk) for just $300. Some years later, particularly desperate, I interviewed Santa at Courthouse Square. While sitting in his lap. Iâm pretty sure the Jolly Old Elf never forgave me.Â