Holiday Gifts for Her

Fancy pants, indeed! ("Fancy pants" sounds a bit nicer than "naughty knickers," right?) Some of Hanky Panky's latest sexy lingerie items have a keyhole opening in the back and a little pink bow. We're guessing that bow might ruin the line of a clingy jersey dress, but she'll be able to conceal - or reveal - it nicely under jeans. We like about Hanky Panky lingerie because it's (relatively) affordable and was designed by women, so it's comfortable and doesn't fall apart on the first wash. Or the 20th.

The first sites we look at each morning - before mySimon, even - are dailypuppy.com and cuteoverload.com. The latter is a "nonstop parade of utter cuteness," which Time magazine calls its "#1 mood lifter." We're giving our grandmothers (who still aren't online) the 2009 Cute Overload calendar, which is loaded with pages of wiggly nosed bunny rabbits, fuzzy chicks, snuggly squirrels, roly-poly hamsters, baby pandas, the occasional hedgehog, and, of course, kittens and puppies galore.

Behold the new Apple MacBook laptop. With an Intel Core 2 Duo processor (up to 2.4GHz), a frame made from a single piece of (lightweight, durable) aluminum, a hard drive up to 320GB, and a beautiful LED-backlit display, it might just turn work into fun. The new multi-touch trackpad lets you use your fingers to click (no more button!), scroll, right-click, zoom in and out, and more. And the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card is up to 5 times as powerful as its predecessor. Completing the package are black backlit keys, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 8x SuperDrive, 802.11n wireless technology, iSight webcam, and 30 days of free tech support. Prices start at $1299.

Cute, warm, comfortable, and on sale! These UGG Cardy knit boots regularly cost $140, but you can get the at the semi-annual Nordstrom Anniversary Sale for $99.90. The boots fold up and down (they're down in this photo), so it's almost like getting 2 pairs of fall boots for $100.

The November issue of In Style magazine has a full-page feature called "The Better Sweater" on the perfect cashmere cardigan. The author picked up 11 cashmere cardigans under $250 from big chains and department stores, and them took them to a cashmere expert, who examined them all and proclaimed the Ann Taylor cardigan the winner. Why? Because of its dense knit, tight buttonhole closures, knit (not sewn-on) collar, and smooth hem and cuffs. The sweater comes in 4 colors and costs $159, but as of this writing, when you buy one you can get a second for 50% off. More cashmere cardigans.

How does a 10-megapixel camera - with image stabilization, face detection, a 2.5" LCD, and 4x optical zoom - for less than $200 sound? The Canon PowerShot A1000 IS is the latest addition to the company's "A" series of affordable point-and-shoot cameras. And it comes in 5 "two-tone" colors. For an extra $50 you can get the Canon PowerShot A2000 IS, which has a 3" display and 6x optical zoom.

Though four years have passed since the events of the series, not much has changed as the film begins: Carrie and Mr. Big are happy as they search for an apartment, Charlotte is blissful with her husband and adopted daughter, Samantha is still with actor Smith Jerrod, and Miranda is trying to balance life as a mother, wife, and lawyer as she lives in Brooklyn with Steve. But Carrie and Big's apartment hunt leads them down the road to marriage, and the destination may not be quite everything Carrie hoped for.

It seems the hit TV show Mad Men (set in the early 1960s) is having quite an influence on women's fashion, because pencil skirts are back in style. Not that they ever went out of style - they're timeless - but department stores are making a big deal about them; Nordstrom says pencil skirts are one of "ten things we love about fall." We love the skirts for their versatility, since you can wear them to the office or to a cocktail party; with flats, heels, or boots; and with sweaters (don't forget the scarf), frilly blouses, or blazers. Shown here: Alfani's belted pencil skirt in charcoal ($69 at Macy's).

If all the "cute" rain boots on the market - with their patterns of stars, stripes, polka dots, flowers, animals, skulls, and tattoo designs - aren't your cup of tea (or aren't exactly appropriate for work), we have good news: Hunter wellington boots are now officially stylish, thanks to fashion models and celebrities wearing them at UK music festivals. Originally designed for hoofing it outside in Scotland, these boots come in a variety of styles and (solid) colors, and are known for their durability and comfort. They cost more than the cheap Hello Kitty ones you see on Canal Street, but they'll last for years. More rain boots.

Steve Jobs introduced a number of new products this week, including the 4th generation iPod Nano. Available in 9 different colors, the Nano is back to its former vertical (as opposed to short and squat) self, with a curved aluminum and glass design. Features include iTunes 8, an autoplaylist feature called Genius that finds and plays similar songs, voice recording, and accelerometer (the thing that switches the screen orientation when you turn it sideways). Also, you can shake it to make it go into Shuffle mode. Choose 8GB or 16GB.