ALBUMS

THEN: Ultimate Collection—Teena Marie

Although we lost the great Teena Marie, aka the “Ivory Queen of Soul” in 2010, we have the monument of her fantastic music to remember her by. From her early groove-tastic duets with Rick James (“I’m a Sucker for Your Love”) to stone jams like “Lovergirl” that would make Prince cry, Teena was and still is the business.

NOW: 25—Adele

If there’s anyone that can give me the Shirley Bassey chills on a chorus, it’s Adele. After a three-year break, our girl is back with a new album, a new baby, and that same gorgeous, powerful voice that we fell in love with. Her first single “Hello” knocks you flat. Be prepared to feel “all the feels” again—she’s the real deal. 

BOOKS

 THEN: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling

A fantastic add-on Christmas gift for the die-hard Harry Potter fan, JK Rowling’s Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of the stories referred to in the Harry Potter series. If you’re a Muggle, the best way to explain them is they’re the Grimm tales of the wizarding world, translated by Hermione Granger with extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore, and are ideal for the budding wizard in your life. 

NOW: After Alice by Geoffrey Maguire

Geoffrey Maguire, best-selling author of Wicked and Mirror, returns with another “through the looking glass” tale of meta-fiction, setting his sights on Alice in Wonderland to speculate on what was happening in the real world while Alice was having all these remarkable adventures. Told from the perspective of her sister Lydia who mounts a search for Alice “above ground,” and her friend Ada, who goes down the rabbit hole “below ground” to find Alice, it’s a great Christmas gift for grown-up Alice fans. 

DVDs

  THEN: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

I bet you could warm the heart of even the grumpiest grandpa or visiting aunt from Poughkeepsie with a screening of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Even the grumpiest Grinch will evince a chuckle at giant pancakes raining from the sky. It’s not a Christmas movie, but it’s a movie a family can truly enjoy together this time of year—and that’s what the season is all about: Food bringing people together…oh and family, too. 

NOW: Minions 

They’re yellow, they’re incomprehensible 90 percent of the time, and they’re everywhere! Join minions Stuart, Kevin and Bob for the adventure of a lifetime, complete with super-villains and evil plans for world domination.  Featuring the voices of Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton and Alison Janney, Minions is hilarious Christmas viewing the whole family can enjoy. Banana!