Hi, everyone, back at work. Well, at least for one day before I start preparing my Thanksgiving Feast. And, you know what comes after Thanksgiving? Leftovers and Black Friday.

One of the things that I really enjoy doing for my daughter is her stocking. I buy her stocking stuffers that are equal to her age. So, this year it's 13 presents for her. I imagine that since she's almost 14 I will actually buy all these stocking stuffers at Sephora or CVS. I'm sure she'll be really excited to have make up and hair ties.

But what about us? What should we buy each other that is small enough to fit into a stocking and yet meaningful? I'd suggest Dorothea Benton Frank's THE CHRISTMAS PEARL.

Dottie wrote this book a few years ago, and it was first published in hardcover. This year, this slender volume is available in paperback for the first time. Packed with Southern Recipes and black and white pictures of old time Charleston, the most important thing about this book is that it is a heartwarming reminder that family is the heart of all of our winter holidays. In these pages, you will meet a ghost, who is just about the coolest ghost in literary history.

Dottie herself is Southern and warm-hearted, and sitting down with this book is like having a long talk with her out on her porch in Sullivans Island. Just in case you don't have anyone on your list who deserves this fun book, buy it for yourself.