As Christmas Eve approaches and the world eagerly awaits the arrival of Ole’ Saint Nick, children of all ages can track the big guy as he and his sleigh make their way around the globe visiting those of us who have been naughty or nice.

OnStar, in partnership with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), is offering its Santa Tracker services once again this Christmas.

Beginning at 7 a.m. EST Dec. 24, OnStar subscribers, including those with the new FMV OnStar systems, can simply press the blue OnStar button and request a Santa update. Advisors will share Santa’s current location through 5 a.m. Christmas morning.

“We see this holiday tradition as staying true… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Is there anything more pure and telling of the holiday spirit than tapping out a 200A service on a wonderfully gaudy light show synchronized to the song ‘Equinox’ by Skrillex? No … I didn’t think so.

And no, this is NOT my house, despite how my younger son wanted to hook up the music and take a trip to Wal-Mart to buy a few thousand more strands of lights …

Source: Buzzfeed

Having grown up in an area where my friends were equally likely to be Jewish or Christian, I had always simply accepted that everyone had their own religious holidays, traditions and celebrations. At my previous job in Massachusetts, I had a good friend who celebrated BOTH Christmas and Chanukah … which was due to her family accepting the dual pull of religion and materialism! Despite being a Christian myself, I firmly believe that pretending that the predominant thought at this time of year amongst Christians is religion, is just pretending. That doesn’t diminish the holiday we celebrate, it just reflects reality.

It has only been in recent years that I have discovered… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Sure you can find all our gift guides under the Gift Guide tab, but we wanted to save you even more time. So here they are, all our Gift Guides in a single place.

And remember, everything we listed here is something we have reviewed and/or used …

Holiday Gift Guide: For the Woman Who Has (Almost) Everything

Holiday Gift Guide: For Winter Running and Outdoors Lovers

Holiday Gift Guide: For the PlayStation 3 Video Gamer

Holiday Gift Guide: For the XBox 360 Video Gamer

Holiday Gift Guide: For Those Who Need Better Voice Recognition

Holiday Gift Guide: For Those Who

From the Editorial Staff of Gear Diary: There are two kinds of people; there are those who hate Bluetooth, and there are those who love Bluetooth. Okay actually, There are those who hate Bluetooth and there are those who put up with Bluetooth. If your loved one uses Bluetooth, then we have a few great gifts ideas …

First up has to be the JawBone JamBox. This little Bluetooth speaker doubles as a speakerphone thanks to its microphone. It may be small, but it packs a punch. And the audio coming from it? It’s surprisingly good. Dan and his wife have one, and they love it. Just $169.99 in our Amazon Affiliate Store.

 … Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

From the Editorial Staff of Gear Diary: Is there someone in your life who loves gaming? If so, here are five gifts with which you can’t go wrong.

XBOX360 (or Playstation 3)- not an inexpensive gift, but more and more families are using consoles as a way of gaming, streaming video, and more!

The Xbox 360 250GB Holiday bundle is just $299.99 in our Amazon Affiliate Store.

The PlayStation 3 160GB System is just $249.96 in our Amazon Affiliate Store

iPod Touch – As Mike wrote here, the DS and PSP are fading… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

This holiday season Nintendo DS games bring big fun to the compact, yet powerful console with several new games incorporating camera functions as well as other unique capabilities on the new Nintendo 3DS and existing XL, DSi, DS Lite and regular DS handheld consoles. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

From the Editorial Staff of Gear Diary: If you don’t want to give your loved one something tangible this year, why not give them a subscription to a service that will enhance their life? Here are a few suggestions for subscriptions services we love and use on a regular basis …

Tripit: Judie loves it and uses it all the time. Judie turned Dan on to it, and he’s now an evangelist for it as well. Tripit is a great way to monitor your travels, keep all in your information in one place, and, with a pro subscription, get real-time updates when your travel plans change. In fact, you may even know about a gate change before it’s announced at the airport! We find the service invaluable and especially love the new Pro feature that constantly scans your email for reservations and trip updates so you don’t even have to send the documents to the service.

TripIt Pro is just $49 a year.

 … Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

From the Editorial Staff of Gear Diary: Is there someone in your life who loves to read? If so, here are five gifts with which you can’t go wrong.

Kindle/NOOK: Either one, but this is a must for anyone who loves reading. And the entry-level prices make them an affordable tablet companion even if you already have an iPad.

Kindle prices start at $79.

nook touch is $119.99 in our Amazon Affiliate Store.

eReaders are a bit delicate so you need a sleeve for protections. Carly’s favorite is the Timbuktu sleeve. It is lined in soft fabric… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Get some holiday cheer on the Nintendo Wii this season. Dance, workout, shoot, and escape into new worlds, familiar franchises, and engaging active environments. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

There’s not much to say, other than that owning this ceramic mug would be an absolute pleasure.

Imagine the envious looks you would get in the office if this were sitting on your desk; imagine the fun you could have if you left this mug sitting on the break room counter, only to came back 10 minutes later to find different things sitting in between its lips. A stapler? Why not. Some rubber bands? Okay. Hey — not my sandwich!

You can get your Face Mug at Uncommon Goods for $18. Order me one too, while you’re at it … pretty please. =)

&nbsp… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

From the Editorial Staff of Gear Diary: Is there a lover of leather in your life? If so, here are five gifts with which you can’t go wrong.

The Orbino Padova 2 Crocodile iPad 2 Case: Yeah, at $689.00 this iPad 2 case is a splurge but it is handcrafted from Crocodile and is a stunner. Judie has one and loves it. Here’s a video of the case. Gorgeous isn’t it? If that is too rich for you, then you can go with a Padova for iPad 2 made from standard leather. It costs $209.00 and is also a gorgeous case you or a loved one will use proudly… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

From the Editorial Staff of Gear Diary: Is there someone in your life who loves music? If so, here are five gifts with which you can’t go wrong.

First off, Sonos. Dan hasn’t stopped raving about the Sonos wireless music system he installed a few months ago. Sonos is the best way to get lots of music in lots of room at a fairly affordable price. Better still, the system can grow with you as you add more and more components. You can read our reviews here, here and here.

The Play:3 is just $299 in our Amazon Affiliate Store. The Play:5 is $100 more at $399

From the Editorial Staff of Gear Diary: Is there someone in your life who loves music? If so, here are five gifts with which you can’t go wrong.

We have to start this list with the 11″ MacBook air. It’s small, light, under $1000 and it makes working on the go a pleasure. You’ll quickly forget that it is as small as it is. Judie has one and loves it. Dan has one and loves it. Elana has one and loves it (and she NEVER raves about technology.) Get one at Apple.com

From the Editorial Staff of Gear Diary: Is there someone in your life who would benefit from speaking their text rather than typing it? If so, here are five gifts with which you can’t go wrong.

The key to accurate voice recognition is wearing the right headphones. Andrea Electronics SuperBeam Phones are just the thing. We’ll be reviewing the headphones over the next few days but they are already impressive. As the company explains

SuperBeam headsets deliver Hi-Definition sound for all your social media and multimedia applications. The unique integrated array microphone system is designed for use with Andrea’s patented beam forming and digital noise reduction audio software, providing “Boom freed” convenience. SuperBeam also provides 3D