"And for men and women this year, for the second year in a row actually, computers are at the top of the list remarkably ahead of jewelry on the women's side and ahead of clothing and automobiles on the men's side."

Jim Barry of the association...says for kids, video games are number one. Computers are typically a family gift. A thousand dollars goes a long way today. Our advice is to check out the deals from names you know like Compaq, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Gateway and Dell. For about two thousand dollars, Gateway offers a DVD equipped computer-TV entertainment system, called Destination, complete with a 27 inch screen. DVD players for computers or entertainment centers are a good investment this year, with a wide choice of movies available to buy or rent. Just out....HDTV...but says Barry...you need deep pockets...five to ten thousand dollars...and patience when it comes to programming...

"So for most of us this is not going to be a big item this year, but over the next ten or fifteen years, we're going to make the transition from our current system to this new digital system."