A trio of stories tasty enough for the December holidays

I haven’t written much, if anything, about football or served up entrepreneurial success stories built on locally produced cranberries or candy canes. But I have written some stories that work nicely as Thanksgiving leftovers, or as a door into the December holiday season and all the delicious treats and times that await us.

GRANDMA:  While you’re around the table enjoying sweet potatoes or some chicken soup, take time to learn the wisdom of your grandma – or grandpa too.  My Fortune.com piece told of how business leaders and entrepreneurs depend on grandma’s wisdom and values; it certainly ranks as one of my favorite stories this year.

HOMES:  My columns on mortgages for the New York Times are mostly practical, actionable consumer pieces, not a lot of spice or frills. But I really liked the piece on co-signing for a loved one’s mortgage, and hope that it did not scare away too many parents or grandparents from generously helping their relatives into a first home or apartment.

TOYS.  I adore playfulness and toys and games. So I wrote a piece on people who keep the in their office for the Washington Post Capital Business. Turns out they are a good creativity and productivity tool as well as lots of fun.  (Sometime soon I hope to write about puppets and work – so send me your stories or ideas.)

I could have shared my Glassdoor blog post on goal setting or my new New York Times piece, based partly on my experiences, about what happens when two people with two very different credit scores try to buy a home together and get a mortgage. And soon I will write more about gratitude and work, a riff on another Fortune.com story.  For now though, this is enough to share.

So I’ll leave you with this dollup of play from Lucinda Crabtree: “It looks like play but it really is a way to keep the bottle open” and the creativity flowing and stress at bay. That’s so important during the busy month of December.