I've been looking through stacks of Christmas pictures, and it's amazing how few really good ones we have. The bad ones are usually a combination of too many people in the frame and too much clutter, plus kids who are too excited to be still. Also, lots of grown-ups shoot standing up, while the kids' toys are on the floor and the kids are looking at their toys. The result is a lot of shots of the tops of kids' heads. That's why one of my hints for taking great photographs of grandkids is to get on their level. Another is to avoid flash. Combine natural lighting with simple composition, and you just might get a nicely atmospheric shot, like this one. Photo © L. Haffelfinger

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It's one of those watershed moments in the lives of many grandparents--the first Christmas without a tree. I was appalled the first time my dad decided not to put up a Christmas tree. I think my sister and I put one up for him that year. Then we realized that he didn't mind not having a tree. We were the ones who minded. Now we make sure he has a pretty poinsettia, and everyone is okay with that.

If you've always put up a tree but haven't so far this year, here are a couple of ways to ease out of the habit.

• Buy a little Norfolk pine or a rosemary plant trimmed to a Christmas tree shape. Decorate with a handful of small ornaments or bows. After the holidays are over, you'll have a house plant to enjoy or, in the case of the rosemary, to flavor a dish.
• Create a branch Christmas tree from an interestingly shaped tree branch. You'll need only a few ornaments. Because there are no needles, each ornament shows up like a little work of art.
• Make a Christmas tree for the birds. If you have a suitable tree in your yard, decorate it with pine cones filled with nut butter, suet balls, strings of cranberries and other treats for the birds. If you are treeless, a bare tree branch serves for this purpose as well. Don't add any tinsel or shiny decorations, but bright red yarn will lend a festive air.

These Christmas tree solutions avoid the expense and hassle of a traditional Christmas tree, but will still contribute to your holiday spirit. You might want to try out one of these ideas even if you've already put up a tree.

Following Friday's post in which I mildly protested the Everything-Pink-and-Princess state of girls' toys and clothes, I received a comment from fellow grandparent blogger Martin Hodges. Martin lives in England, and wrote about the pink/princess issue the same week that I did. Martin mentions PinkStinks, a U.K. campaign against gender stereotyping. I've spent a good bit of the morning on the PinkStinks website.

One of the stories which resonated with me was about two Swedish schoolchildren who took on retail giant Toys R Us last year over gender stereotyping in their Christmas catalog. The PinkStinks blog confidently reports, "Because of those children, this year the catalogue is set to change." I'm not sure that change happened, at least in the U.S. I remember sitting down with my youngest granddaughter and that catalog and being appalled. That particular publication was long ago put in the trash, but I have the current sales flyer in hand. Almost very single toy involving science, construction, cars, trains or sports is illustrated with a boy. Dolls, dollhouses and play kitchens feature girls. In one ad for a play kitchen, one boy is pictured in the background, looking on while two girls "cook." PinkStinks is currently promoting a boycott of the UK toy retailer Early Learning Centre for similar promotional practices.

The PinkStinks blog states that it does not wish to "demonise" the Early Learning Centre, just to encourage them to live up to their mission statement. I'm similarly torn about Toys R Us, a store where I've bought lots of excellent toys. I hate to boycott any retailer in these tough economic times, but I would certainly support a letter-writing campaign directed toward Toys R Us.

What's your take on this issue? Leave a comment below.

Being a princess is more hazardous than one would think. I just noticed a guest review posted to my review of Monopoly Junior. The reviewer is warning readers about the Disney Princess version of Monopoly Junior, which features castles with sharp turrets that can do some damage if stepped on. It sounds like a really bad design.

In my review, I expressed a different concern about the Disney Princess version--namely, that it's really silly to make princess versions of half the games on the market. If you read my review of Pretty Pretty Princess, you might be confused, because I actually like that game. The difference is that being a princess is an integral part of the game. It's not a cheesy version of an original, like the Princess Monopoly Jr.

While I am mildly irritated by the proliferation of Everything Princess, I don't think it is a huge societal problem. The authors of Packaging Girlhood beg to differ. When they survey toy advertisements and products, they see evidence that gender stereotyping is alive and well and infecting our daughters and granddaughters. Maybe they are right and I am wrong. I thought that the Everything Princess movement was merely a fad that would die out in a short time, but it has proven to have real legs. And those legs are clad in pink tights.

What do you think? Will the Everything Princess trend run its course without doing any harm, or is it more insidious than it appears?