Christmas

Halloween's still three weeks away, but as far as the music industry is concerned, neither All Hallows Eve nor Thanksgiving gives anyone much reason to celebrate, business-wise. But Christmas is another story.

As the Beach Boys sang, "Christmas comes this time each year," and so does the wall-to-wall holiday music at KOST-FM (103.5). Friday at 8:30 a.m. the station's "Sounds of the Season" began with Barry Manilow's version of "White Christmas," and the theme will continue through Dec. 25. KOST, which plays holiday songs from contemporary artists as well as classics by Gene Autry, Andy Williams and others, began its tradition of nonstop seasonal music in 2001.

This holiday season, the man who took the joy out of eating a Big Mac is trying to put a damper on Christmas shopping. Morgan Spurlock, whose 2004 documentary, "Super Size Me," made America reconsider its devotion to McDonald's when it saw the results of his monthlong diet there, is returning to the big screen in the role of producer behind "What Would Jesus Buy?" The film, which opened in L.A. on Wednesday, follows the cross-country journey of the Rev.

The turkey is in the Tupperware, so prepare for the full onslaught of holiday music. And what Christmas song will be the most played this season on American radio? If recent history holds, it will be "Winter Wonderland," that sparkling classic written 73 years ago.

Anyone wondering whether Americans have the nerve to keep spending despite a rattled economy might have been cheered by the Friday morning scene at Fry's Electronics in Fountain Valley. And by the chutzpah of Sawmon Jahagiri, who paid $40 to a more fortunate line sitter for a prime spot in the queue. The Saddleback College student was one of thousands who surged into the store when the doors opened at 5 a.m., grabbing laptops, GPS devices and televisions too huge to fit in their cars.

Although the origins of the Christmas carol "The 12 Days of Christmas" may be a mystery, one thing is certain: It's getting more costly to buy your true love all the items mentioned. It would cost $78,100 to buy the 364 items, from a single partridge in a pear tree to the 12 drummers drumming, repeatedly on each day as the song suggests, according to the annual PNC Christmas price index compiled by PNC Wealth Management. The cost is up 4% from $75,122 last year.

Are you planning to fly for Christmas but haven't booked a ticket yet? Unless you're expecting a big year-end bonus, better hop to it. With three weeks left before one of the busiest times for air travel, popular flights are already full or very expensive because savvy travelers picked off seats and airfare bargains earlier than ever -- some booking flights as early as summer. "Early birds have gotten the worm," said Amy Ziff, editor at large for Travelocity.

Mark Edward Roberts received a wallet four Christmases ago that left him feeling less than jolly. The slim leather wallet was about half the size of his old one, which was already overstuffed with credit, reward and gift cards. "I couldn't fit anywhere near all of the stuff I wanted to carry with me," Roberts said. So he removed many of the gift cards and, before long, lost most of them.

Christmas certainly is a day of joy, but as the Rev. Mark D. Roberts sees it, special pleasures can be found in Advent, the Christian season of reflection leading up to Dec. 25. "There is an underlying sense of joy in the expectation," said Roberts, who until recently was the longtime pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church. By his own description, Roberts is an "Adventophile -- a lover of Advent" and has written extensively on the subject.

You know the holiday season has begun when the Salvation Army kettles start appearing at malls and grocery stores. This is the busy time of the year for charities in general, when about half of all donations made by Americans are given out. "The October-through-December corridor is the big giving time," said Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. "Charities want to get a donation before the year is out and when the holiday spirit is in.