When thoughtful soph Allison gave me this tricked-out gingerbread house for Christmas, I was totally psyched.

I devoted a bit of each class to admiring it. The other sophs wondered whether Allison would be receiving an A for her stellar efforts at buttering-up the teacher.

I told them that if Allison weren’t already earning herself a resounding A, you better believe I would consider it. Some looked aghast at this news, but I told them, Don’t wor-ry! It’s only Tuesday! I’m accepting holiday gifts all the way through the end of this week!

I do hope they consider it.