13 Gifts WE Want from Santa

1. Doctor Who Inflatable Movie Dalek ($79.99)

Why I want it: It brilliantly combines the menace of Doctor Who’s extermination-crazy archenemies with the frolicsome fun of an outsize beach toy. —Clark Collis

2. Six Feet Under — The Complete Series gift set ($300)
Why I want it: I can’t rationalize the expense, but I would love to own the full series Six Feet Under DVD box set. It’s my favorite show of all time and I would seriously watch it from start to finish if I owned it. And it’s simply not the same watching the show on basic cable, where all the profanity is tempered. —Dave Karger

3. The Golden Girls 25th Anniversary DVD set ($149.99)
Why I want it: The fact that the 25th Anniversary Golden Girls DVD set is shaped like Sophia’s purse sends me over the edge. I need this for Christmas! —Tanner Stransky

4. Autobiography of Mark Twain: Volume 1 ($34.95)
Why I want it: There’s always been such mystery and intrigue around Mark Twain, so I can’t wait to read his autobiography so long after his death. —TS

5. A subscription to Hulu Plus ($7.99 a month)
Why I want it: Hulu has been my savior, serving me up television no matter where I am, so an enhanced version? Definitely on my wish list this year. —TS

6. The Elia Kazan Collection ($199)
Why I want it: I love box sets — they invite in-depth study of an actor or director, they’re handsome, they’re such an indulgence. Indulge me, please, with this 18-disc luxury! On long winter nights, I want to immerse myself in the Kazan canon, from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and On the Waterfront to Splendor in the Grass and East of Eden — 15 titles in all (five never before available on DVD) — plus a very personal documentary about the director by Martin Scorsese and Kent Jones. —Lisa Schwarzbaum

7. Design Research: The Store that Brought Modern Living to American Homes ($50)
Why I want it: All I want for Hanukkah is to lounge in my prized ’70s-era Marimekko shirt — the shirt I bought at D/R in Cambridge, Mass.! — and study the pages of this gorgeous ode to the influential temple of democratic good design. Truth is, I’m a design geek in a movie critic’s body: Talk to others about Twilight, but talk to me about chairs and dinner plates any day. —LS

8. The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story ($119.98)
Why I want it: True Springsteen believers like myself have long regarded a proper deluxe edition of his 1978 magnum opus, Darkness on the Edge of Town, as a holy grail of sorts. Now it’s finally here after years of rumors, with more goodies included than most of us thought possible: the original album remastered, two full discs of unreleased gems from the Darkness recording sessions, and three DVDs including a full concert from the E Street Band’s legendary 1978 tour. Look no further if you want to make the Boss fan in your life very happy this holiday season. —Simon Vozick-Levinson

9. Clint Eastwood: 35 Films 35 Years ($179.98)
Why I want it: My brother and I were Eastwood obsessives growing up, and this set practically covers the entire sweep of his career post-1968. The long list of classics is worth the hefty price tag on its own — Dirty Harry, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Unforgiven, Mystic River — but even better is the sense of a complete look at one brilliant man’s working life, from overlooked gems (White Hunter, Black Heart) to fascinating failures (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) to indescribable oddities (Space Cowboys). —Darren Franich

10. The Lost Encyclopedia ($45)
An officially licensed geektastic compendium of Lost arcana written and compiled by superfans Paul Terry and Tara Bennett — the ultimate resource for all of us still trying to crack the show’s many mysteries, and for many, many more who merely wish to cherish them. —Jeff Jensen

11. Do-it-yourself Edgar Wright box set!
Includes the British sitcom Spaced ($32.49) and the films Shaun of the Dead ($9.49), Hot Fuzz ($7.99), and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ($19.99)
Why I want it: I became a big fan of British director Edgar Wright thanks to Scott Pilgrim, his ecstatically giddy, heart-savvy geek romance adapted from the comics by Bryan Lee O’Malley. I was kinda shocked to find there didn’t already exist a box set of previous work for me to dig into — so go to Amazon and make your own! —JJ

12. Stefan and Damon Salvatore standees from The Vampire Diaries ($22.46, $29.95)
Why I want it: First of all, don’t call me greedy for asking for both when Stefan is 25 percent off. (Oh, he is underappreciated.) Secondly, they would look awesome in my office. —Mandi Bierly

13. Backstreet Boys/New Kids on the Block concert tickets (Prices vary)
Why I want it: A front-row seat inside East Rutherford, N.J.’s IZOD Center when the boy bands collide would do three things: 1. Help me continue my quest to see the Backstreet Boys live at least once a year. 2. Make me forget the trauma of getting punched at their last concert. 3. Probably make the girl who used to sleep in this room weep with joy. —Sandra Gonzalez