Humbug! With the economy bottoming out, this might not seem like the season to make all your loved ones' DVD wishes come true. Oh, to pay the mortgage, or thrill to the Bond library on Blu-ray? But wait - gas prices are down! The holiday fund just got a bailout! Of course, you might end up burning twice the fuel hauling some of these multidisc monstrosities home from the mall ...

Tom Russo, Globe Correspondent