OK, this post really has nothing to do with movies except for the fact that Oprah always likes to point out she's friends with Julia Roberts, John Travolta, Jennifer Aniston and a bunch of other A-listers...oh, and she did give away United Artists' huge 90-film DVD set, so in a roundabout way, there's a Hollywood connection.

But yesterday I happened to catch a true holiday classic, a seasonal staple and a reminder of why this is everyone's favorite time of the year. No, I'm not talking about "Miracle on 34th Street."

I'm talking about OPRAH'S FAVORITE THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If by some chance you're not familiar with Ms. Winfrey's annual Swag-A-Thon, it's basically a show she holds each year where she gives away a ton of cool (and often high-priced) items to audience members. It's become such a success that tv stations and newspapers actually run stories before the show airs, revealing some of the products Oprah's giving away.

This year, OFT (short for Oprah's Favorite Things for you acronym-challenged readers) took place in Macon, Georgia, where Oprah's show apparently draws enormous ratings. No one in the audience knew what was going on, so the reaction from the crowd when Oprah announced they were the audience for OFT was priceless. It was more fun than seeing the Miser brothers in their sing & dance-off in "The Year Without A Santa Claus."

And just like that famous "Saturday Night Live" skit with Maya Rudolph as Oprah during an OFT episode, it was sheer pandemonium in the studio. People were dancing, cheering, screaming, crying, praying -- PRAYING!! -- and Oprah hadn't given away a single item yet. By the time she got to the biggest item of the day, a pimped-out LG fridge with a built-in TV & DVD player, I thought the paramedics were going to have to be called in for some of the people in the front row.

There's nothing quite like seeing pure unadulterated materialism in action. One of my favorite moments of every OFT is when she reveals one of the so-so gifts in the show -- like a Scrabble set or an autographed book this year -- and the audience gives a half-hearted 'OOOOHH.'

It's like they don't want to seem ungrateful after getting a high-end camcorder and blender but inside they're thinking, 'C'mon Oprah. Break out the good stuff. Where's the Williams-Sonoma freebies??'

At least nobody's head exploded today like in the SNL sketch (at least we don't think so).

Check out the insanity for yourself at Oprah's website and see why watching OFT has replaced the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as the official kickoff to my holiday season.