On today's Round 4, calendars and planners: every parent needs one (or several), and if we could only find the perfect one, everything would just fall into place, right? We do have some specific ideas for all the planner-makers out there. For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at http://parentingroundabout.com.

On today's Round 2, two very different roles for Allison Janney: On “The West Wing” episode "Third-Day Story," she's competent press secretary CJ Cregg, and her life is about to change in a big way. And in the 1996 movie “Big Night,” she's a competent florist who gets to eat a lot of really delicious-looking food. Next week, we'll watch the “West Wing” episode "Liftoff" and return to “The Good Place” for "The Book of Dougs." For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at http://parentingroundabout.com.

Happy New Year, and welcome to a new format for Parenting Roundabout! Instead of a lengthy group chat every Monday and mini-episodes the rest of the week, we'll bring you a short segment every Monday through Friday covering, as usual, the things parents are talking about, complaining about, and obsessing about right now. Round 1 on Mondays will be our "talking about" segment. Today, we scan Amazon's lists for best-selling (https://amzn.to/2R82GyX) and most-wished-for (https://amzn.to/2LSle0x) parenting books (or should we say "parenting?!" books) to see if there's anything we've read, anything we'd want to read, and most importantly, anything written by Terri (https://amzn.to/2BUrYGo) or Nicole (https://amzn.to/2RpQoS6). No? C'mon, Amazon! For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at http://parentingroundabout.com.

Today's question: During the holiday break, would we rather stay home, or visit family, or take a vacation? It's complicated. (Happy holidays to you, dear listeners! We will be taking our own winter vacation and will return with a new episode on Monday, January 7.) For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at http://parentingroundabout.com.

When it comes to holiday foods and treats, Terri and Catherine are very much aligned. They'll take everything Nicole doesn't want, except possibly mince pie. For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at http://parentingroundabout.com.

It's so noble when people don't want anything. And yet so infuriating! For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at http://parentingroundabout.com.

Your road map to this week's entertainment-themed episode: 00:35 “The West Wing”: In "The Birnam Wood," come for the lecture on the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate. Stay for the extended footage of a beloved character's apparent demise! … 09:47 Challenge Round: “In Plain Sight”: On “West Wing,” Mary McCormack plays the super-diplomat (and bangs-wearer) Kate Harper. Terri challenged Catherine to watch her as an altogether different, non-bangs-having character in the USA procedural “In Plain Sight.” We agreed that the pilot needs to dial the quirk waaaay back. … Next up: We're taking a break for the next two weeks. We'll be back on Tuesday, January 8, with a discussion of the “West Wing” episode "Third-Day Story," and for the challenge round, the 1996 movie “Big Night” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115678/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt). … For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at http://parentingroundabout.com.

00:31 Surprise Hamster: Santa Claus did some unauthorized shopping. … 08:36 Clickbait Debate: A Buzzfeed article (https://www.buzzfeed.com/kristatorres/this-chart-comparing-working-moms-vs-stay-at-home-moms-is?fbclid=IwAR0udm9e-t_kgUhyJSdRR9ia5rFLld_21T8bYmt7pzeRf9OsC8i0uDjapkQ) about a chart comparing stay-at-home and working moms prompted us to talk about all the different points on that spectrum that we've experienced. And to remind everyone to live and let live. … 25:45 Speed Round: Holiday Preparations: We haven't done much, and only some of us are at peace with that. … 38:12 Roundabout Roundup: We're listening to the Thunder Bay podcast (https://www.canadalandshow.com/shows/thunder-bay/), the Poscast holiday draft episode (https://audioboom.com/posts/7113265-poscast-draft-2nd-annual-holiday-blowout?fbclid=IwAR3MQsjt5BEFd51eM8fy7MqZ145Hkh6_gk4TTnPWDzIJ4ZXUyEPzcGgyGsw), and the McGarrigle Christmas Hour album (http://www.mcgarrigles.com/music/mcgarrigle-christmas-hour). … 44:52 Shameless Self-Promotion: We got nothing. It's the holidays, people! … For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at http://parentingroundabout.com.

Today's question: Do you buy holiday gifts for your pets? For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at http://parentingroundabout.com.

Today's question is "How many of these holiday movies (https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjkiebus/rotten-tomatoes-top-christmas-movies) have you seen?" (With a secondary question of "Is that a holiday movie, really?") For quotes, archives, and more, visit us at http://parentingroundabout.com.