Home is where the shoes are.

'Tis the season, as they say -- for Christmas, Hanukkah, bah-humbug, bad colds and hot romance under the pine tree. All of our holidays, but maybe not the romance, will probably be a bit better this year with a stop at the PlayStation Network. That's not to hype the destination, which still has its flaws, especially when you compare it to the revitalized New Xbox Experience (NXE). For instance, I'd love to be able to sort content by its release date: Everything's all sort of jumbled up right now. Nonetheless, when Sony starts giving us free stocking stuffers, my general grumpiness abates. If it's free, it's for me, and I'll take three.

First, they're giving away Episode 7 of "Qore" this month. I hung with host Veronica Belmont during Sony's Amsterdam and Paris trip in November, and I really thought she was quite the smartie with a long career ahead of her. I blame "Qore"'s lowest-common-denominator essence on those who produce it. (And for the love of all things feminist: Please don't have her dress in a Little Bo Peep outfit ever again.) Yet since the service reaches 75,000 paid subscribers a month, I may be in the minority in my criticism. Just let the woman show how intelligent she is on the show.

Hark: Lumines comes to LittleBigPlanet.

Soon, you'll probably see some Santa-inspired version of too-cute-for-verbiage Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet. You've already seen the Halloween pumpkin head costume, so why not a big-bellied Santa uniform? Hopefully, the physics will kick in and you'll see SackSanta's belly shake like a bowlful of jelly. There will also be a LittleBigPlanet version of the puzzle game Lumines. Gee, is there no end to LBP content? Can I request a Crispy Gamer game with an affable Scott Jones Sackboy wearing an untucked dress shirt under a blazer? (A baldie in a turtleneck with a Clash logo for me, please.) How about a level with the new White House dog being run over by the Big Three automakers' CEOs in a battery-powered Volt? The possibilities are endless, so maybe the LBP content trend won't end at all.

Right now, you can get PlayStation 3 wallpaper featuring Soulcalibur IV's Ivy in holiday garb. This is a decent enough gift: It's free from the makers of one the best fighting series of all time. But why not dress Nightmare up, too? If ABC-TV can make Shrek into Santa, why not the big, boisterous brute who demands more souls? And why should the ladies have all the fun? And if they're doing just female characters, what happened to holiday outfits for Taki and Seung Mina? Only white women like the holidays? (Actually, when you buy and download the costume for $1.99, you can dress up any of your characters in Santa outfits. I'd still like to see more variety in these Soulcalibur Christmas wallpapers, however.)

Archer MacLean's Mercury: Don't spill it.

It's also cool to be able to download Everyday Shooter and Super Stardust Portable for the PlayStation Portable at $10 each. But no one's talking about Archer MacLean's Mercury, which is also $10 for the portable device. Somewhat like Mercury Meltdown, this 2005 PSP disk-turned-download is, at times, nearly as addicting. Just watch it when your mercury splits in half. And don't let it drip over the side (good advice generally, don't you think?).

PS3 Wireless Keypad: For Ping Ping and Mini-Me.

All these goodies mean the PSN is a good place. You'll even get a bouncy, happy feeling when you check out the new PlayStation Network commercial. Backed by danceable pop music, you see a bunch of folks walking around an urban street. On their T-shirts are animated PSN things, like a cartoon or a game trailer right on their clothing. You'll see Ratchet, Sackboy, the character from Pain and a few more Network stars. It really makes me wish I could get an animated T-shirt. Where's that darn technologically wonderful future when you need it bad?

In the hardware department, Sony is releasing a smallish Bluetooth keypad that attaches to the front of the PS3's controller. While the keys for typing are tiny (about the same size as the Xbox 360's attachable keypad), those who love to text on the Network may see it as a necessity. I'd rather use a full-size keyboard, however (prevents claw-hand).

R.I.P. PlayStation Underground.

On a semi-sad note, it's time to sound the death knell for one longtime Sony product. The Japanese company has given the boot to PlayStation Underground, which has been around pretty much since the beginning of the original PlayStation. In fact, it used to come to me quarterly on two CD-ROMs in the mail, chock full of demos. The downside? They wanted $30 a year for it. I never really liked it much, since I generally could get the same content elsewhere. It may not be completely dead, though: Some say it will live on in PlayStation Home.

So here's the deal. Home will be released on Dec. 11th. It was touted to be the Second Life of the PS3, a place for PS3 fans to move in, live in and play in. But it's been so held up in alpha and beta, you wondered if Home had become part of the mortgage crisis. It's a terrific surprise to see Home launched during the holidays. So it's one Merry Christmas and Hanukkah for each and every active PlayStation Network fan, all 14 million of them.