<p>The vexing difficulty of finding the perfect gift. </p><p>Visit <a href="https://thisamericanlife.supercast.com">thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners</a> to sign up for our premium subscription.</p><ul><li>Prologue: Host Ira Glass goes to a busy Target store one week before Christmas. Most shoppers he talks to don't think any of their gifts will be returned. (3 minutes)</li><li>Act One: Ian Brown tries, after decades of failure, to give his mother the perfect Christmas gift. He and his brother attempt something they haven't done since they were kids: Rehearse and sing her a program of Christmas carols. (19 minutes)</li><li>Act Two: We play a 1959 original recording of Truman Capote reading his holiday story A Christmas Memory. (18 minutes)</li><li>Act Three: Caitlin Shetterly reports on a true-life holiday fable from rural Maine, complete with a misunderstood recluse with a heart of gold, a deserving family in need, and a very special Christmas tree farm with secrets of its own. (16 minutes)</li></ul><p>Transcripts are available at <a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/255/transcript">thisamericanlife.org</a></p><p><a href='https://www.thisamericanlife.org/page/privacy-policy'>This American Life privacy policy.</a><br /><a href='https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices'>Learn more about sponsor message choices.</a></p>