California Highway Patrol officers saved Christmas for the Sacramento Children's Home after a woman stole $5,000 worth of Christmas presents.

After hearing about the robbery, the CHP officers surprised those at Vitek Mortgage, which had taken the lead in a gift-drive for the Children's Home. The officers brought replacement gifts donated by the community via the "CHiPs for Kids" program, reports KXTV-TV in Sacramento.

"We were beside ourselves trying to pick ourselves up, wondering what are we going to do?" says Laura Black, the toy drive's organizer. "This is amazing."

Meanwhile, police are looking for a woman, who pretended to be from the Children's Home, who picked up all the presents and drove away.

GAMES TO SOOTHE FAMILIES

Toy expert Barry Eldridge says families can use his formula to help choose the perfect game, the BBC reports.

"It aims to help people have a calmer and less stressful Christmas, allowing families and friends to enjoy each other's company, without sinking into conflict or having to resort to the television," Eldridge says.

He has crunched the numbers and finds 98 percent of those surveyed enjoyed playing cards with their families at Christmas.

The next best game is Monopoly Simpsons edition, which "lends an air of comedy" that is missing from the original.

"I suppose the whole point of monopoly is that you have to be ruthless and destroy people. It is sometimes difficult to have fun with it, to smile while you are re-mortgaging your parents' house," Eldridge says.

TENANTS SUE BUILDING OWNERS

All through the MetLife Building in New York City creatures are stirring, and since most of them are mice, it has the office workers unhappy.

Employees in the Park Avenue office building, formerly the PamAm building, filed a lawsuit against Metropolitan Life Insurance alleging odors, water leaks, no heat and plenty of mice, the New York Post reports.

Citigroup Global Markets (AMEX:CAQ) claims its 40th floor office is "plagued" by mice.

Others complain of the cooking odors coming from Michael Jordan's Steakhouse in next-door Grand Central Terminal. "We have garlic so bad your eyes could water," one said.

MURDER-SUICIDE RISES DURING HOLIDAYS

The holiday season can intensify feelings of despair in the elderly, especially for those coping with chronic illnesses.

Donna Cohen, a professor at the University of South Florida, says her research indicates in murder-suicide cases the husband generally suffers from depression and his wife is ill with a debilitating condition.

"What may at first appear as an act of love and mercy is more likely an act of depression and desperation," says Cohen. "The peak of the holiday season may also play a role in influencing such drastic and tragic actions."

She urges doctors, family members and friends to spend a little more time during the holidays with the elderly to assess their mental well-being and the strain of their caregivers.