All I Want For Christmas... Is An Electric Bill?

Christmas is just around the corner and it puts a pinch on everyone's wallet, as buying gifts for loved ones, decorating, cooking and baking ramp up into the end of the year. Instead of just spending money and not ever getting anything back but some lousy socks and underwear, investors may want to look at these three companies to add some joy to to their portfolios, along with some green. Apple

It's obvious, but it's true. Apple continues to own the holiday season, with everyone and their brother (or in my case, sister) asking for an Apple TV, iPhone, iPod or iPad. Apple just refreshed its entire line of iPods (conveniently for the holiday shopping season). This morning China Unicom

said it stopped taking orders for its new iPhone 4 because there wasn't enough supply to meet demand. That's a problem only the best companies in the world have. With a much wiser and targeted consumer, purchases are going towards targeted areas, and Apple continues to be the leader in this area. Apple just recently became the 2nd largest company in the world, only behind Exxon Mobil

, but there is no reason that Mr. Jobs and co. can't keep growing if demand for its products is out of this world. The company trades at a very reasonable 16 times earnings, not bad for a company that grew 60% year over year. Amazon.com

This one is another obvious one, as more and more shopping takes place online, as consumers look to cut costs of shopping. Amazon Prime is a great way to get gifts fast, and the $79 price is reasonable if you're going to do most of your shopping online. The Amazon Kindle is a must have for reading enthusiasts, and its latest version with a $139 price target makes e-reading more reasonably priced than ever before. In addition to selling its own products, Amazon continues to be a retail behemoth, selling Apple products, unique foods, decorations, furniture and anything else you can think of. Amazon is also a derivative play on the hot world of cloud computing, but that's another topic for another day. The last stock to think about for Christmas is one people may not think of, and that's Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF

. People put up Christmas lights during the holidays, sucking up juice at a much higher rate than earlier in the year. Friends and family come over, the TV is on more than it would be more during the year, and the utilities are sucking in profits while your electric meters are running around the clock. In addition to capital appreciation in XLU, investors are getting a strong yield, just over 4.1%. These plays provide some food for thought for the holidays as a way to make a few bucks and enjoy the holidays. It's certainly better than that awful fruitcake that Aunt Edna keeps sending every year.