I have four nephews and two nieces. The two nieces, who are sisters, both celebrate their birthdays in the same week. They had separate celebrations in the town where they live, but we celebrated both of their birthdays again this afternoon at my parents’ house.

I wasn’t 100 percent sure about either of my gifts, but both turned out well.

I had bought the 8-year-old a copy of the movie “Matilda,” which I’d never seen, but which somehow seemed appropriate. Well, it turns out “Matilda” is based on a book by Roald Dahl, author of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “James and the Giant Peach.” Little did I know that my niece, with help from her mother, is reading “James and the Giant Peach,” the first book of that complexity she’s ever attempted. (It was either suggested or given to her by my sister-in-law in California, an English professor.) We watched the first hour or so of “Matilda” this afternoon before we were interrupted by another engagement. It was terrific; I may have to rent it myself to see how it turns out. It was obviously a labor of love for Danny DeVito, who directed it and appears in it along with his wife Rhea Perlman. He even narrates it, which is surprising, because he doesn’t seem to be narrating it as the character he plays on-screen.

I knew the 14-year-old was getting a portable CD player, so I decided to buy her a CD. I thought I knew her musical tastes well enough to take a chance on a CD by Rascal Flatts, which is sort of a cross between country music and a boy band. I thought she’d like it but worried she might already own it. She loved it, and didn’t already have it.

The reason we had to turn off “Matilda” early was so that the whole family could go see a movie at the theater. We went to “Herbie: Fully Loaded.” It wasn’t what I would have picked to see on my own, but it was a fun family film and everyone enjoyed it. My mother loved the original batch of “Herbie The Love Bug” movies in the late 60s and early 70s.