How can you resist them, especially at this time of year? Taking a hot water bottle to bed is a delightful way to end a busy day. Brooklyn integrative nutritionist Rachel Kieffer tells me they aid digestion. And while they’re not the sexiest of appliances, (“No dear, that’s not ME, that’s my hot water bottle!”) they seem eternally soothing as you shift them from feet to knees to abdomen. My two boys love to snuggle with them.

You can buy a standard hot water bottle at almost any drug store, and the normal model is probably the best and most practical. But before you do that, look at the giddy array of outrageous bottles available on eBay.com. You’ll notice that the British (whose products are priced with a GBP marker) have a particular fondess for HWBs in animal shapes, bound with velvet or fake fur. A vintage bottle is also up for auction. I am tempted, but I think I’ll pass.