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Out with the gals At least a dozen readers wrote in about their traditional reunions with "the girls" (their word, not ours). Some have high tea at a downtown hotel, others set off on shopping expeditions. Sharon Bennett of Natick says that ever since she and her sisters were young mothers they've met for lunch at Faneuil Hall after Christmas shopping. It's their present to themselves, Bennett writes, "a rare opportunity for us to be together and to communicate in that sisters' shorthand which allows one word or one phrase to evoke a shared image. ... A lot of laughter, and some tears, went around those tables as our families grew and our lives changed." For eight years, Diane Gentile of Medford says her mother has treated her and her two sisters to a night at "The Nutcracker." It begins with a champagne toast in the Wang foyer and ends with dessert at nearby Bennigan's restaurant. "It's the one time all year I feel I have truly caught up with my three best friends," Gentile writes. Around Thanksgiving every year, five young women lawyers set aside their motions and depositions to celebrate "Girlie Christmas," writes Rhonda Jo Yacawych of Boston. They select a queen and deck her out in plastic rhinestone-encrusted foil crown and wand. Her highness then picks "Secret Girlie Santas" for each of her subjects. But her most important role is selecting the recipient for a group donation. Homeless families and battered women are among those who have benefited over the past six years. The tradition culminates with dinner at a restaurant, where gifts are exchanged and a new queen is crowned.

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