Peter Burwash, whose company manages tennis programs at resorts worldwide, likes the soft balls but worries that they could cause more harm than good without proper coaching.

WSJ: Is Tennis Getting Too Soft?

Chairman Ben Bernanke has repeatedly called for the use of core inflation as a preferred measure. (Read Bernanke Gets Soft Balls As Experts See A Looming Correction).

FORBES: PPI And Sales Up As Inflation Debate Enters New Territory

Operation Christmas Child, which has been running since 1991, invites people to fill a shoebox with presents such as colouring books, balls and soft toys.

BBC: Shoebox presents shipped abroad

The most popular gift is mithai (Indian sweets), and shops are filled with a spectacular array specially prepared for this festival, from thickly cut squares of barfi (a fudge-like sweet, often coated with a thin film of edible silver leaf) , to soft syrupy gulab jamuns (deep-fried balls of dough) and spongy rasgullas (sweetened cream cheese balls flavoured with rose water).

BBC: India��s festival of lights