According to Ben Bernanke, the king of all things monetary (at least until his term is up, which doesn't make him that much of a king,) the economy should be ready and raring to go come the end of the year!
Of course, unemployment will still be low, it'll take a long time for us to step back to where we were and the progress will be dependent on the success of the bailout and stimulus packages. But other than that, everything will be dandy for Christmastime. Just don't let your kids expect a Wii as a gift. Tell them Santa will be bringing treasury bonds instead.