I received an email from a woman that was depressed that she couldn’t afford a $100 for a Christmas tree at the local tree lot.

I remember seeing a number of creative Christmas trees that people had made using only the stuff they happened to have and did a search to give some examples to her.

After sending them off, I thought it would also be worthwhile sharing them here in the blog. You don’t need to buy a “typical” Christmas tree to get into the Christmas spirit.

Here are 10 Christmasmas trees that aren’t typical, but certainly a lot of fun and show how a bit of creativity can brighten up the holidays no matter where you may be: (more…)

If I were a candle on the advent wreath, I’d be the second purple one. When you light the first one, you still have people complaining that it’s too early for holiday cheer, and when you light the pink one after it, you suddenly realize oh crap I need to get my shopping done.

Week Two? It’s fairly relaxing, and you can briefly soak in the actual peace that Christmas is supposed to be about without so much distraction. And what better way than by turning on your television and letting it shove commercialism down your throat?

Without question, my favorite part about Christmas is the way it takes over all of mass communication. So much, in fact, that I have decided to put together this list of some of the most memorable … and some of most underrated holiday specials and Christmas-related movies of all time. “Yeah, but a hundred?” you ask, bewildered. (more…)

Little known fact about cats: They love Christmas!
But what they love more than anything is to get into the spirit of the season and wear their Christmas hats.

from flickr, by mo ba ca na (more…)

Today I begrudgingly wandered around the overheated department stores of Tokyo looking for stuff to buy my family and friends, and stumbled upon some rather original gifts. So, if you’re at a loss for Christmas present ideas, look no further.

Tokyu Hands is always a good place for frivolously blowing money on meaningless novelty tat like fluffy dog-turds and Mexican wrestler masks, as I learned the stupid way a few months ago, after drunkenly stumbling in there, post-pub, and buying a Japanese version of the classic game, “Pop-Up Pirate,” with the pirate inexplicably wearing black leather bondage gear.

The mind-boggling array of moderately amusing plastic trash in Tokyu Hands makes it the last resort for the totally desperate shopper, who really can’t think of a present to buy that difficult relative. I went there first, to save time. Inside, I spotted some characteristically odd seasonal gifts, like this startlingly realistic roast-turkey-hat. (more…)

There inevitably will come a time in your life that the obligation of the season will prompt the dreaded, but necessary, gift for someone you cannot stand. It may happen every holiday, because that person could be your mother-in-law, your boss, your sister, your college buddy’s obnoxious kids or your best friend’s wife.

Don’t fear, you can use this opportunity to your advantage. All it takes is a little creativity and some fore-thought. Think about what you would give to someone you care for, and then do the exact opposite. Focus on what they love – to hate.

1) For repeated pleasure, the gift that keeps on giving is the magazine subscription to whatever they hate the most. If your father-in-law’s favorite holiday rant is about how all those g*d-damn [insert racial category here]’s are ruining the g*d-damned neighborhood, make sure he’s on the mailing list for whatever group supports them wholeheartedly.

Donations in his name to The American Association for Affirmative Action would go over well, or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) instead of NASCAR could do the trick. Don’t forget the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), not to be confused with the ALCS. (more…)

Just as Hollywood launched us into the summer movie season with Spider-Man 3 in early May, they’ve jumped the gun on the Christmas season with Fred Claus. However, this wasn’t as heartwarming as the umpteen radio stations playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving, ‘cause Fred Claus really sucked ass.

So that got us thinking… What other Christmas movies suck ass? For every It’s a Wonderful Life, there’s gotta be a crapstorm of a film to balance it out. So we looked at the holiday movies over the years, and we came up with our list.

To make the list, the film had to either be about Christmas (or Santa Claus) or have Christmas an integral part of the plot. (It can’t be like Gremlins, which did suck ass, but really was just set during Christmastime rather than being about the holiday.) (more…)

Christmas cake is an English tradition that began as plum porridge. People ate the porridge on Christmas Eve, using it to line their stomachs after a day of fasting. Soon dried fruit, spices and honey were added to the porridge mixture, and eventually it turned into Christmas pudding.

In the 16th century, oatmeal was removed from the original recipe, and butter, wheat flour and eggs were added. These ingredients helped hold the mixture together and in what resulted in a boiled plum cake. Richer families that had ovens began making fruit cakes with marzipan, an almond sugar paste, for Easter.

For Christmas, they made a similar cake using seasonal dried fruit and spices. The spices represented the exotic eastern spices brought by the Wise Men. This cake became known as “Christmas cake.” (more…)

Make Your List and Get it Right !

If you’re faced with shopping just before Christmas, you might want to use some of these ideas:

Plan a day to get out early or stay out late. Crowds are smaller just when stores open in the morning. During the last week of the shopping season, many mall stores open at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. You can get a jump on the crowds and get a lot done before things get busy.

If you’re a night owl like me, plan to head to the mall with your shopping list after 9 p.m. for some last-minute shopping. Clerks are more available to help you and you won’t have to wait in line so long. (more…)

It’s that time again, when self-conscious men go shopping for underwear for their loved ones. Of course, they usually buy the wrong style, often in the wrong size. Reluctant shopper Neil Tweedie gets some sound advice.

There are only three reasons why a man should be in a lingerie department: he’s lost, he’s the store manager, or he’s a blackmail case in waiting, taking the morning off from the Foreign Office. Other than that, there’s really no justification for entangling oneself in that strange other world of female underwear.

Buy the wife a Black & Decker Workmate by all means. It’s a sensible gift from which she will derive years of pleasure while hopefully adding substantially to the value of the house. And, crucially, it’s an item comprehensible to the male mind. But bras and knickers? You’re just asking for trouble. (more…)

Christmas shopping can be seen as an absolute thrill and to some extent, as a necessary evil. It’s a thrill to be out and about amid the sights and sounds of the season and the jovial crowds. But for the same reasons, others dread shopping at Christmas time. These days, you don’t have to leave your home much or at all to get your Christmas and holiday shopping done.

That’s because the Internet puts shopping at your fingertips. And rather than competing with traditional retail sTores, the Internet has actually expanded the ability of traditional stores to sell more merchandise to a larger number of people in various locations.

Both large and small retailers can be found at their specialized Web sites on the Internet. Most will also offer selections that can be found in the store. Many times online retail sites will have additional items available, or access to additional items, that aren’t found in the store. (more…)