If pumpkin spice, pumpkin spice latte, and caramel apple are the flavors of fall, red velvet is the flavor of Valentine’s Day, and key lime pie and s’mores are the flavor of summer, what is the flavor of winter? Is there one? M&Ms have traditionally sold bags of cherry or mint flavored candies near Christmas, but now they’ve moved on to hot beverages. The flavor for Christmas is… café mocha. [More]
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Macy’s Herald Square Welcomes The Start Of Fall By Putting Up Christmas Decorations
By 9.23.15
Twinkling lights have been hung on boughs of evergreen with care, sparkling ornaments are shining merrily in their Christmas trees and Santa’s sleigh waits, gleaming and ready, behind a velvet rope. All before the first official day of fall, at Macy’s Herald Square in New York City. [More]
Home Depot Employees Replace Stolen Xmas Gifts For Family Of Regular Customer
By 1.12.15
When employees at a South Carolina Home Depot heard that a regular customer of theirs had been the victim of a theft that left his family without Christmas gifts, they pitched in to do something they didn’t have to, replacing those stolen gifts and giving this family a belated but happy holiday. [More]
26 Kids Who Decided Santa Claus Is Not To Be Tolerated, Proceed To Freak The Heck Out
By 12.25.14 — Updated: 12.5.16
We asked, and oh boy, did we receive: For our third annual installment of holiday-induced panic on a wee scale, you, our dear readers, submitted 26 photos of your children freaking the heck out upon meeting the man in red, one Santa Cornelius Claus. Does Santa have a middle name for real? We might never know, but what we do know is that before children come to love the guy, they often want nothing better than to be as far from that jolly fellow as possible. [More]
Don’t Let The New Gadgets Santa Brought Be A Drain On Your Electricty
By 12.24.14
The holidays are filled with spirit, joy and tons of the latest electronic gadgets under the Christmas tree. While these gifts might have not cost you anything, they could certainly end up hitting you in the wallet when the electric bills come. There are a few things you can do to reduce the impact your new toys will have on your energy expenses. [More]
18 Times Our Readers Got The Absolute Best Gift Ever
By 12.24.14
There’s nothing like the moment when you realize that you’ve just received your heart’s desire in the form of a gift from someone else. Not only does it mean adding something wonderful to your life — whether it’s that prized toy you’ve been coveting, freedom from tyranny or a new fuzzy friend. Speaking of fuzzy, we asked you, our wonderful, giving readers a few weeks ago to tell us about the best gift you’ve ever gotten, whether it was Christmas, Hanukkah or just a regular day. [More]
If You Lived In Slovakia, You’d Have A Christmas Carp In Your Bathtub Right Now
By 12.23.14
Tis the season for holiday traditions — and for finding out about other countries’ treatment of the season so we can marvel at how different we all are on this big blue marble. Let’s head to Eastern Europe, where apparently there are bathtubs filled with carp right about now. [More]
Retailers Extend Hours, Enable Last-Minute Christmas Shopping
By 12.22.14
If you celebrate Christmas, yet aren’t done with your shopping yet, don’t feel bad: the nation’s retailers are here to help you spend your money as the business days count down to the holiday. Some department and big-box stores are open around the clock, and online retailers will help you avoid human interaction while using express shipping to order gifts. [More]
UPS Will Conquer Its Biggest Shipping Day With Temps And Automation
By 12.22.14
While the second-to-last Monday before Christmas is usually the busiest shipping day of the year for the U.S. Postal Service and FedEx, for UPS the biggest day is today, the last Monday before the holiday. The company has invested a lot of money and technology in making sure that there isn’t a repeat of last year’s massive delay caused by bad weather and a flurry of last-minute shopping. [More]
Kmart Apologizes For Layaway Debacle, Says Some Cancellations Were “Inadvertent”
By 12.17.14
UPDATE: Sears Holding Company has now posted a new entry on its blog with instructions for customers affected by the layaway fiasco. [More]
Kmart Ruins Christmas By Canceling Layaway Orders, Holding Onto Refunds
By 12.16.14
UPDATE 12/18: Kmart says it’s finished processing all refunds, and customers should be receiving them “soon.”
UPDATE 12/17: Kmart has apologized for the debacle, saying some contracts were “inadvertently” canceled but people still might not get the item they ordered in time. [More]
Another Layaway Angel Swoops In, Pays $50K Worth Of Bills At Pennsylvania Walmart
By 12.16.14
In a season where there can be Grinches around every corner and bah-humbuggers just waiting to get ya, it’s always fun to hear about those layaway angels who go around paying off other shoppers’ bills all in one fell swoop. We’ve landed a big one today, folks — someone’s just paid off $50,000 in layaway items in Pennsylvania. [More]
Today Is The Biggest Shipping Day Of The Year
By 12.15.14
Today is it: traditionally, December 15 is the highest-volume shipping and mailing day of the entire year. The U.S. Postal Service will process 640 million cards, letters, postcards, periodicals, catalogs, and packages today alone. FedEx is doing its part, processing 22.6 million packages today. UPS says that its busiest day will be next Monday, as people try to get last-minute Christmas gifts to their destinations. [More]
Enough Already: Thieves Take Off With 50-Year-Old Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Statue
By 12.15.14
While it’s understandable that where there is good will and cheer toward man, there’s also going to be those grumpy, awful, bah-humbugging Grinches out there who want to ruin anything nice about the holiday season. Already today we’ve heard of Christmas tree thieves, and now comes the news that not even 50-year-old Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer statues are safe, despite the giving nature of the season. [More]
Babies “R” Us Is Already Over Christmas, Moves On To Valentine’s Day
By 12.15.14
It’s not often that we find a retailer that’s over Christmas before it even starts — on the contrary, we usually find Christmas Creep to be the creepiest of all the holiday creeps, sometimes starting as far back as July. But they’re not having it over at Babies “R” Us. In fact, Christmas might as well be over, for all this store cares. [More]
Tell Us About The Best Gift You’ve Ever Received
By 12.12.14
It was Christmas morning/eve. It was the best night of Hanukkah. There was that one gift, the thing you received from your mom/dad/sister/brother/spouse/whoever, that stood out from all the rest as the best thing you could have ever gotten. [More]
Which Popular Holiday Gifts Are The Worst To Get?
By 12.12.14
The moment of dread has arrived: You have to open gifts in front of your loved ones, and pretend you like what they’ve given you, no matter if it’s a bottle of peppermint schnapps or a candle shaped like a Christmas tree that smells like a car air freshener. But this year, perhaps if we reflect upon the gifts people hate getting the most, we can avoid those items and bring more cheer than fear. [More]
Tokyo Restaurant Banning Couples On Christmas Eve So Singles Don’t Have To Remember They’re Lonely
By 12.12.14
Are you in the mood for love? Simply because you’re near the reason for that pitter-patter of delight and that longing ache to caress the face of your significant other, as if you could soothe the worries of the world from his/her dear brow? Well cut it out. No one needs to be reminded they’re single, especially on Christmas Eve, and one Tokyo restaurant wants none of it this year. [More]
