If you have kids, you’re probably biting your nails down to the quick worrying how you’re going to find–much less pay for–this year’s super hot fad toy, Zhu Zhu the Robot Hamster. But don’t be so stupid! The thing about fad toys like Zhu Zhu is that they’re about 30% fun, 30% marketing, and 40% media hype. You can bypass all that nonsense and make your own in less than 20 minutes, and for a fraction of the cost. [More]
christmas
Care4Less Makes Giving Fake Donations Easy
By 12.15.09
There’s no better way to save on presents this holiday season than to pretend to give money in people’s names to fake charities. Care4Less.org simplifies this process by putting together eight, worthy, fictitious causes for you to choose from, like the Make-A-Sandwich Foundation, and Fathers4Mosquitos.
care4less.org (Thanks to jpropaganda!)
Your Kids Are Bumming Out The Mall Santa
By 12.14.09
The Wall Street Journal says that this year, mall Santas are spending their breaks looking bleakly at the wall and salting their mugs of bourbon with bitter tears. Why? Because your kids keep sitting on their laps and acting like characters from a Loretta Lynn song. One Santa used to joke that bad kids would get socks, but no more:
This year, he stopped telling the joke. Too many children were asking for socks. “They’ve probably heard their parents say, ‘Geez, I wish I had some money to get them clothes,'” says Mr. Riemersma, 56 years old.
Reader Angered By QVC $150 Markup Wii
By 12.14.09
A reader saw the $150 marked-up Wii on QVC and became so incensed that he immediately left an impassioned voicemail on our voicemail tipline (347-422-6695). I love this thing: [More]
Maybe It Just Needs A Little Love
By 12.12.09
We’ve kept quiet about the rampant commercialization of classic holiday programming, in part because we kinda like our plush Bumble, and in part because, well, what’s more commercial in the first place than a made-for-TV holiday cartoon? But we have to draw the line with this little item we found in a local CVS. Haven’t these people listened to Linus? Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about? [More]
Relax, Toy Hamsters Not Metalloid Death Bringers After All
By 12.8.09
You can dig up that bag of Zhu Zhus from your backyard and re-wrap them for the kids again. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has said that the robot hamsters are not loaded with too much antimony after all, despite claims made by the website GoodGuide. [More]
Gift Idea: A Book About Money
By 12.8.09
Books on managing your money better are an especially apt holiday gift this year. If you need some ideas, Vanguard recommends these 16 books. Mastering your personal finances, the gift that keeps on giving. [More]
Mother Thinks Hannah Montana Doll Is Swearing
By 12.3.09
We’re going to go ahead and suggest that if you are the type to hear swear words when confronted with awful audio recordings, you not buy dolls that sing. One Florida mom is such a person, and is convinced that her daughter’s Hannah Montana doll has taught her kid to say the “F” word. [More]
North Pole, Alaska Will Answer Letters To Santa After All
By 12.3.09
Letters that children mail to “Santa Claus, North Pole” will be destined for North Pole, Alaska after all, and the letters personally answered by dedicated volunteers. The program was initially shut down for logistical reasons, but restored after Rudolph paid a visit to Fairbanks and taught everyone the true meaning of Christmas. Or something like that. [More]
9 Dancing Ladies Cost More Than 7 Swans A Swimming This Year
By 11.30.09
It costs a little more this year to win the affections of the 9 Ladies Dancing of “The 12 Days Of Christmas Fame,” according to the 26th annual PNC Christmas Price Index. The rise in gold prices has pushed up the price of the rings required to win the women’s affection of the nine dancing ladies to $5,473.07, while falling the falling price of fowl has pushed down the swan cost to $5,250.00. Full chart inside. [More]
North Pole, Alaska, Forced Out Of Santa Letter Program
By 11.19.09
New security rules have proven too complex for Alaska’s post offices to bear, so they’re ending their participation in Operation Santa, the 50-year-old program where letters addressed to “Santa Claus, North Pole” are answered by volunteers. The program will continue elsewhere, reports the Associated Press, but when I called the USPS to find out where letters should be addressed I was told parents should contact their local post offices for information.
Nordstrom Continues To Oppose Christmas Creep
By 11.19.09
When I was growing up we always put up our Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving. Nordstrom agrees. Once again, they are taking a stand against Christmas Creep.
[More]
Google Offering Temporary Free WiFi Access At 47 Airports
By 11.10.09
From now until January 15th, 2010, Google will offer free WiFi access at 47 airports around the country. As part of the promotion, they’ll be collecting donations through Google Checkout for three non-profit organizations and will provide matching funds up to $250,000. But whether you donate or not, there’s a much better chance now that you’ll be able to go online while waiting for your flight. Imagine all the airline tips you can send to us!
Verizon Wireless Relegates iPhone To Island Of Misfit Toys
By 11.8.09
As a whimsical follow-up to AT&T’s lawsuit concerning their “There’s a map for that” ads, Verizon Wireless released their Christmas-themed set of AT&T/iPhone bashing ads today. They’re harsh, but also pretty funny.
Here Are Your Shipping Deadlines For Christmas 2009
By 11.6.09
If you’re planning on spending the next 6-8 weeks pouring cash into Mammon’s gaping maw—and really, who isn’t? it’s how we love each other—then here are the shipping deadlines for over 100 online retailers, courtesy of CouponSherpa. In today’s UPS/FedEx world you can frequently wait right up until Christmas week, but you might want to double-check the list if there’s a retailer you absolutely have to shop from.
POLL: When Is Too Early For Christmas Creep?
By 11.6.09
After we proposed tracking Starbucks’s roll out of Christmas products as a metric to gauge yearly Christmas Creep, we got a fair amount of comments saying they saw no problem with Christmas stuff coming out once Halloween was over. So, inside, a poll: at what point does Christmas Creep become acceptable holiday display?
Starbucks Decides It's Time For Christmas
By 11.5.09
A reader wrote in on November 3rd to let us know that Starbucks has busted out the holiday-themed coffee paraphernalia. This gives us an idea.
Christmas Creep Cartoon From Hallmark (Yes, Hallmark)
By 10.11.09
Hallmark’s Shoebox Greetings has a blog. This week, the blog published a delightful cartoon on the subject of Christmas creep.
