Tag: holidays

Have You Considered Eating Your Christmas Tree?

You need to get that dried-out tree out of your living room before it bursts into flames! Why not make a meal of it?

If you dragged a real Christmas tree into your living room this holiday season, here’s a fun, weird, eco-friendly option for your post-holiday cleanup: you can eat it.

How to Eat Your Christmas Tree

A food writer in the UK named Julia Georgallis published a book with the straightforward, no-nonsense title, “How to Eat Your Christmas Tree.” The artisan baker and cook claims you can use nearly the entire thing to whip up some surprisingly classy recipes.

Don’t Just Grab a Fork and Knife

Of course, this isn’t a “just toss a log in your blender” situation. Before you dive face-first into a bowl of pine needles, there are a few culinary pro tips.

Most of her tips involve using your tree to season your meal. For example, the needles can be treated like rosemary or bay leaves, adding an earthy flavor to roasts, sauces, or even cocktails. (Apparently, crushed needles make a great flavor boost for gin or vinegar.) They also pack a decent punch of vitamin C.

Not All Xmas Trees Are Edible

You’ll want to make sure your tree hasn’t been treated with chemicals, pesticides, or fake snow. So if yours came from a big-box lot with a barcode tag and neon netting, you may want to skip the dining experiment and stick with curbside pickup.

Still, it’s a compelling idea: finding a second life for something that usually just sits in a landfill or gets mulched.

And if nothing else, it’s the kind of quirky fact that makes you sound like a weirdo at parties—“I finally got rid of my Christmas tree yesterday. It was delicious.”

Midnight?! 44% Will Snore Their Way Into 2026

If you’re the type who likes to start the New Year well-rested instead of wildly hungover, you are absolutely not alone.

Staying up until midnight on New Year’s Eve used to feel like a sacred tradition. The countdown, the champagne, the awkward kiss at 12:01. But for nearly half of Americans, that whole vibe is officially getting… snoozed.

44% won’t stay up for it

A poll by AP-NORC found 44% of people plan to be asleep when 2025 turns into 2026. No fireworks, no toast, no “Auld Lang Syne.” Just a nice, peaceful doze under a weighted blanket while the rest of the world yells “Happy New Year” at their TVs. And honestly, can you blame them?

January 1st is a work day for some

New Year’s Eve falls on a Thursday in 2025, which means Friday is still a workday for many – and nursing a headache the size of Times Square isn’t a great way to start the year fresh.

Some time zones have it easier

West Coasters have an easy out. They can catch the New York ball drop at 9 p.m. Pacific, do a quick celebratory cheer, then dive into bed before East Coasters even finish that glass of champagne. (Is watching a replay three hours later even worth it anyway?)

Most of us do still care

The fact that over half of us plan to stay up until the wee hours means New Year’s celebrations are still alive and well. The midnight countdown isn’t going extinct anytime soon – maybe just evolving. For some, the New Year starts with fireworks. For others, a solid eight hours of sleep and maybe a smoothie the next morning.

That said, health-conscious Gen Z is more apt to sip a mocktail than take a tug on a bottle of champagne. And once you’re over 50, it can take more than a calendar flip to muster that much enthusiasm.

New Year’s Eve is still a big night either way… some of us just celebrate with less glitter and more melatonin.

The Next “Elf on the Shelf”: The Pooping Log

Some holiday traditions stand the test of time, and get passed down for generations. Others start off fun and slowly become exhausting. If you are ready for something truly different, allow us to introduce a Christmas tradition that is equal parts historic, weird, and honestly kind of amazing.

In Catalonia, Spain, families celebrate Christmas with a tradition called Tió de Nadal. That translates to “Christmas log,” but it’s also known as the “poop log.” Yes, that is real.

Here is how it works: About two and a half weeks before Christmas, families bring a regular wooden log into their home. They paint a smiling face on it, give it a little red hat, attach two wooden legs in the front, and drape a blanket over its back end.

In the days leading up to Christmas, kids take care of the log. They pretend to feed it scraps of food, sing songs to it, and not just any songs, specifically songs about it pooping out presents. Parenting books probably do not cover this part.

Then comes the most memorable step: To encourage the log to do its job, the kids beat it with sticks. Seriously. Singing, feeding, and light log violence are all part of the process. Somehow, this is considered wholesome family fun.

On Christmas morning, after one final round of singing and stick-beating, the blanket is lifted off the log’s butt. Surprise. The log has pooped out candy, treats, and small gifts for everyone. Merry Christmas.

If you are wondering where this tradition came from, that’s very understandable. Historians believe it evolved out of old yule log traditions, where logs played a central role in winter celebrations. The stick-beating part likely shares roots with piñatas. Over the centuries, it evolved into the wonderfully strange ritual it is today.

And this is not some new TikTok trend. The poop log has been around for a few hundred years. It has survived wars, plagues, and countless other holiday fads, which honestly says a lot.

The idea is that instead of burning the log for warmth, the family takes care of it. And since it cannot provide heat, it gives back the only other way it can, by pooping presents. Science probably does not support this, but tradition does.

If you are totally burned out on elves on shelves judging your behavior and hiding in increasingly annoying places, maybe it is time to try something new. Feed a log. Sing to it. Beat it with a stick. Then enjoy your chocolate and candy straight from its festive little backside.

Happy holidays.

The Top Holiday Moments Kids Get Excited About

The holidays can be a rough gig for kids. (Yeah, you sensed some sarcasm in my voice.)

A new survey of 2,000 Millennial parents with young kids dug into what actually gets kids hyped during the holiday season, and the results are extremely on-brand for anyone under four feet tall.

Predictably, gifts take the crown. A full 81% of kids go absolutely feral for presents.

Holiday lights and decorations come next at 72%, probably because kids are basically moths with snack privileges. Then it’s holiday foods and treats at 67%, which feels a lot like parents saying, “Yes, my children love sugar. Thank you for the insight.”

Time off school during winter break clocks in at 66%, followed closely by “holiday entertainment” at 62%. That’s probably the classics, like movies, TV specials, and school plays where at least one kid knocks over a cardboard tree.

Family traditions hit 60%, snow comes in at 52%, and outdoor activities follow at 51%.

Then there’s the cherished rite of staying up past bedtime at 44%, which kids treat like a once-in-a-lifetime Vegas residency.

Rounding out the list is “seeing extended family” at 43%. Realistically, that number reflects excitement about cousins, not the great-uncle who wants to tell everyone about his foot surgery.

The survey circled back to gifts, because kids do too.

Parents say the average child asks about presents 51 times during the holiday season, which works out to about twice a day. That’s dedication.

And the top place parents hide those gifts is in closets. Next is their bedroom, then the car, the basement, and the garage.

So yes, kids may suffer through itchy sweaters, endless photos, and Uncle Rick talking about how much they’ve grown… but the holidays still offer plenty of magic in the form of sugar, lights, snow, and the eternal quest to locate hidden gifts.

Are We All Feeling the Pressure to Buy Presents for Our Coworkers?

If your workplace just sent out an email announcing Secret Santa and your first instinct was to fake your own disappearance, you are not alone. But before you start complaining, remember the alternative: buying gifts for half your office like you’re Santa with a corporate expense account.

A new report found that 64% of companies do some kind of employee gift exchange.

Sounds harmless enough, until you learn that more than half of employees feel pressured to buy multiple gifts for multiple coworkers.

That includes your teammates, your supervisor, your supervisor’s supervisor (because strategic gifting is absolutely a thing), and the people who report to you, who are probably also panicking about what to get you. It’s the holiday gift-giving ouroboros. (And honestly, *I* deserve a gift for that very clever reference.)

About one-third of employees say they feel “a lot” or “extreme” pressure to participate.

Gen Z and Millennials feel it the hardest, probably because they already spend most of December trying to find gifts for 57 cousins. And 46% say they feel expected to spend a specific amount on each gift, which is exactly how you end up panicking in a Target aisle asking yourself, “Does this candle smell like leadership potential?”

Of course, the problem isn’t just the financial strain. Office gift-giving can get messy fast. It can create favoritism, weird obligations, or that awkward moment when someone gives their boss an expensive gourmet gift box while you show up with… socks. Very nice socks, but still socks.

This is why structured gift exchanges like Secret Santa or White Elephant actually make sense, as long as they replace personal gift-giving instead of adding a second layer of festive chaos. One gift. One budget. No emotional landmines.

So if your office insists on holiday gifting, the best-case scenario is a fun little exchange where everybody laughs, someone ends up with a novelty mug that says “World’s Okayest Coworker,” and no one feels obligated to give their boss a $25 fruit basket to secure a Q1 performance review.

Amazon Drivers Hate Us for Ordering These Three Things

The holidays are a rough stretch for Amazon drivers, it’ just comes with the territory. So maybe take it a little easier on them the rest of the year.

An Amazon driver shared a list of the top three things she wishes we’d all stop ordering online, because they’re just so heavy. If you want your Amazon person to not hate you, consider tossing these in your grocery cart instead.

Kitty litter

Cat people, you’re on notice. It’s one of the most common – and most despised – deliveries. We go through it fast, so Amazon drivers are constantly lugging those bulky Chewy boxes up porches and stairs, all the while hoping their back doesn’t give out.

Dog food

Those 50-pound bags of kibble might be convenient to have dropped at your doorstep, but for drivers making 150+ stops per day, they’re another backbreaker.

Bottled water

Not those five-gallon jugs your Culligan man drops at your door – he knows what he signed up for. We’re talking about those cases of Poland Spring you like buying on Amazon because they’re $3 cheaper.

Amazon drivers in urban areas can deliver 250-300 packages a day.

So if you can’t live without these doorstep conveniences, at least consider tossing them a small tip around the holidays.

And come summer, maybe offer them a bottle of that water.

The 10 American Traditions That Will Disappear Soon

People online have been predicting which American traditions will fade out in the coming decades, and honestly, some of these feel less like predictions and more like things we are already halfway done abandoning. (For good reason.)

Here are the top traditions people think are on the chopping block:

  1. Class reunions
    People say social media killed these because we already know what everyone looks like, where they live, and what they had for lunch. But on the flip side, social media also lets people reconnect, which might actually boost reunions for the brave souls who want to face their former lab partners in person.
  2. Trick-or-treating
    One person said trunk-or-treating has wiped out their neighborhood foot traffic. Plus, the internet now provides a map of “rich neighborhoods with king-size candy bars,” so kids are basically treating Halloween like a heist movie.
  3. Flashy gender reveal events
    After years of exploding smoke bombs, property damage, and a few accidental wildfires, people think gender reveals will go back to being cute, quiet cake-cutting moments. (The forest animals will appreciate keeping their habitat, un-scorched.)
  4. Black Friday chaos
    The in-store stampede era is already fading. Deals now last roughly 30 days, and Cyber Monday stole Black Friday’s spotlight anyway. The term “Black Friday” may soon just refer to “that day you stayed home and bought nothing.”
  5. The Miss America pageant
    This one is barely hanging on. Pageant enthusiasm peaked decades ago, and most Americans now treat them like retro curiosities, similar to landlines or Jell-O molds.
  6. Private fireworks
    Between safety laws, irritated neighbors, and the annual “guy who blew off his thumb” news stories, personal fireworks may slowly fizzle out. Expect an uptick in city-run drone shows, which are flashier and significantly less explode-y.
  7. Daylight Savings Time
    Look, people wish this would die, but the odds of America agreeing on a time system are roughly 0%. Still, the dream lives on.
  8. Big, expensive weddings
    Many Americans can’t justify spending the price of a car on one day. Small weddings, courthouse ceremonies, and backyard celebrations are becoming the norm. Bonus: fewer speeches from relatives who shouldn’t have a microphone.
  9. Thank you cards
    People online called them “a pain,” and most believe a text or in-person thanks covers it. Etiquette purists may faint, but everyone else is ready to retire hand cramps and postage stamps.
  10. Christmas cards
    These used to arrive in stacks. Now? Mostly from older relatives or parents with fresh family photos to show off. The digital era is slowly taking over, and the mailbox is mostly full of credit card offers and political flyers anyway.

Whether these traditions fading away is sad or a relief depends entirely on how nostalgic you are. But if class reunions vanish and gender reveals chill out, most Americans will probably survive.

What do you think will happen in the years to come?

The Cities Most Likely to Force Pets Into Holiday Festivities

Pets can tell when the holidays hit. One day everything is normal, and the next, a giant indoor tree appears, the house is glowing like a casino, and their humans are wearing sweaters with bells on them.

Sometimes the pets themselves are wearing the sweaters, which is when they realize humans are absolutely unhinged.

PetSmart just released a new list ranking the cities where people are most likely to drag their pets into the holiday spirit.

This is based on what people are buying in local stores, including festive toys, Santa sweaters, reindeer antlers, and whatever other glittery nonsense pets quietly judge us for.

Here are the Top 15 cities where pet participation is basically mandatory:

  1. Midland, Texas
  2. Dickson City, Pennsylvania
  3. Lexington, Kentucky
  4. Amarillo, Texas
  5. Johnson City, Tennessee
  6. Winter Garden, Florida
  7. Lubbock, Texas
  8. Pensacola, Florida
  9. Florence, Kentucky
  10. Athens, Georgia
  11. Portland, Oregon
  12. West Jordan, Utah
  13. Antioch, California
  14. Roseville, Michigan
  15. Cape Coral, Florida

If your city made the list, your pet has already accepted their fate. They will be in at least one holiday photo… possibly wearing a tiny scarf or a pair of antlers they did not consent to.

And if you live in Midland, Texas, which topped the list, your dog is probably already in a costume with a matching hat.

Overall, PetSmart says 90% of pet parents plan to involve their pets in the holidays this year in some way. That includes snacks, toys, apparel, accessories, or whatever festive thing will make their pet briefly tolerate the situation before plotting revenge.

So if your cat gives you side-eye all December or your dog mysteriously disappears every time you pick up a tiny sweater, remember, they knew what season it was the moment the tree came out of the box.

“Eggnog” as a Baby Name? It’s Happened 23 Times in 500 Years

Whether you’re a boy or a girl, you can’t get much more unique and festive than “Eggnog.” Yes, it’s been done.

A site in the U.K. called Find My Past poured through 14 billion historical documents from the past five centuries looking for people with festive holiday-themed names, and this one in particular caught our eye.

At least 23 “Eggnogs” have walked the earth

They found records of at least 23 people in the past 500 years named “Eggnog.” “The Mirror” got their hands on the full list but obviously didn’t have a copy editor take a very close look. Their article says “37,” but the list itself says “23.” (Remember when fact-checkers were a thing?)

Depending on which number you believe, that’s one Eggnog baby every 14 to 22 years over the past five centuries. So come on, people! Take one for the team and name your next kid Eggnog. No one will call child services… probably.

The 20 most common holiday names

Not surprisingly, 23 isn’t enough for “Eggnog” to crack the Top 20. Top honors go to “Ivy,” which is holiday-adjacent at best. (Is Christmas really the first thing you think of when you hear “Ivy”? I think of Wrigley Field… or of that time I went camping and accidentally wiped with the poison variety.)

They found 2.3 million Ivys since the 1500s, and “Angel” is a distant second place. But the list gets more and more fun as you go.

1. Ivy (2,332,758)

2. Angel (652,337)

3. Present (459,150)

4. Holly (452,011)

5. Star (327,747)

6. Wine (311,116)

7. Santa (157,840)

8. Chestnut (141,666)

9. Christmas (131,926)

10. Turkey (27,550)

11. Sleigh (17,843)

12. Pudding (12,022)

13. Crackers (3,711)

14. Reindeer (3,190)

15. Sprout (2,827)

16. Tinsel (2,634)

17. Mistletoe (2,015)

18. Snowman (579)

19. Bauble (293)

20. Nutcracker (284)

Wait, 284 couples have named their child “Nutcracker”? Y’all are nuts. 🤪

Christmas Spirit Poll: Are You More of a Santa, a Scrooge, or a Grinch?

It’s December, so you’re probably getting a pretty good idea of where your Christmas spirit vibes are for this holiday season… so are you feeling the joy… or feeling the stress?

There’s a poll that’s kicking around online that asked people if they’re mostly identifying with the giving spirit of Santa… the penny-pinching of Scrooge… or the grumpiness of the Grinch this season.

  • 58% of people said they’re feeling Santa vibes
  • 31% say they’re more like Scrooge
  • And 11% admitted to being in Grinch mode.

There is some gray area. There are surely people who are not a full-on Grinch… at least not yet… but they’re not prepared to be barreling into the holiday season. Of course, there are others who have been barreling in for weeks now.

Just for fun, here are some playful, naughty-and-nice Signs You’re Way Too into Christmas:

  • You watched Hallmark Channel the last two months without gagging.
  • You have a massive nativity scene in your yard.  And you’re Jewish.
  • You attached antlers to your head.  Surgically.
  • You don’t stop at kissing under the mistletoe.
  • You named your testicles “Naughty” and “Nice.”
  • To make space in your house for a tree, you got rid of a sofa.  And two kids.
  • You shoved grandma in front of reindeer just to relive the magic of that song.
  • Your kids have to break it to YOU that Santa’s not real.
  • Milk and cookies?  Please.  You offer Santa SEX.

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