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12/19/24 - Gifts, Traditions, and Christmas Lights

Thursday 12/19/24


Celebrate:

Holly Day

Look for an Evergreen Day

National Emo Day

National Hard Candy Day

National Oatmeal Muffin Day


National Regifting Day - According to a new survey, 92% of Americans now say it's totally acceptable to regift.  And the average person who regifts says they'll save about $150 on presents.

Women are three times more likely to regift something than men. 

87% of us have gotten a gift we THINK was regifted.

62% of us plan on regifting something to someone this year.

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A poll asked 2,000 Americans which MAJOR Christmas traditions they'd be open to getting rid of . . . 

1.  Sending Christmas cards.

2.  Ugly Christmas sweaters.

3.  Gift-giving.

4.  Secret Santa gift exchanges.

5.  Christmas music.

The rest of the Top 10 are watching Christmas movies . . . Elf on a Shelf . . . Christmas lights . . . holiday treats . . . and decorating your tree is 10th.   


They also asked people to rank some NEW traditions they'd swap in . . .

1.  Spend all day in your pajamas.

2.  Focus on quality time together instead of gifts, decorations, and meals.  

3.  Take a vacation.

4.  Have a themed Christmas, like "tropical Christmas" or "Christmas in pajamas."

5.  Go on a quiet, personal retreat.  So . . . a vacation WITHOUT your family.

The rest of the Top 10 are a big breakfast instead of a big dinner . . . spend the day volunteering . . . only D.I.Y. gifts are allowed . . . friends-only Christmas, no family . . . and instead of gifts, give handwritten letters of gratitude.


For the first six seasons of "South Park", Kenny died in almost every episode.  They stopped making it a regular bit more than 20 years ago, but they still off him every now and then.

Have you ever wondered how many times Kenny has died?  Well, the answer, according to the website SlashFilm, is 128.

You Bastards!

That's 98 times on the regular series, 14 times in specials and shorts, TWICE in the movie "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut", and 14 times in VIDEO GAMES.

There have been 328 episodes as of May this year.

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A poll asked people, "How good (or bad) are you at wrapping gifts?"  About two-thirds of America said they're good OR very good at it.  One in five people said they are "somewhat bad" . . . and one in 10 said they're "very bad" at it.

The people most likely to admit that they're terrible at wrapping presents are:  Men . . . especially older men living in the Midwest.

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Have you heard the term "holiday heart"?

It's when too much drinking causes A-fib, an irregular heartbeat where your heart feels like it's fluttering.

It's called that because it's more common this time of year.  But it can also happen after a single weekend of binge-drinking.

Experts have known about it since the '70s.  The technical term is "alcohol-induced atrial arrhythmia."  Stress, overeating, and being dehydrated can also cause it.  So the holidays are like a perfect storm.

The good news is it's usually temporary, and the flutter goes away if you hydrate and limit your drinking.  But it CAN be serious, so it's best to get it checked out.

You're more likely to have a heart attack or stroke when A-fib persists and isn't treated.


People were asked what it means when someone says they don't want a gift, and 44% say the person truly doesn't want a gift, but won't be upset if you give them one.  Another 19% say they may secretly want a gift, but won't be upset if you don't give them one.

Now for the drama.  9% say the person doesn't want a gift, and WILL be upset if you get them something.  And 8% say the person secretly DOES want a gift, and will be upset if you DON'T get them one.


A guy in Detroit found an old library book he forgot to return over 50 years ago. It's such an obscure book, they didn't want it back.  It's called "Baseball's Zaniest Stars", published in 1971.

They waived the fine.  But he calculated that at 25 cents a day, he would have owed over $4,500. So he's turning it into a fundraiser for a kids' literacy group called Reading Is Fundamental. He put up the first 10%, and he's trying to crowdfund the rest.  Last we checked, he was almost to his goal.

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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - Because candles on a Christmas tree sound like a bad idea.....

Electric Christmas lights were invented by Thomas Edison and his business associate Edward Johnson. Edison created the first strand of electric lights and hung them outside his laboratory in New Jersey during the holidays in 1880.

Two years later, Edward hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue light bulbs, and strung them together around a tree in front of a window to the street . . . powered by a generator. It wasn't until 1903 that General Electric began to offer pre-assembled kits of Christmas lights for consumers.

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