Thanksgiving has come and gone. The Christmas lights have been strung on the house and the festive lawn ornaments are slowly but surely popping up on neighborhood lawns. Now it's time to put up the family Christmas tree. Or is it? Whether it is real or fake, tradition seems to dictate when to put up a Christmas tree and when to decorate it.
Rodney Atkins is in demand for the holiday season. He heads to the nation's capital Thursday, after riding in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade last Thursday. Rodney is off to Washington D.C. to perform at the National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremoney in President's Park.
It started even before our Thanksgiving turkey was digested and will continue right through Christmas. I'm talking about the TV Christmas special season which will combine a lot of old favorites with some new additions to help keep us in the Christmas spirit after a long day of battling crowds at the mall. "CMA Country Christmas" this Thursday is just one of the holiday favorites we're looking forward to. Here's the rest of the lineup.
In what may be the most unique example of holiday spirit yet, a tank of electric eels powers a Christmas tree display at an aquarium in Japan.
One look at the list of most popular toys for Christmas 2011 had me wondering whatever happened to Slinky's, pogo sticks and--"Christmas Story" fans--Red Ryder BB guns. Now it's more about video games, iPods and iPads. The National Federation of Retailers has released its list of the most in demand toys this holiday season and while there are some old standbys like "Barbie" and "Elmo" there are plenty of newcomers.
Sick of the Christmas lights arms race? Well, this clever family did something about every house on the block trying to outdo each other with over-the-top light displays with this pithy and highly effective message. Check out a photo, which has been circulating on Facebook, of the best Christmas lights display ever below.
The success of "Black Friday" for retailers has yet to be determined but for some shoppers it was the end of the line as far as Christmas shopping is concerned. A Rasmussen Report states that 7% of shoppers have already finished their gift buying and can now relax and watch everyone else go crazy. How many people haven't even started?
"Black Friday" has come and gone. If you survived the crowds and your budget survived the checkout counter then you will be ready for round two of holiday shopping on "Cyber Monday" the most profitable online shopping day of the year. CNN Money cites a report from comScore.com that online sales are expected to hit a record $1.2 billion for this one-day event. Check out some of the great online deals that will be available on Monday .
With some stores opening well before midnight and lines forming at many others "Black Friday" shoppers were out and anxious to claim bargains across the country including right here in Central New York. Bargains coupled with a slow economy had shoppers anxious to claim the great deals offered by retailers but one California woman took it a little bit too far
We mentioned a couple of weeks ago that The Band Perry was recording a new song, their first Christmas song, promoting the ABC Family Networks "25 Days of Christmas". It is now available and we're giving you a first look at it. Enjoy!
The CBS special "A Home For the Holidays With Martina McBride" will be broadcast December 21 at 8pm Eastern. According to Martina's website the show will feature guests Justin Bieber, Mary J. Blige and Gavin DeGraw among others and promote adoption from foster care.
If you decide to visit New York City during the "Frog Days of Fall", one must-see stop is the huge Christmas Tree that they put up in Rockefeller Center every year. This year's tree is a Norway Spruce that came from Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, and is 75 feet tall (I doubt that we have ceilings high enough for that one in the McShea household).
