Shoppers Stingy for Christmas 2007

The last minute will be a crucial one for U.S. retailers looking to make holiday sales as data released on Tuesday, one week before Christmas, show that consumers continue to procrastinate and that last week’s wicked weather stymied holiday shopping. For the week ended December 15, sales at U.S. retail...

Giving the Gift of…Surgery?

When it comes to Christmas presents, Stacey Smith was stumped over what to give to her husband’s grandmother. “Especially an older person … they really have everything they need,” Smith said. But now she’s found something that fits perfectly — the “gift of...

Novel Idea for Drooping Real Christmas Trees

What do you do with a real Christmas tree gone dry? Is there really a way to reverse the sad rigor mortis that overcomes all trees after they have been cut? To one family in Wales, the answer is simple: Viagra. No, I’m not making this up. Viagra is the cure for what ails your sagging…tree. Check...

Odd Christmas Traditions Around the World

In Italy they have no Christmas trees, instead they decorate small wooden pyramids with fruit. In Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, it is customary for the streets to be blocked off on Christmas eve so that the people can roller-skate to church. An artificial spider and web are often included in the...

Walmart Declares Black Friday THIS Week

Walmart isn’t waiting until the day after Thanksgiving. They want it now. Walmart isn’t playing games this year with websites who break news of their ads early either. They’re telling everyone first. Walmart is take Christmas serious this year and they want you to know it. Wal-Mart will...

We are Going to Spend More This Christmas

U.S. Christmas shoppers may spend more this year than last year, a Gallup Poll indicated Monday. The poll, conducted Oct. 4-7, found U.S. shoppers plan to spend an average of $909 on Christmas gifts this season — $2 more than a similar forecast at this time last year, the Gallup Organization...