Christmas: News Stories From Around the World - Page 15

white house holidays

Dec 3, 2009 3:32 PM CST

Gingerbread White House Boasts Candy Bo

Eco-friendly lights, 27 trees liven up the full-size executive mansion

(Newser) - Everyone got into the act of readying the White House for the holidays—staffers and volunteers who helped with decorating, community groups whose members created ornaments, and even the White House bees, whose honey went into the gingerbread that became a 390-pound replica of the executive mansion. At the bottom...

Holiday Shopping Tip: Money Can Buy You Love

george will

Nov 26, 2009 9:49 AM CST

Holiday Shopping Tip: Money Can Buy You Love

Yuletide economics dissected

(Newser) - Christmas is coming, and the "voluntary December calamity" of destruction of billions of dollars in value is under way, writes George Will. People will splurge on gifts their relatives and friends don't want or need, and the discrepancy between the cost of the present and its value to the...

Oprah to Interview Obamas
for Christmas Show

Nov 25, 2009 4:00 PM CST

Oprah to Interview Obamas for Christmas Show

Primetime program will air next month on ABC

(Newser) - Oprah Winfrey will interview the First Couple for a primetime holiday special. Oprah’s Christmas show for ABC will feature an interview with the Obamas and a tour of the White House. Christmas at the White House airs 10pm Sunday, Dec. 13, notes the Hollywood Reporter .

What She Always Wanted: Reindeer Dung Necklace

who needs pearls?

Nov 24, 2009 9:07 AM CST

What She Always Wanted: Reindeer Dung Necklace

Zoo aims to plug budget holes with droppings

(Newser) - For that special someone: An Illinois zoo is selling sterilized reindeer droppings in the form of "Magical Reindeer Gem" pendant necklaces available at its gift shop and through mail order. The $20 glitter-encrusted necklaces are a bit silly, a zoo spokeswoman admits to the AP , but they're selling fast...

Beware 12 Scams of Christmas

Nov 21, 2009 3:12 PM CST

Beware 12 Scams of Christmas

Online schemes take advantage of the holiday spirit

(Newser) - The holiday season brings out the best in online scammers. CNET runs down common schemes to beware of, courtesy of McAfee:

Fake delivery invoices: They look like legit emails from UPS, Federal Express, and the like, asking for address confirmation and credit card info to ensure delivery.
Holiday e-cards: Make

...

Christian Group
Boycotts Gap
Over Holiday Ads

war on christmas

Nov 13, 2009 2:15 PM CST

Christian Group Boycotts Gap Over Holiday Ads

Not enough Christ in Gap's Christmas: AFA

(Newser) - A Christian group has launched a boycott of the Gap over its religion-neutral holiday ads. The American Family Association, already ticked off by last year’s campaign, which wished consumers a “Merry Gap-mas,” hit the roof over this year's “Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanzaa, Go Solstice....

Inside the
Scientology
Holiday Catalog

FOR THE XENU WHO HAS EVERYTHING

Nov 4, 2009 10:37 AM CST

Inside the Scientology Holiday Catalog

And yes, that is a picture of Santa at a Scientology Christmas bash

(Newser) - Not sure what to buy Tom Cruise for Christmas? Just take a gander at the Scientology Holiday Catalog, which Jezebel's Dodai got her hands on by way of a reader. Noteworthy items include a collection of 18 Nigerian goatskin-bound books of The Basics for a cool $2,000, a $4,...

Bob Dylan's
Xmas Album
'Sort of Insane'

MUSIC REVIEW

Oct 26, 2009 11:13 AM CDT

Bob Dylan's Xmas Album 'Sort of Insane'

Even so, the 'beloved iconoclast' puts together an interesting collection

(Newser) - With the announcement of Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart, “smirkers got smirkier”—you try picturing Dylan singing the lyric, “How’d ya like to hang a stocking on a great big coconut tree?” without smirking—but in the end, the collection is interesting, if a...

Neiman 'Fantasy Gift'
Pricetags Plummet
to Mere $250K

Oct 7, 2009 3:39 AM CDT

Neiman 'Fantasy Gift' Pricetags Plummet to Mere $250K

Slowdown scales down costs as even super-rich turn 'frugal'

(Newser) - The slowdown in luxury spending has spurred Neiman Marcus to make its "fantasy items" in this year's Christmas catalog a lot less fantastic than in years past. For the first time in a decade there's no $1 million-plus items on offer, like the $20 million submarine offered in 2000...

Ho-Ho-Hold on
a Minute,
Xmas in July?

Jul 31, 2009 4:38 AM CDT

Ho-Ho-Hold on a Minute, Xmas in July?

Stores launch summer promotions to snag holiday dollars early

(Newser) - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in malls across the country as stores angle for some extremely early holiday dollars, the Wall Street Journal reports. Retailers like Toys'R'US, Sears and Kmart have dragged Santa away from his summer break and launched July Christmas promotions, hoping to boost sales...

Pope Plans Christmas Album

Jul 31, 2009 1:45 AM CDT

Pope Plans Christmas Album

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI has joined Guns n' Roses and Snoop Dogg on Geffen records' roster of artists and plans to have an album out in time for Christmas, the Guardian reports. The pontiff won't be crooning holiday standards, however. The album will feature Benedict singing a prayer and reciting litanies...

Desperate in July, Sears Looks to Santa for Bailout

Jul 15, 2009 10:30 AM CDT

Desperate in July, Sears Looks to Santa for Bailout

(Newser) - Sears is taking the “Christmas in July” trope to a whole new level. With June retail sales tumbling, the company is looking for a boost by selling actual Christmas products, Time reports. Soon, 372 Sears stores will roll out displays hawking tree ornaments, stocking stuffers, and other decidedly off-season...

'Santa Shooter' Had
Coke in His System

Apr 3, 2009 3:54 PM CDT

'Santa Shooter' Had Coke in His System

(Newser) - The California man who murdered his ex-wife and eight members of her family on Christmas Eve while dressed as Santa Claus had cocaine in his system, the Los Angeles Times reports. The coroner’s office said the cocaine was present in trace amounts and was only a contributing factor to...

Brit's Beau
Meets Folks—
or Is This
a Hoax?

Jan 2, 2009 10:04 AM CST

Brit's Beau Meets Folks— or Is This a Hoax?

Sources place Sandip in US, but reports say it's all phony

(Newser) - It seems like only yesterday Britney was shaving her head and dating bad boys—now she’s (supposedly) cooking dinner and introducing her new boyfriend to her parents, the Daily Mirror reports. A source claims Bollywood choreographer Sandip Soparrkar flew to the US to spend New Year’s Eve with...

Christmas Intruder Lived
in Family's Attic

Dec 29, 2008 2:18 AM CST

Christmas Intruder Lived in Family's Attic

Hidden house guest helped himself to food, clothing, gifts

(Newser) - Call him the Attic Ghost of Christmas Present. An intruder lived undetected in a Pennsylvania family's attic for several days, including Christmas, stealing food and clothing when the occupants were out, reports the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. The family finally called police when they discovered several expensive Christmas gifts missing. The...

From Now 'Til New Year's: Baby-Making on the Rise

Dec 28, 2008 6:42 AM CST

From Now 'Til New Year's: Baby-Making on the Rise

Increased leisure time and resolutions the cause

(Newser) - The gifts have been opened, but a special package may be arriving 9 months from now. The days between Christmas and the start of the New Year see more sex than usual, reports McClatchy Newspapers, which cite Trojan condom's pre-New Year's sales as proof. The hanky panky results in...

Winehouse On Again
With Jailed Hubby

Dec 27, 2008 1:37 PM CST

Winehouse On Again With Jailed Hubby

(Newser) - Amy Winehouse is giving jailed husband Blake Fielder-Civil another chance, the Daily Mirror reports. His revelations about their relationship and drug use upset Winehouse last month, but she called him in his jail cell on Christmas to reconcile. “She says the best Christmas present will be to have her...

'Santa' Gunman Hid Son
From Ex-Wife: Cops

Dec 26, 2008 5:32 PM CST

'Santa' Gunman Hid Son From Ex-Wife: Cops

Revelation of child from previous relationship stressed the Pardo's marriage

(Newser) - Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, who police say killed nine others in a Christmas Eve rampage in California, kept a child from a previous relationship secret from his ex-wife, the Los Angeles Times reports. Pardo did not support his physically handicapped 9-year-old son financially, but claimed him as a dependent for 7...

Amazon Has 'Best Ever' Holiday Season

Dec 26, 2008 3:10 PM CST

Amazon Has 'Best Ever' Holiday Season

Online retailer beat the market with HDTVs, iPods, and Wii

(Newser) - The Grinch apparently didn’t sour shoppers on Amazon this year: The company said today the 2008 holiday season was its “best ever,” MarketWatch reports. Amazon sold more than 6.3 million items worldwide on Dec. 15, its peak day, amounting to “a record-breaking 72.9 items...

'Santa' Shooter Had Bomb, Plane Ticket, Cash: Police

Dec 26, 2008 2:03 PM CST