It’s safe to say that this year’s Christmas is going to be the weirdest one in memory.
Pandemics have a way of doing that.
Yep, 2020 has been a strange year, one full of twists and turns. It’s a year so bizarre that the holiday gifts should be just as strange.
Many of us are unable to go home for the holidays, so we have to send gifts that convey our heartfelt wishes to friends, family and loved ones.
If it’s the thought that counts, let these wacky holiday gifts say without hesitation: “I think you’re weird.” In a good way, of course!
Elf Costume For Bearded Dragon
It's an age-old story: The family is enjoying the holidays all decked in holiday gear while the beloved bearded dragon gets left out in the cold. That travesty ends now, thanks to this elf costume perfectly designed for the celebration-loving reptile in your life.
Back In 1985, a black bear found and ate $15 million worth of cocaine in Kentucky. Now, this so-called cocaine bear can be remembered every holiday season. This ornament, true to its name, shows a bear looking very, very high. Merry Christmas?
Building Bricks Waffle Maker
If you're one of the millions of people who couldn't decide whether to eat waffles or Legos for breakfast, this waffle maker will be a godsend. It creates building bricks of different sizes, allowing you to make the waffle sculpture of your dreams.
Pooping Flamingo
My daddy used to say, "Nothing says Christmas like a pooping flamingo." Me: "Not holiday cookies?" Dad: "No." Me: "Not seasonal music?" Dad: "Ha!" Me: "What about a tree with decorations?" Dad: "Get real. Pooping flamingos are the reason for the season."
Stuffed animals are usually happy. But this is 2020 -- the rules have changed. That means snuggling with a grumpy octopus instead of a teddy bear.
Face Pillows
The problem with most pillows is that they're so ... impersonal. Luckily, the face pillow will allow the recipient to enjoy a giant big piece of bedroom upholstery with a giant face on it.
"Wow! That's a really big bow on your head." "Thank you!" "I mean, it's really a large bow." "Yes, yes it is." "So, is there anything else interesting about you about besides this really large bow on your head?" "Not really!"
Sexy Elf Costume
If you're one of those people who fantasize about the romantic goings-on in Santa's workshop, this sexy elf costume is perfect for role playing.
Work Wonnies
The pandemic has created unique wardrobe problems for remote workers: What do you wear to a Zoom meeting that is comfy but still looks professional? Thanks to the Work Wonnie, that challenge is solved. It's a onesie with a respectable shirt on top and comfy sweatpants below. Hopefully, this will be allowed at offices when we go back.
Brutally Honest 2020 Tree Ornaments
Christmas in 2020 is going to be different than years past. So, why not add some ornaments that reflect the mood of the year using the most graphic language possible? Exactly!
Bad Sweater Bourbon
Why should ugly holiday sweaters be limited to sentient beings? This 4-year-old bourbon is spiked with holiday spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cacao nibs and vanilla bean, and comes with its own ugly sweater. Drink up!
Lightbulb That Doubles As A Flashlight
Granted, nobody sits on Santa's lap and asks for a lightbulb, but this one is pretty cool. It doubles as a flashlight in a pinch and can stay powered for five hours on its own, even if there is a blackout.
Ugly Christmas Slippers
Today's modern ugly holiday sweaters are designed to be in your face. These ugly Christmas slippers take a more subtle approach. Hope you like people staring at your feet!
Cat DNA Test
Why should DNA tests be limited to humans? The Basepaws DNA test ends the human-centric bias by giving your cats a chance to explore their genetic roots. Hopefully, you won't have a bunch of unexpected relatives popping out of the woodwork.
Dragon Mask
Face masks are supposed to be utiltarian, but there's no reason they can't be stylish. This very expensive dragon face mask will be perfect for the "Game Of Thrones"-loving status seeker in your life.
Teddy bears are OK, but sometimes you just want snuggle with a plague doctor, right? (Please don't tell me I'm wrong.)
Neckline Groomer
Shaving the back of one's neck with a razor is not recommended. But the neckline groomer attempts to make it easier with a strap that attaches three safety blades to it. Truly cutting edge.
LED Smart Mask
Face masks save lives, but they can make communication difficult. The Smart Mask tries to remedy that by using LED lights that supposedly mimic facial movements. It's not perfect, but it is perfect for that TikTok video you've been planning.
Snowflake Jumpsuit
Thanks to climate change, it may soon be too hot to wear ugly holiday sweaters in December. The answer? A stylish snowflake jumpsuit!
Looking for something stylish for the "Christmas Story" fan in your life? This skater dress with "fragile leg lamps" will be treated as a major award, for sure.
Sushi Chalk
I'm sorry, but once you've experienced the joys of making chalk drawings using chalk shaped like sushi, everything lacks that certain je ne sais quoi. It's a travesty that we've lived so long with, ugh, chalk that looks like chalk.
Airgraft Vape App That Tells You How Much You've Smoked
The Airgraft is a perfect example of technology that serves a purpose we didn't realize was missing. It connects to a phone via Bluetooth and allows a person to see just how big their vape hits were. Previously, people were only able to judge this by the amount of smoke they exhaled. How prehistoric.
If You Give A Bunny A Beer
Although rabbit alcoholism is vastly underreported, this book will help families understand the consequences that can flow when a bunny gets that first can of beer. Note: Never give alcohol to actual rabbits.
Santa Beard Face Warmer
A Santa hat and fake beard are good things to have this time of year. But typically, those products aren't made for warmth. This version will keep your face warm all winter long, even after your loved ones tell you "Christmas is over."
Pajamaralls
Ugly holiday sweaters had their day, but there are other kinds of equally ugly festive apparel. I give you ... the pajamarall.
Log Pillow
Any self-respecting tree hugger is faced with this problem at least once in their life: What to do when you're indoors, a place where, traditionally, trees aren't allowed. For them, we suggest the log pillow, a marvel of the modern age.
Teacher Oleksandr Pogoryelov occasionally strolls up the sloping road to the school in his village in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine where he taught for more than two decades.Parents have been supportive, he said, but the village is emblematic of tensions in many communities in the Donetsk region, where pro-Russian separatists had been fighting Ukrainian forces for years.
New York officials and members of the city's Jewish community called Friday for the removal of plaques bearing the name of French Nazi collaborators from Manhattan's celebrated Broadway street.The parade took place before they worked for the Nazis during Germany's occupation of France during World War II.
"Removing the plaques is not a whitewashing of history.
Two of the biggest hitters in women's tennis go toe-to-toe when Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina clash in Saturday's Australian Open final in Melbourne.Rybakina, 23, has coolly moved through the draw, unfazed by the snub of her opening match being shunted out to the wilderness of Melbourne Park's Court 13.
South Africa has signed an agreement with India to introduce dozens of African cheetahs to the Asian country over the next decade, its environmental department said on Thursday, after the first were transferred last year from neighbouring Namibia. In September, eight radio-collared African cheetahs were released at Kuno National Park in central India after a 5,000-mile (8,000 km) journey from Namibia, the first time wild cheetahs have been moved across continents to be released.
Indian trailblazer Sania Mirza bowed out of Grand Slam tennis Friday with defeat in the Australian Open mixed-doubles final playing alongside Rohan Bopanna -- her first playing partner 22 years ago."Rohan was my first-ever mixed-doubles partner at (aged) 14 and we won the nationals," said Mirza, a six-time Grand Slam champion, three in doubles and three in mixed.
Turkey's pro-Kurdish party should back the main opposition candidate instead of fielding its own against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May elections, its elder statesman told AFP from jail."I am in favour of backing a joint candidate," Selahattin Demirtas, who ran against Erdogan twice, told AFP through a lawyer from his jail in the western city of Edirne.
At the Stalingrad Battle Museum in Russia's southern city of Volgograd, dozens of teenagers stand in a circle, waiting to take oath as they join the patriotic Youth Army movement.The oath-taking ceremony in Volgograd came ahead of the 80th anniversary of the battle of Stalingrad, the name of the city at the time.
The pensioner who allegedly sent letter bombs to Spain's prime minister and the Ukrainian embassy was placed in pre-trial detention on Friday on grounds he could flee to "Russian territory". The home-made devices were sent in late November and early December to Spain's prime minister and defence minister, the Ukrainian and US embassies, the European Union Satellite Centre near Madrid and to a Spanish arms manufacturer in the northeastern city of Zaragoza.
Peru's Congress rejected on Saturday a request by embattled President Dina Boluarte to bring forward elections to December 2023, as protests that have killed dozens rage on against her leadership.Lawmakers already agreed last month to bring forward elections from 2026 to April 2024.
She is 80 years old, the Memorial rights group she co-founded has been shut down, and some of her colleagues have fled Russia fearing arrest under President Vladimir Putin."I am grateful and I bow down before them because we didn't become toxic for them and at least from their perspective we do not represent Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, we are different people, we are his opponents," Gannushkina said of the Russian president.
M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo clashed with soldiers and rival militias on Thursday, according to officials, who said the group's fighters had also cut a vital road in the turbulent region.Police and local government officials in the area confirmed to AFP on Thursday that the road had been cut off.
All roads lead to Rome, as the saying goes, and the most prestigious is the Appian Way, the strategic highway for the Roman Empire now hoping to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Italy, which earlier this month presented its bid for the Appian Way to UNESCO, already has 58 sites recognised as World Heritage Sites, the most of any country.
Tunisians are to vote again on Sunday in elections for a parliament stripped of its powers, the final pillar of President Kais Saied's remake of politics in the birthplace of the Arab Spring.The second-round vote comes as the North African country grapples with a grave economic crisis and deep political divisions over Saied's July 2021 power grab.
Moves to reintegrate Russian athletes for next year's Paris Olympics were strongly criticised by the British government on Thursday.The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, said on Thursday that she was in favour of Russian athletes competing at the 2024 Olympics as neutrals.
First Valentyna's gas was cut when Russia's invasion came to Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk region.They are just two among some 8,000 Bakhmut residents whose precarious existence in the city has been thrown into even greater uncertainty since water supplies were fully cut in October.
With anti-France feelings running high in many of its former colonies in West Africa, Paris is being forced to retreat ever further from the increasingly unstable region and re-think its presence, experts say.After the ruling junta in Mali forced French troops out last year, the army officers running neighbouring Burkina Faso followed suit this week, asking Paris to empty its garrison in the next month.
Ukraine's sports minister warned on Thursday his country could boycott the 2024 Paris Olympics if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to take part.Ukraine's sports minister Vadym Goutzeit said such a move was "unacceptable".
Polling stations opened Friday for the Czech presidential election run-off in which retired NATO general Petr Pavel is expected to beat billionaire former prime minister Andrej Babis.Pavel won the endorsement of several parties in the governing centre-right coalition of Prime Minister Petr Fiala, while Babis secured backing from long-time ally Zeman, whose last term expires in March.
The Indian rupee rose marginally against the dollar on Friday, but ended the week lower due to suspected intervention by the central bank. For the week, the local currency was down 0.5%. The currency came under pressure after it managed to climb above the 81 level on Monday thanks to dollar purchases from public sector banks, likely on the directions of the Reserve Bank of India.
