The holiday seasons are all about eating too many dips, spending way too much money on frenemy gifts, and watching Elf on repeat. This year we’re prepared to take the stress and the frustration out of holiday gift giving by giving you the ultimate gift guides to buying the perfect presents for your favorite people (and we’re splitting into 3 different price ranges so you can choose the gift based on how much you actually like the person!).

So set this series as your favorite because all week we’re bringing you the best.

As many retailers start advertising Christmas before you’ve even begun planning your Halloween costume, it’s often hard to look past the consumerism of the holiday. Giving gifts is a nice gesture – you get to show the people you care about that you appreciate them and it can be fun trying to pick out something you know they’ll like. At the same time, Christmas is obviously big business – a lot of money is exchanged during the holiday season. Yes, you’ll probably continue to buy gifts (I know I do) even if you could just make donations in people’s names, or dispense the practice of gift-giving all together.

You can however, give gifts that both help out a cause, while still treating someone you care about to something nice.

When you’re out doing your Christmas shopping this year, look for gifts that continue to give (and I’m not talking as a re-gift). Some companies provide charitable gifts – a different approach than making a donation in someone’s name, you can give a gift that where proceeds go to a charity or a gift that helps fairly employ someone in a developing country. While giving donations for people is an amazing gift, I know there are times when you feel like you should be giving them something tangible instead.  We’ve found nine gifts at various price points to help you give a gift that keeps giving back! There are a lot of options out there, find something your gift receiver will like or a cause they support. Read More »

We know that we are supposed to appreciate what we have. We know that there are people out there in the world who would be grateful to have half of what we have. We know that we are some lucky mother f–kers.But sometimes we just want more. Hey, we’re human (and we are part of a consumerist generation).

Right now all I want is a giant bottle of water and a Costco sized bottle of Advil. I’d also like to know what happened to my camera, how I ended up coming home with only one shoe and why there was a mini eggroll in my bag when I woke up this morning. Oh, and I wouldn’t mind one of these.

I asked the CC writers for the #1 item on their Wish Lists. Feel free to fulfill their desires. Read More »

The Breakfast Club is one of the best movies ever made, but the older I get, the more I realize younger generations probably have no idea who John Hughes is, let alone the reasons why his film about 5 high schoolers was so revolutionary. That being said, I’m not sure this new commercial by JC Penny is the way to teach them.

For some reason, this homage to the original film pisses me off. I can’t quite figure out why. Maybe because I can’t see anyone except the original cast members doing those awkward library dances. Maybe it’s hearing that iconic song totally misused. Or maybe there’s just something inherently wrong with turning a beloved film into a vehicle for consumerism.