Like most families, mine gathers around the dinner table on Thanksgiving and (after making fun of each other for a few minutes) shares what they are most thankful for that year. Growing up, I hated this tradition; it was so cheesy and lame. But now that I’m an adult (and an adult that comes from a family that never says nice things about one another), going around the table at Thanksgiving allows me to tell my family how much I love them…

And suck up for better presents come Hanukkah.

But really; it’s important to stop and show gratitude for all of the things we typically take for granted. Like my new niece; yes, even though she peed on me last weekend, I am thankful to have her in my life. Or the fact that I not only still have a job, but I have a great job (and a liquor store right next to my office!). Or my incredible friends who support me and laugh at my jokes… even when we all know they’re not funny.

Gosh, when I stop to think about it, there are just so many things I am thankful for. Maybe I should really show some gratitude year round….

But anyways, being that we’re really freaking close to Thanksgiving dinner (stuffing!!!), I thought I’d ask the CollegeCandy writers to share what they’re thankful for this year. (Apparently everyone’s giving thanks for their boyfriends… whereas I’m giving thanks that I don’t have one so I can eat as much pumpkin pie I want on Thursday night…) Read More »

The holidays aren’t supposed to be about presents. They are about family, friends, charity and appreciating everything that we have.

Yeah, yeah.

We get that, but we still l-o-v-e the gifts! We love giving em and getting em (and then going to the store and getting all the deals on the gifts those other people returned).

This year CollegeCandy got new iPod speakers (woohoo!), a giftcard to Ikea (yayyy), and a 30 rack of Miller Light (yeah, our brothers aren’t too creative). Oh, and someone got us a Spin Spa… are they trying to tell us something? I mean, we shower daily almost daily. And we use a vanilla soap! Do we smell? Is it that obvious? Couldn’t someone have just told us!?

Anyways, moving on. We want to know what you got this year. Better yet, tell us: what is the best gift you have ever gotten? What about the worst?

Everything is all about Christmas and Hanukkah (and sorta Kwanzaa and Festivus…people just don’t devote enough attention to those ones) right now, but what about the people who don’t celebrate any of those holidays? What about the atheists and humanists out there? They need a holiday, too.

And they have one? Who knew?

Today, December 23rd, is HumanLight. What is that? I have no idea, really, and either do the people celebrating it. It is supposed to be a family holiday, but because there is no set religion (and therefore, no set rules), people can choose to celebrate the holiday however they’d like.

All I know is this is another great reason to drink on a Tuesday. So, grab your holiday drink of choice and let’s pour one for our HumanLight celebrating homies!

Happy Hanukkah, people!

In honor of the eight days of Hanukkah, we decided to do a tribute to our 8 favorite Hanukkah celebrators (also known as Jews). But then we decided that 8 just wasn’t enough; there are too many good ones! So, we upped it to eight Jews for each of the eight days.

Yes, it’s a lot of Jewish, but let’s be real – Hanukkah gets totally ignored this time of year, so we thought it would be nice to give a little shout-out to the people not dreaming of a white Christmas. You know, the ones dreaming of a little Mu Shu on Christmas eve. Click on any of our favorite Jews to see why we love em so much (and why anyone – Jew or non Jew – will love them too!). Read More »

It’s my belief that dads are the most impossible group of people for whom to buy holiday gifts. What do they want, anyway? Year after year, I dread the rolling around of his birthday and Christmas because I have absolutely no idea what to get for my dad.

Not this year!

Inevitably, there will always be people on your holiday-gift list who stump you (especially now that you waited until the last minute!). Maybe you haven’t seen Great-Aunt Ruby since you were ten, but you have to get her something this year because she just sent you a ton of cash for your birthday. Or maybe you just made a new friend, but you aren’t sure of this person’s likes and dislikes yet.

Charity to the rescue!

If the people you know are nice, they’d probably really appreciate a charitable gift. Not the kind of charity where you give them money—the kind of charity where you give others money in the name or honor of those you’re gifting.

Here are some great places to start.

Heifer International – This organization has a gift catalog link from their home page, which will lead you to a menagerie of offerings to give in the name of friends or family members. You can give a flock of chicks or ducks for as little as $20. Heifer is all about providing livestock to people who need it to become self-reliant, and it’s a great cause. Read More »

Dear Whomever it is That Brings the Presents,

We’ve been good this year. No, really. Stop laughing! The sporadic nights of binge drinking/copying those Stats problems/”borrowing” a few rolls of toilet paper from the university bathrooms are nothing worthy of lumps of coal, right? I mean, we went to class, we worked really hard and we got ourselves one step closer to being real adults! That must mean something.

Like, I don’t know, that our holiday wish lists might be fulfilled this year? That we won’t have to suffer through more socks from Grandma, and more educational DVDs from the aunts and uncles? That we won’t have to fight the tears as everyone else gets Mario Kart for the Wii and we are stuck with a pair of ugly light wash jeans?

We don’t want much and we laid it all out below. You know, so there are no mistakes. (Oh, and some of us are celebrating Hanukkah, which starts Sunday night, so you may want to get on the shopping ASAP. Don’t worry, though; you have 8 days to get it right.) Thanksmuchbye!

Love,

The CollegeCandy Writers

P.S. We left you some cookies and milk. Hope you like Cakesters! Read More »

Hilary Duff on Maxim…whoda thunk it?

Ornament porn…teeheehee

8 Ways to heart your Jew-man!

Lookin like a bum is the latest trend…

People falling is always funny…esp when it’s Madge.

Amazing sales this week!! Jump on it ladies!

Balenciaga…but cheaper. No one will know the difference!

Rachel McAdams spotting! God I love her…

Calling all porn addicts…MTV wants you!

Ew…bacon bath salts? What?!

High tuition forces some students out of college.

Catch Jay Leno at 10 pm…every weeknight.

Gmail: now with to-do lists!

Homegirl lights her cheating husband’s junk on fire.

Clay Aiken kissed a boy, and he liked it.

Brrrr, it’s cold out there! Stay beautiful in the winter with these tips.

Want equal rights? Call in “gay” to work tomorrow.

Bah humbug about Hanukkah? We feel you.

Take criticism gracefully.

Everyone loves LiLo’s leggings.

Whoops! An NFL wardrobe malfunction.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or some other holiday that not many people know about, you have undoubtedly received a gift that made you cringe, bite your lip to keep your mouth from saying something rude, or eyes water from the sheer ugliness factor.

While awesome presents are fun to receive, crappy presents are fun to talk about. So here, in no particular order, are three of the stupidest things I have received in recent memory.

* Box of Sparkly Body Spray – When I was 12, I freakin’ loved sparkly things. I would have killed for something like this in my teenybopper phase. However, once I turned, oh, say 22, I had pretty much left my gaudy taste behind. Too bad a long lost relative didn’t get the memo. When I opened this present—a set of three different kinds of pink, sparkly, heavily scented body sprays with Barbie heads as bottle stoppers—I was immediately mortified for everyone in the room. Either this relative was so out of touch with reality she thought Barbie was still something I enjoyed, or she had just totally and obviously re-gifted. Read More »

Every year, some of us are guilty of giving sh*tty presents. Maybe we forget a relative until the last second, maybe we really don’t like someone but feel obligated to buy something, or maybe we’re just selfish bastards who don’t like to spend money, but whatever the case, every year during this time, truly crappy gifts are wrapped and set under the tree or beside the menorah.

And then there are those of us who receive those crap gifts. Opening a package and instantly realizing A) this person doesn’t know us at all or B) this is the stupidest thing someone has ever wasted tape on is always a hard emotion to conceal, but because our mothers taught us to be polite, we do our best. We smile through the pain and secretly hope the receipt is still in the box.

Not quite sure if what you’re about to seal with a bow is a crap gift? Let CollegeCandy give you a few hints.

• Scented Candles: You’re not in junior high anymore, so this gift is no longer acceptable. Confused 12-year-old boys give the girls they think might be their girlfriends scented candles because they’re cheap and noncommittal. If you’re an adult, presenting someone with scented candles is the perfect way to start letting them know you don’t care.

• Clothes That Are Way Too Big: Look, when in doubt, buy a size smaller. No one likes opening a gift box and pulling out a sweater that looks like it could house a moose. Holding up a giant article of clothing not only makes us immediately feel fat, but decide everyone else thinks we’re fat too. Total. Depression. Read More »