A new survey by the luxury artificial Christmas tree and decor brand Balsam Hill:

20% of people plan to put up three or more Christmas trees this year

27% of people plan to put up two or more Christmas trees this year

51% of people will put up one Christmas tree this year

56% of people put up multiple Christmas trees because it makes them happy

18% of people will put up their Christmas tree in their front room

54% of people will listen to Christmas music while putting up their Christmas tree

24% of people will sip on a festive holiday drink while putting up their Christmas tree

11% of people will decorate their bathroom with holiday decorations this year

A new survey by DFS reveals that 20% of lazy Gen Z’ers and Millennials think it's acceptable to give unwrapped gifts, compared to just 8% of those ages 61-79. Other findings:

- 15% of people see no problem in gifting someone with a holiday present that is not wrapped

- 29% of people hate wrapping gifts

- 79% of people struggle to buy gifts for certain people

- 16% of people purchase gifts right up until Christmas Eve

Friday Flashback - CHLOE EMBLEM3 2013
True Love Pink & Lily Allen
What If Five For Fighting
Roar Katy Perry

2013
Two bombs are exploded at the Boston Marathon on April 15, killing 3 and injuring 264 people. Two pressure cooker bombs were set off at the Boston Marathon near the finish line, killing three people and injuring another two hundred and sixty-four people. The suspected bombers were named as Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Police eventually chased down the suspects during a confrontation in which Tamerlan was run over by Dzhokhar while trying to escape. Dzhokhar was found hiding in a residential area on April 19th and police took him into custody after a stand off.
Popular movies released in 2013 include Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Great Gatsby, Man of Steel, World War Z, Anchorman 2, American Hustle and the Wolf of Wall Street
1. Data is stolen from an estimated 40 million Target customers between November 27th and December 15th.

Sony releases the Playstation 4 gaming system while Microsoft releases the Xbox One.
Twitter goes public on September 12th and shares were initially sold for $26.00

Apple releases two new iPhones, the 5C and 5S. The new iOS 7 is also released.
President Obama is inaugurated for his second term on January 21st.

The holiday shopping season is already underway, but it kicks into high gear this week with Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. While bargain hunters swear by the deals they score, the discounts aren’t the only thing to be watching for, as cybercriminals also use the frenzy of online shopping to scam us.

Some of the common Black Friday scams to watch out for this year:

Online shopping scams - Fake retail websites are easy to fall for during major sales events, as scammers create convincing copies of popular brands and stores sites offering huge discounts to lure shoppers in and swindle them.
Postage and delivery scams - These also spike during the holiday season when scammers send fake “missed delivery” texts and emails that look like they’re coming from the delivery services we know and trust. The messages make you click a link to confirm your address or something seemingly innocent, which leads to a phishing site or malware download.
Gift card scams - Unsuspecting shoppers may buy fake or already-drained gift cards sold by scammers through third-party websites.
Social media scams - These include everything from fake ads to direct messages to counterfeit products and fraudulent sites.
Protect yourself from scammers while shopping online with these tips:

Always type the website address directly, don’t follow links from ads or emails
Don’t click on links sent in advertising emails or texts you weren’t expecting
Use a credit card or PayPal, which offer better consumer protection than gift cards and direct transfers.
Make sure your security software is up to date so it blocks malicious links, fake sites and phishing attempts as they come in.
Texts or emails claiming a delivery was missed or asking for a small “redelivery” fee are red flags. They often lead to fake sites set up to steal your payment info or install malware.
Source: Trend Micro

==
According to the National Turkey Federation, it takes the average American family six days to polish off their Thanksgiving leftovers.
==
How long can you actually keep eating that leftover turkey and fixings? First, it all depends on how the food is stored and how long it sits out before it's put away and placed in the fridge or freezer. If the leftovers are put away within two hours of being served, and they're stored in airtight containers, experts say they will be safe in the refrigerator for up to four days. In the freezer, they can be stored for up to six months.
==
NBC says "Jingle Bells" was originally written as a Thanksgiving song, not a Christmas song. The 19th-century tune, penned by James Lord Pierpont, may have been performed at a Thanksgiving church service. It was inspired by sleigh races in Medford, Massachusetts. There is a dispute between Medford and Savannah, Georgia, as to the true birthplace of the song.
==
A new survey by the National Retail Federation reveals that a record 186.9 million people plan to shop from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday this year. Other findings:

- 70% of shoppers (130.4 million) will shop on Black Friday

- 40% (73.9 million) of consumers will shop on Cyber Monday

- 36% (67 million) of people will shop on Saturday to support local businesses on Small Business Saturday
==
A survey by The Perfume Shop reveals that 23% of people are thinking about calling out sick on Black Friday so they can shop
==
41% of people consider Black Friday shopping a family tradition
==
Golds Gym says a 150-pound person can burn 325 calories by doing 90 minutes of shopping on Black Friday
==
A Chinese humanoid robot set a Guinness World Record by walking 66 miles in three days without shutting down
The robot walked continuously for 66.04 miles, navigating highways, city streets, bridges, and various surfaces including asphalt, tiled pavement, and areas with little lighting at night
AgiBot says the A2 is designed for customer service roles and can chat, read lips, recognize faces, and perform tasks like threading a needle
==
Astronaut researchers messing around in the International Space Station put some moss spores in outer space, where it's a vacuum — almost zero oxygen — and gets down to -250 degrees Fahrenheit. The moss was hanging around out there for nine months, also dealing with cosmic radiation. And when the moss sample came back to Earth, it germinated like nothing happened. More than 80% made it home alive and most sprouted normally in the lab. It was a cool breakthrough because it might someday help us grow things on the Moon or Mars — or at least survive a long trip through deep space.
==
Anything is possible in New York City -- even a chicken hitching a ride on the N train to Coney Island. The train was about to begin service for the day when an MTA operator found the bird, and it had made a huge mess inside the car. It's unclear where the chicken came from and how long it had been there. The operator called in a crew and they tried to coax the chicken off the train, but it wouldn't budge. So, they moved the train to a storage yard and called animal control, which eventually managed to take custody of the bird, which was unharmed. The train car, however, needed a thorough cleaning before it could return to service. (NY Daily News)
==
This was a big oopsy. Almost 400 gallons of heating oil was mistakenly pumped into the basement of a house with no oil tank Monday in Medford, Massachusetts. The delivery driver didn't realize the outside pipe was disconnected. Six residents are displaced while the oil that flooded the basement is cleaned up. It was intended for delivery to a house with the same street address but in a different city. The mix-up is being investigated by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Oil cleanups can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and this one could take up to a year, with the oil company footing the bill.