Okay, so here it is, January 13th... and no, I'm not chastising homeowners who still have their Christmas decorations up (...and lit every night!).

This year I turn my attentions toward national advertisers...

I mean, the holidays are past, so why in the world are there still so many commercials on TV still discussing the holidays?

Case in point: Pepto-Pismol!

Two of the best holiday cards we received this Christmas were:

#1 A "Seeds-n-Greetings" card.
#2 A computer monitor display card & screensaver.

Have you noticed this?... More and more drivers are decorating their vehicles with things like Christmas lights, garland, and wreaths.

Here's a Volkswagen Beetle we drove past... The car is black, and it was the dead of night, so it's kind of hard to see, but you get the idea. It was the cutest thing to watch this little VW bug motor on down the road!

My friend Suzie sent this to me...

Jim & I were laughing like crazy, because she used 2 pictures of Jim and 2 pictures of me.

And one of each was from a snorkeling photo taken on our honeymoon in the Bahamas.

Her title: "And you said you can't dance!"
(She was referring to this.)

Click photos to view the video e-cards in action:

But wait, there's more...

Randy wrote in yesterday asking for Ugly Sweater ideas. Not for women, but for men.

Okay guys, here we go...

Ugly Sweater Ideas For Men:

#1 Wear A Ladies Sweater!
Perhaps the most common choice is simply for guys to wear a woman's sweater to the Ugly Sweater Party.

That may be a little over the top for some, but a ladies Ugly Sweater would probably be doubly ugly on a man. So you might win a contest!

Yesterday, I mentioned my top pick for photo holiday cards.

Today, we look at the top 5 holiday card companies chosen by Good Housekeeping (in the December 2007 issue of the magazine).

Considering the fact that most greeting cards cost anywhere from $3.00 to $6.00 (and up!) these days...

To be able to find a place that makes personalized greeting cards (even photo cards with your own picture on them) for less than $3 is no easy feat.

But when a company will...

...print your full-color cards
...with your personalized message and/or photo
...and mail them directly to each of the addresses you specify
...all for $3.00 or less per a card (including the postage)

Then, that's what I'm talkin' about!

LED Christmas lights are definitely the hot new thing this year.

So, when you use LED lights for the holidays, not only are you saving energy, you're also lighting up the night in a whole new way.

Here are a few of the pro's & con's when it comes to using LED lights as holiday decorations...

While researching ugly sweaters, I came across a few that aren't necessarily Christmassy, but just plain 'ol ugly.

Check e'm out.

Perhaps they'll meet a need... fill a gap... or just take you back a few years.

When I started getting emails like this one:

Do you know where I could purchase that Santa Sweater featured in this article? I know its from a year ago, but I would love to be able to find one for myself. Thanks."

--Connor

...I realized it was time to break out this year's Ugly Sweater candidates!

(By the way, the ugly sweater you see me wearing in that article was created using the "make your own ugly sweater" link at the bottom of that article. Hence, the sweater doesn't actually exist. Unfortunately, that link isn't working any longer either. So that sweater is truly a classic... a one-of-a-kind heirloom. But this one is a close runner-up.)

Perhaps the following Ugly Sweater ideas will be helpful when you're searching for your very own Ugly Sweater to wear to parties this year.