Author: Rebecca OConnell

This year, London’s East Village E20 is the perfect location to spruce up your beard with festive decorations and over-the-top trinkets. On Sunday, December 11, the neighborhood will host a stand at the Christmas Makers Market that will offer all the fixings for seasonal whiskers—including colorful lights. The yuletide makeover is totally free and available to anyone with a beard or pocket that needs a little extra cheer.

If you won’t be around for the holiday market, you can settle for purchasing some online.

[h/t Bored Panda]

Banner image courtesy of iStock.

Know someone with a great sense of humor? Give your friends and family the gift of laughter with a funny holiday card. 

1. DILL-IGHTFUL HOLIDAY; $5

You wouldn’t expect pickles to play a big role in Christmas, but you can find pickle ornaments on trees around the world. This can be attributed to a (false) story that Germans used to hide a pickle on the tree; the child that finds the pickle first gets a special gift and good luck. While the story isn’t exactly true, the salty cucumbers have wiggled their way into Christmas folklore all the same. Send this festive pickle card to the foodie or German-phile in your life. 

Find It: Amazon

2. HAPPY PIRANHAKKAH; $5

Fires can’t be lit underwater, but we won’t let that get in the way of a good pun. 

Find It: Amazon

3. FLEECE NAVIDAD; $3

The Christmas song “Feliz Navidad” has been a holiday staple since the 1970s. The only way we can think to improve it is with a few sheep in antlers.

Find It: Etsy

4. LET IT SNOW; $5

Winter is coming! This card, which comes with a bright green envelope, is blank but you can have the seller type in any message you would like. 

Find It: Amazon

5. DINOSAUR SWEATER; $3

Having little arms can be tough, especially around the holidays. This poor T.rex has a little extra room in the sleeves, but we think he’s pulling it off anyway.

Find It: Etsy

6. SINGING LLAMA; $5

The next time you go caroling, bring a llama to hit those high notes.

Find It: Amazon

7. PUGS AND KISSES; $18

It’s hard to imagine that anyone wouldn’t want a holiday card with a festive pug on it, so stock up for the holidays. These cards come in packs of eight so the whole family can enjoy looking at that cute pooch.

Find It: Amazon

8. SANTA PAWS; $5

Instead of milk and cookies, you should just leave out some Milkbones for Santa Paws.

Find It: Amazon

9. MERRY SLOTHMAS; $5

Slow the season down a bit by adding a sloth to the mix.

Find It: Amazon

10. LET’S GET LIT; $22

Show your kids how hip you are with today’s slang. These cards come in packs of eight and say “Merry Christmas!” inside.

Find It: Amazon

11. CHRISTMAS IN THE UPSIDE DOWN; $5

Ball up the Christmas lights, crank up The Clash, and enjoy some eggnog with the Demogorgon.

Find It: Amazon

12. ST. NIC; $5

Santa Claus has his hands full this year, so a different Saint Nic might show up in your chimney this year. Just make sure to hide the Declaration of Independence.

Find It: Amazon

The holiday season is a time for gift giving, eggnog, and, of course, ugly sweaters. While some people might find the purposively tacky sweaters charming, others, like English pub owner Alan Murphy, don’t want to be anywhere near them. Refinery29 reports that all three of Murphy’s establishments in the town Kingston upon Hull have completely banned “fancy dress” this holiday season.

Despite this crackdown on holiday attire, which kicks in after 8 p.m. each night, Murphy says he’s no Scrooge. Instead, he simply wants to preserve the atmosphere of his bars.

“We have spent a fortune making this place nice and we feel we need this dress code, much in the same way some upmarket restaurants won’t allow sportswear,” he told the Hull Daily Mail. “We don’t want to attract stag dos and large office parties in a place which only has room for 70 people. We don’t want 15 lads all dressed in Christmas jumpers making a beeline for the bar and making life difficult for others.”

[h/t Refinery29]

Banner image courtesy of iStock.

Since Monopoly hit store shelves in 1935, it has been tweaked and reinvented countless times. From Pokemon to World War II, there is a variation for everyone. And now cat lovers can play a Monopoly-inspired game that’s completely dedicated to all things feline.

Cat-Opoly, an unofficially licensed board game by Late for the Sky, takes the Monopoly formula and adds a lot more whiskers. Instead of properties and railroads, players can buy cat breeds; instead of going to jail, there’s a water square; instead of a luxury tax, there’s fleas. All the chance cards come with cat facts on the back, so the game is both enjoyable and educational. You can grab a board for your family game night on Amazon. Just remember cats can’t hold game pieces—and they’re terrible cheaters anyway.

[h/t The Daily Dot]

As the temps continue to drop, your loved ones will probably start reaching for something to snuggle up with. Why should they settle for a plain old teddy bear when there are stuffed dragons and giant isopods? Here are some untraditional plush to give to your geekier friends and family members.

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1. DROGON; $36

This Game of Thrones-inspired plush toy resembles Daenerys’ fearsome companion, Drogon. While the dragons in the award-winning HBO series don’t look very welcoming, this 16-inch tall stuffed animal version is decidedly a lot more huggable. The polyester dragon has a wingspan of 4 feet, with poseable wings, thanks to embedded wire.

Find It: ThinkGeek

2. MICROBES; $10-$14

Germaphobes, take note: When you enlarge microbes, they look a lot more appealing. The otherwise invisible organisms were scaled up over 1,000,000 times, in order to create these 18- to 24-inch wide toys. Choose from infectious diseases, a strand of DNA, a neuron, and more.

Find It: Amazon

4. ORGANS; $22

The extensive catalog of unconventional plush toys from I Heart Guts includes the heart, uterus, colon, gallbladder, and other smiling organs. Unlike real organs, these plush figurines are stored in biodegradable plastic sleeves.

Find It: Amazon

5. RICK AND MORTY; $13

Adult Swim-favorite Rick And Morty is slated to come back for a third season in early 2017, so what better time to snag a couple of plush toys that look like the titular characters of the cartoon? Now, your friend or family member can watch the new episodes with Rick and Morty sitting on either side. The toys, which are sold individually, are made with velboa fabric and are officially licensed.

Find It: ThinkGeek

6. R2-D2; $7

Everyone needs a helpful droid to get through the holidays, whether it’s for patching up the ship or creating a distraction when hiding Brussels sprouts under the mashed potatoes. A part of Hallmark’s “Itty Bitty” collection, R2-D2 is just over 4 inches tall—and a good fit for a stocking. The collection also includes miniature versions of Yoda, Captain Phasma, Chewbacca, BB-8, and more.

Find It: Amazon

7. CHESTBUSTER; $21

If you know someone who delights in all things gory and macabre, they’ll probably enjoy this 10-inch replica of a chestbuster from the Aliens franchise. With a torn up shirt and some fabric dye, it’ll be easy to recreate the movie scene right on Christmas morning. (Grandma will love it!)

Find It: Amazon

8. POKEMON STARTERS; $19

The Pokemon franchise has been around since 1996 and spawned seven generations of Pocket Monsters in the time. But purists claim that the first wave is the best. This plush threesome of Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur is sure to be a crowd-pleaser for any Pokemon lover, regardless of which version the fledgling trainer started with. Each plush toy is a little under 6 inches tall and made with a soft material.

Find It: Amazon

9. BLOBFISH; $26

Is there any creature in the ocean more fantastically ugly than the blobfish? This stunning fish sports a droopy nose, beady eyes, and a permanently scowling mug—and was named the “World’s Ugliest Animal” by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society in 2013. Now, your loved one can cuddle with a 9.5-inch stuffed animal version of the unfortunate-looking fish.

Find It: Firebox

10. GIANT ISOPOD; $75

Know someone who is enamored by the isopod, an armored crustacean that can grow up to 2.5 feet long and survive for up to five years without eating? Indulge their fascination with one of these plush toys.

Find It: Amazon

11. FINN; $6

The cartoon Adventure Time is coming to a close in 2018, but that doesn’t mean Finn and Jake don’t have some more quests and journeys in the future. This polyester Finn is up for any new adventures your friend can think of. For added fun, have some of the other characters join in, like Jake, Beemo, and Princess Bubblegum.

Find It: Amazon