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Have you ever gotten a gimmicky gadget that you thought for sure you’d use but ends up sitting in a drawer or cabinet for years until you finally decide to ditch it? Or how about the opposite? Have you ever gotten a gag gift that turned out to be something truly useful and beloved?

Giving someone a funny present can be hit or miss, but when you manage to strike the balance between grin-inducing and practical, you’ve got a winning gift on your hands.

A person in the Grown and Flown parenting group on Facebook asked what dumb, gimmicky gifts parents had given their teens and young adults that they actually use and love. The responses started pouring in, and soon a treasure trove of fun gift ideas that might actually be worth it was created.

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Here are 12 of the most hearted items people shared, and the best thing is most of them are under $20.

Check these out:

1. Motion-activated toilet bowl night light

Nobody wants to turn on a light in the bathroom when they stumble to the toilet in the middle of the night, and the plug-in night lights don’t always light up the toilet enough to help with aim. Problem solved.

Find the motion-activated toilet bowl light on Amazon.

2. BlueTooth Sleep Mask Headphones

If you’ve ever tried to sleep on your side with earbuds in or headphones on, you’ll immediately see the usefulness of this. But it’s also great for working out in the cold if you use it as a headband/ear warmer instead of a sleep mask.

Find the BlueTooth Sleep Mask Headphones on Amazon.

3. Croc Headlights

Love them or hate them, Crocs have made a comeback with all kinds of accessories to decorate them. These headlights might come in handy during a power outage or just if you’re looking for a little extra safety when walking in the dark.

Find Croc headlights on Amazon here.

4. That Shirt Folder Thingy

This simple device creates a perfectly folded shirt in just a few seconds. It’s fun to use and makes you feel like a laundry superstar. And since it lies flat, it can easily be tucked under a bed or behind a dresser or bookcase when not in use.

Find the shirt folder on Amazon.

5. Battery-operated Handheld Milk Frother

With 4.5 stars out of over 200,000 reviews, you can’t go wrong with this kitchen gadget. Frothy foam feels like a luxurious treat atop a coffee or hot cocoa, and this frother makes it quick and simple without taking up a bunch of space on the counter.

Find the milk frother with stand on Amazon.

6. Giant Tortilla Blanket

Turn yourself or your loved ones into a fluffy burrito with this 71-inch tortilla blanket. I know it looks strange. But 4.8 stars out of 65,000 reviews on Amazon and rave reviews by the Grown and Flown folks are solid testimonies. Apparently, it’s very soft and cozy.

Find the tortilla blanket on Amazon here.

7. Blue IKEA Bag Rain Hat

IKEA’s big blue bags are famous for their cheap, durable, weatherproof usefulness for moving lots of stuff—particularly among college students. This kitschy rain hat is no less weatherproof and useful in addition to being a conversation piece. People love it.

Find the IKEA rain hat on Amazon.

8. Remote Kindle Page Turner

If your first thought is “Why does it need to be easier to turn the page on a Kindle when it’s just a click,” you’re not alone. But the mom who shared this said her daughter loves it because she likes to read in bed with her arms all cozied up under a blanket. This allows her to turn the page without exposing her hands. Works with iPads and other tablets as well.

Find the Kindle remote page turner.

9. Electric Fly Swatters

Last year we had an out-of-the-blue fly problem that required the big guns. These are the big guns. So much more effective than a traditional fly swatter.

Find the electronic fly swatter 2-pack on Amazon.

10. GripStic Reusable Bag Clips

People rave about these things. One reviewer wrote, “ABSOLUTELY keeps food fresher for longer! Worth every penny!” and another said they work even better than Ziploc bags. With 10,000 reviews and 4.8 stars, it’s a surefire hit.

Find the GripStic bag sealers on Amazon here.

11. Pet Hair Remover

I can personally vouch for this one since I bought one myself. This thing gets hair that the vacuum misses. Super helpful for getting cat and dog hair off of furniture lickety split, and getting the hair out of it is really easy.

Find the pet hair remover on Amazon.

12. The Clapper

It’s a classic. Clap on! Clap off! It’s like the OG smart device, only without the concerns about corporations spying on our conversations. Convenient and simple. Can’t go wrong.

Find The Clapper on Amazon here.

Hope that helped with your holiday lists and white elephant gift exchanges!

TikTok is a wonderful hub of ingenious hacks, and that goes double for holiday decorating.

With Christmas just around the corner—and plenty of folks already infusing that Christmas aesthetic into their homes—this viral tip for hanging garland might be a gamechanger for those who love to get festive but hate tedious labor.

Not only is this hack easy to do, it requires zero drilling, eliminating any potential damage to the walls (apartment dwellers, rejoice).

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Home decor blogger @thekwendyhome explains.

“Here’s a Christmas decorating hack for you: Damage free garland hanging with a shower curtain rod,” she wrote in the caption of a video posted to her TikTok channel focused on all kinds of nifty home hacks.

“I took the shower curtain from our guest bathroom and tested this out for myself,” she continued. “It has held up really well! I even put my heavy Norfolk pine garlands on and it didn’t budge. This is perfect for renters and those who don’t want to put nails in their walls. And an added bonus is that you don’t get a crick in your neck or get tired arms from decorating.”

@thekwendyhome Here’s a Christmas decorating hack for you! Damage free garland hanging with a shower curtain rod! I had to try it for myself after seeing @Letneeutro do it! I took the shower curtain from our guest bathroom and tested this out for myself. It has held up really well! I even put my heavy Norfolk pine garlands on and it didn’t budge. This is perfect for renters and those who don’t want to put nails in their walls. And an added bonus is that you don’t get a crick in your neck or get tired arms from decorating 😅 I linked everything on my LTK in my bio. Now go forth and deck those halls. #deckthehalls #christmasdecorating #christmas #christmas2023 #christmasdecor #decorhack #decorhacks #christmashack #christmashacks #garland #christmasgarland #christmasgarlandhack #homedecor #damagefreedecor #rentalfriendlydecor ♬ Twinkling Lights (Reimagined) – Auni

Her suggestions are as follows:

• Use a shower curtain rod and tighten at an entry. (Wayfair currently has an adjustable golden curtain rod for less than $20, with great reviews)
• Drape and wrap your shower rod with a garland. You might need two for a fuller look.
• Remember to fluff your garland.
• Weave twinkle light into your garland.
• Add your accent — whether that’s ornaments or an additional sparkly garland (or both).
• Raise your shower rod to your desired height and tighten.
• Then turn on your twinkle lights and enjoy the magic.

This tip quickly got millions of views, with people calling it a “genius” idea. And @thekwendyhome has even more brilliant, cost effective holiday decor tips where that came from.

Like this hack for creating the same gingerbread houses you see at Crate & Barrel for a fraction of the cost.

@thekwendyhome Let’s make these gingerbread houses on a budget! I shared this DIY last year but saw that PB is making selling them this year for $50-70 a pop so I figured I’ll share it again! You can snag these birdhouses from the dollar store or from Michaels. Spray paint them brown and the key is to use joint compound as frosting. It gives a much more realistic look and you can make those 3D drippy designs and icicles hanging off your gingerbread house roof tops! It’s super easy to make a budget friendly. This is the perfect diy for your next crafty party with friends and family. Plus you can display these year after year. #christmascrafts #christmas2023 #diychristmas #christmasdecor #christmasdecorating #homemadechristmas #homemadedecor #homeadedecorations #deckthehalls #gingerbreadhouses #kidfriendlycrafts #kidcraft #kidcrafts ♬ Home Alone – Somewhere In My Memory – Theme – Geek Music

Or some Christmas garland using upcycled tomato paste tubes.

@thekwendyhome This upcycled garland is such a beautiful diy. Let’s give a tube of tomato paste a new lease on life! @_hausimwald_ on Insta captured my imagination with this beautiful diy and now I can’t stop! It is perfect for your autumnal decor, Thanksgiving and for Christmas. It gives me all the cozy cottagecore feelings. The possibilities are endless. Imagine cutting out your own Merry Christmas garland or any letter garland. You can do little moons 🌙 and stars ✨. Or even little mushrooms. In other words, I need more tomato or mustard tubes! What other packaging can we upcycle? #christmas2023 #diychristmas #christmasdecor #christmasdecorating #diy #handmadedecor #homemadechristmas #homedecor #deckthehalls #garland #upcycle #upcycleddecor ♬ Twinkling Lights (Reimagined) – Auni

Christmas can be a time when people feel so pressured to spend money that they end up not fully enjoying the holiday. But there’s almost always a workaround, and sometimes it’s more fun to get creative than simply purchasing anyway. Bottom line: tis the season to be jolly, in whatever way feels best.

Chris Paul‘s long-standing beef with NBA referee Scott Foster reached a new high on Wednesday night. During the second quarter of the Golden State Warriors‘ game against the Phoenix Suns, Foster called a foul on Paul while he was attempting to guard Kevin Durant, and after some back-and-forth between the two, Foster hit Paul with two technical fouls and ejected him from the game, which led to Paul calling him a “b*tch.”

While the two have butted heads time after time in the past, Foster had never actually kicked Paul out of a game until Wednesday — Phoenix went on to win the game, 123-115. All of this begs the question: What, exactly, happened here that led to things getting so acrimonious between the two? After the game, Paul dove into things a bit, and while he did not get into specifics, he mentioned that their beef is “personal” and vaguely alluded to “a situation with my son.”

“It’s personal,” Paul said. “Yeah, we had a situation some years ago and it’s personal. The league knows, everybody knows, there’s been a meeting and all that. It’s just, a situation with my son, and so, it’s…”

Paul’s voice trailed off for a moment before he hopped back into speaking how Foster officiates games.

“I’m ok with a ref talking, saying whatever, saying … just don’t use a tech to get your point across,” Paul continued. “I gotta do a better job making sure I stay on the floor with my teammates, but, yeah, that’s that.”

When asked about the situation with his son, Paul confirmed there was something that both the league and the Foster are aware of, but opted to keep things close to the vest.

“Just know I had a meeting with him, my dad, Doc Rivers, Bob Delaney, and all us … with the Clippers,” Paul said. “It was a whole thing, man. But it’s still been a thing for a while. So, I ain’t saying nothing to get fined. It is what it is at this point.”

Travis Kelce has gone from being a household name for fans of the NFL to being, well, just a household name in general. His relationship with Taylor Swift has thrust him into the spotlight well beyond football, and the Chiefs’ star has acquitted himself nicely to his new level of fame.

One of the toughest tests to pass is the old tweets test, where many an athlete/celebrity have gotten in hot water (or worse) based on things they tweeted a decade ago when they weren’t famous. Last week, Kelce got the old tweet treatment from Swifties, but instead of finding anything problematic, they just found a young himbo living his best life. On this week’s New Heights podcast with his brother Jason, they looked back at those suddenly viral tweets, with Jason loving the whole thing. Travis laughed off his “nonsense” tweets, particularly how he “spelled squirrel (squirle) like a jackass,” with Jason wanting to adopt that as the new spelling of squirrel while also digging in to some of Travis’ other classics (starts at the 17:30 mark of the YouTube video).

The Kelce brothers are truly a joy and them having a podcast during this moment when Travis is becoming a celebrity outside of football has made for some fascinating dives into what that experience is like. In this instance, it’s reliving old tweets from when no one followed you, but thankfully in a funny way and not a tragic way.

In the least surprising collection of words that will ever appear on this website, Chris Paul got into it with Scott Foster on Wednesday night. The Phoenix Suns played host to the Golden State Warriors at the Footprint Center, and during the second quarter of action, Paul did not appreciate a foul call that Foster made against him.

While Foster had never ejected Paul before this, the two have a lengthy history with one another — Paul’s reputation for being one of the NBA’s most stubborn players doesn’t mesh especially well with Foster’s well-documented hard-headedness as a referee. After the foul call, Paul jawed at Foster a bit, which led to a pair of technical fouls getting assessed and Foster sending him to the locker room.

Paul was so upset that cameras caught him screaming “you’re a b*tch” while he was trying to go up to Foster, but Steph Curry intervened and held him back. And in the aftermath of the ejection, Steve Kerr stood up for his player and received a technical foul of his own.

It’s fair to wonder if it’s in the league’s best interest to keep Foster from officiating with Paul going forward, assuming that there is some sort of personal beef between the two. But for now, we’ll just wait to see what Paul says after the game, because our hunch is he’ll have some things to say about the veteran official.

Taylor Swift will play her final The Eras Tour concerts of 2023 on Friday (November 24), Saturday (November 25), and Sunday (November 26) at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil. She won’t resume her international leg until February 7 in Tokyo, Japan — freeing her up to celebrate her 34th birthday on December 13 in whichever way her heart desires, which might or might not involve her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who may or may not be in love with her.

Swift’s Zodiac sign(s), if you’re into that kinda thing, is Sagittarius Sun, Cancer Moon, according to deep dives by Today and People pertaining to Swift and Kelce’s astrological compatibility. Kelce was born on October 5, 1989 — Swift began dating another 1989 baby the same year that she dropped 1989 (Taylor’s Version) because of course — and is a Libra Sun, Sagittarius Moon.

Celebrity astrologer Kyle Thomas spoke to People in September — after Swift attended her first Chiefs game on September 24 — and graded Kelce and Swift as “a 9 out of 10” in “overall compatibility” when “factoring in romance and intimacy, intellectual rapport and communication, career and financial support, friendship, domestic union, and true long-term synergy.”

Kelce spoke directly to how he and Swift came together and why their relationship is progressing all too well as the December/January cover star of WSJ. Magazine. The accompanying profile was published this week.

Taylor Swift released her Reputation album on November 10, 2017. She amplified its lore with her subsequent Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018 and punctuated that year by dropping Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour on Netflix. It does not feel that long ago because Swift revives her Reputation era during her ongoing The Eras Tour, but there’s still something about its original form that can’t be beat.

Unfortunately, Netflix is believed to be stripping us of our portal to 2018 Swiftdom. Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour is still available to stream on Netflix, but according to Decider and What’s On Netflix, the Netflix Original concert film will be removed from the streamer on December 30.

An official reason has not been given by Netflix — and the news overall hasn’t been confirmed by Netflix — but What’s On Netflix made an educated guess, as excerpted below:

“The reason why some Originals have been removed often comes down to ultimate ownership of a show or movie and that Netflix has licensed (albeit exclusively) for a fixed period. That does appear to be the case here, with the concert licensed to Netflix for a five-year fixed window, and that window is now coming up.”

Swifties are not taking kindly to this news, but all will likely be forgiven if/when Swift reveals Reputation (Taylor’s Version) is announced as Swift’s next re-recorded album.

Taylor Swift has invaded every crevice of pop culture in 2023 — from NFL stadiums, either as the headliner of her The Eras Tour or as the supportive girlfriend of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, to theaters everywhere with her Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film. But a part of her will apparently soon be leaving Netflix.

It’s increasingly difficult to remember life before The Eras Tour (or “Tayvis“), but its predecessor was Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018. Naturally, that led to Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour releasing as a Netflix original on December 31, 2018. It will reportedly bid adieu almost exactly five years later.

Per Decider and What’s On Netflix, Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour will be removed from Netflix on December 30. (Cue “All You Had To Do Was Stay.”) Netflix has not offered public comment, but What’s On Netflix hypothesized why Netflix would want to remove an original property showcasing the world’s biggest (and most profitable) pop star, as excerpted below:

“The reason why some Originals have been removed often comes down to ultimate ownership of a show or movie and that Netflix has licensed (albeit exclusively) for a fixed period. That does appear to be the case here, with the concert licensed to Netflix for a five-year fixed window, and that window is now coming up.

[…]

“We spoke to Andrew Roth, a concert photographer and journalist for the likes of The Detroit News and Flint Beat, who told us there are growing theories that Reputation could be the next album that Swift re-releases under her own banner. ‘It’s a whole thing, but the leading theory is there is an announcement soon and [the re-released album] will be released in February [2024].’ Roth told us a bunch of other theories on why it was on the horizon, such as February aligns with when ‘they’re in Tokyo, which is where the Reputation Stadium Tour ended.’”

The good news for all of the understandably upset Swifties? Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is expected to remain exclusively in theaters until January 2024 (as per ABC News), and the 2020 Netflix documentary Miss Americana: Taylor Swift is still available to stream.

San Antonio Spurs fans have some pretty hard feelings towards Kawhi Leonard, and apparently, it really rubs Gregg Popovich the wrong way. Leonard, who spent the first seven years of his NBA career in San Antonio, returned to his old stomping grounds on Wednesday night with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Leonard got his usual frosty response from Spurs fans, who boo him every time he touches the ball in these games. But in a change of pace on Wednesday, Popovich decided to grab a microphone and implore the home fans to stop while Leonard was standing at the free throw line.

“Excuse me for a second,” Popovich said. “Can we stop all the booing and let these guys play? It’s got no class, it’s not who we are. Knock off the booing.”

These boos came on the heels of the Spurs unsuccessfully challenging the Keldon Johnson foul that sent Leonard to the line, but according to reports in the arena, the fans in attendance just got louder after Popovich’s address.

Leonard, who won a championship and an NBA Finals MVP award with the organization in 2014, only played in nine games during his final season in San Antonio due to a quadriceps injury, with his rehabilitation process reportedly being a source of tension between Leonard’s camp and the Spurs. He requested a trade in 2018, which led to San Antonio sending him to the Toronto Raptors.

Content warning: This article contains explicit descriptions of sexual assault.

Midnight (November 23) will mark the expiration of New York’s Adult Survivors Act, signed into law by New York Governor Kathy Hochul in May 2022 to create “a one-year window for alleged survivors to take legal action over years-old accusations that would typically be barred under the statute of limitations” (as described by Billboard). On Wednesday, November 22, a lawsuit was filed against Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose in New York Supreme Court.

Rolling Stone obtained the lawsuit filed by Sheila Kennedy, a former Penthouse model and 1983 Pet Of The Year. Kennedy claims that she met Rose at a New York nightclub in 1989 when she was “around age 26” — Rose, born in 1962, would have been around the same age — and “violently sexually assaulted” her in his hotel room later that night.

The lawsuit’s preliminary statement reads, in part, “Rose used his fame, status, and power as a celebrity and performer in the music industry to gain access to manipulate, control, and violently sexually assault Kennedy. As a result of Rose’s sexual abuse and assault, Kennedy has suffered severe emotional, physical, financial, and psychological distress. Kennedy’s injuries resulted from conduct constituting a sexual offense as defined in Article 130 of the New York Penal Law, including without limitation, criminal sexual act in the first degree, sexual misconduct, and/or forcible touching.”

As relayed by Rolling Stone, Rose is alleged to have “grabbed [Kennedy] by the hair and dragged her across the suite back to his bedroom” and thrown Kennedy onto her stomach on his bed.

The lengthy and extremely detailed lawsuit continues (again, as per Rolling Stone), “At that point, Kennedy, with her hands tied behind her back, was locked in the bedroom, bleeding, and vulnerable with Rose alone while he was in a sexual, volatile rage,’ the suit alleged. ‘Kennedy had just witnessed Rose violently have sex with another woman. He dragged Kennedy to his bedroom like a caveman and acted with uncontrolled fury. Rose had physically stopped her from leaving and locked her in. Kennedy was trapped.’ Rose then forcibly penetrated Kennedy’s anus with his penis, the suit alleged.”

Alan S. Gutman, Rose’s attorney, denied Kennedy’s allegations on Rose’s behalf in a statement obtained by People.

“Simply put, this incident never happened,” Gutman said. “Notably, these fictional claims were filed the day before the New York State filing deadline expires. Though he doesn’t deny the possibility of a fan photo taken in passing, Mr. Rose has no recollection of ever meeting or speaking to the Plaintiff, and has never heard about these fictional allegations prior to today. Mr. Rose is confident this case will be resolved in his favor.”