Archive for December, 2009

Top 10 Geeky Christmas Decorations

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

We’ve all seen the ornaments Hallmark comes out with every year, and to be fair, some of them are excellent. There are a few Star Trek ones each year, and Star Wars ones, and other somewhat geeky ones, but they’re mainstream — and while there’s nothing inherently wrong with mainstream Christmas decorations, we are geeks and geeks tend to prefer things that are at least a little outside of mainstream.

So, as a public service, and because it’s fun, here is our list of the top 10 geeky Christmas decorations we could find. Please let us know if we’ve left out your favorite by leaving a comment.

10. Captain Kirk With Ripped Shirt Statue
The only reason this isn’t higher on the list, because it’s completely awesome, is that it may not actually be available for sale. It’s listed on designer Kurt Adler’s website, but we couldn’t find anywhere to actually buy it. Nevertheless, the idea of Kirk getting a new shirt for Christmas while wearing a ripped one is, really, sheer genius (and if you can find it for sale somewhere, please let us know!).

9. Star Wars Holiday Waterball Ornaments
How else could you create a miniature snowfall around the disembodied head of Chewbacca, Darth Vader or C3PO?

8. Cardboard Skull Wreath
Sure, it’s nontraditional. And yes, it’s a bit on the macabre side. But if you’ve ever wanted a way to show your Christmas spirit by decorating while at the same time proving that you’re a rebel against mainstream tradition, you could hardly find a better way. Plus, it’s really cool.

7. R2-D2 and Yoda String Lights
Yes, even your lights can be geeky. Are they any weirder than the popular chili pepper lights? Well, OK, yes, they are … but that’s just part of their charm!

6. Flying Spaghetti Monster Ornament
If the religious aspect of Christmas isn’t that important to you, or if you’d just like to be inclusive of other belief systems, why not include an image of His Noodliness on your tree?

5. Serenity as Reaver Ship Ornament
Because nothing says “Christmas” like a mercenary ship disguised to blend in with ships full of violently insane cannibals.

4. USB Computer Decoration Kit
Computers are such significant parts of every geek’s house, it seems natural to decorate them, too, doesn’t it?

3. Cthulhu Plush Wreath
Ignore the fact that Cthulhu is essentially the exact opposite of Jesus — in this depiction he’s green and red and looks like a wreath. How better to say “I’ve got the Christmas spirit, but that hasn’t caused my sense of humor to untwist?”

2. Darth Vader Nutcracker
And you thought he was tough when he remotely force-choked Admiral Ozzel in The Empire Strikes Back. Now he can crack your nuts, too! (Actually, we figure he probably cracked a lot of nuts, but George Lucas just didn’t put that in the movies because it would have made them less family-friendly. Seriously, though: Choking is all well and good, but then someone has to clean up the corpse, right?)

1. Yoda Tree Topper With LED Lightsaber
Be sure no Sith lords will attack your tree, you can. And you know, in Empire, Luke probably thought Yoda had a stick up his … but we digress. How awesome would this look on your tree?

Town makes 80% of Christmas decorations

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

Updated: Tuesday, 22 Dec 2009, 11:53 AM EST
Published : Tuesday, 22 Dec 2009, 11:53 AM EST

(CNN) – It is a cacophony of Santas.

Imagine listening to Christmas carols nearly everyday of the year. Such is life for many in this corner of the globe, and it is not the North Pole.

Christmas trees like those  manufactured in Yiwu will be brightening up homes all over the world. The managers of this market said over 80 percent of all Christmas decorations are bought and sold in Yiwu.

This town in China is home to the biggest wholesale market in the world. Traders come from all over to stock up on stockings, tinsels, ornaments and paper Santas sold by people like Lui Hongxia. Hongxia depends on Christmas celebrations, though her understanding of the Christian holiday is more practical than anything else.

“Christmas means I get more sales and more money,” said Hongxia.

Sellers and buyers said the down economy this year has dampened yuletide spirit.

“I think 50 percent less business right now,” said Pradeep Bokaria, a buyer. “The economy everywhere is falling in the world.”

Artificial tree maker Wu Jun said sales at her factory dropped by as much as 30 percent. To cope, she is turning to markets outside the United States and Europe to Brazil and even China.

“It’s getting trendy to celebrate Christmas here,” said Jun. “You’ll see a lot of shops, big shopping malls and hotels putting up huge decorations to attract people.”

The gifts end up at a port. Hundreds of containers depart Yiwu everyday, delivering their precious cargo to homes across the globe.

Jun cannot imagine her work without the festive event.

“Without Christmas, I would have nothing to do,” said Jun.

wedding ideas

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

We actually first debuted this perfect affair on on our Real Wedding Feature over on The Bride’s Guide and we have been beyond excited to unveil the full, gorgeous spread right here on SMP. The wedding was sent to us by one of our Little Black Book members, Olive Route, an awesome little letterpress studio out in Cali. Her paper products basically had us squealing with glee and when we saw how they fit into the entire wedding style…well, we were just a little bit excited (to say the least).

northern california wedding

Erik and Jennifer tied the knot on May 30th, 2009 with a ceremony at Grace Episcopal Church and a reception for 125 following at Durham Ranch. They went with a color palette of sage green, red and white and stuck to a tailored, elegant vibe. The bride rocked a Vera Wang gown and absolutely gorgeous Chanel Shoes. After the ceremony, Jennifer’s middle school principal drove the couple to their reception in one of his own vintage cars (how cute is that?). When the guests arrived at the reception, they were greeted by Sangria, Spanish tapas and a flamenco guitarist.

northern california wedding

The photographer behind the day, Meg Smith…kind of hit it out of the park with this one. Her clean but totally elegant approach was perfection and allowed the picture perfect details to really, really shine. More to come in just a bit!