Shop ‘til your thumbs drop!

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According to an annual survey from the National Retail Federation, 200.4 million people did some shopping from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. That’s nearly 4 million more than last year and 18 million more than expected. Most of the increase was among online shoppers, who totaled 134.2 million. But Small Business Saturday drew a majority of retail activity ($59M) to brick-and-mortar stores. Get more numbers from the NRF report.

DIY Traditions

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Every family has their own holiday traditions — special games, events, and activities you’ve been sharing for so long you forget where (or why) they started. What’s one of yours?

CHIC (Pearl)

Who’s up for Christmas mimosas, Hanukkah hot toddies, or Kwanzaa croissants? In this family, we do brunch for the holidays. Every Sunday morning is another chance to take a break from the world and get caught up with your loved ones – or whoever you choose to call your family. It’s a great way to close out one year and welcome the next.

GEEK (Kevin)

Two words: Christmas swim. Yeah, I know, parents, there’s an episode of Bluey about this. But back in the olden days, our family would get together at somebody’s house and jump into a heated pool to work off all the excess energy from unwrapping presents and work up an appetite for a big dinner. And sometimes we wouldn’t heat the pool!