Kathy Landin

The Elf on the Shelf—whether you find him cute, annoying or somewhere in between, he's everywhere these days, making the holiday season even more complicated for parents. We did a little investigating on this elusive creature that has become a phenomenon, and discovered a few things we didn't expect.

Christmas is a time for joyous giving and families coming together and singing and eggnog. But we all know that on some level it’s all about the presents.

The Christmas tree is a classic symbol of the holiday season and sometimes, maybe the best way to get in the holiday mood. You put an evergreen tree in the middle of your living room, decorate it with lights, ornaments and tinsel, and—boom—Christmas spirit...

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that being a telemarketer isn’t the best job ever. Often you are interrupting people at bad times, offering them things they don’t want, encouraged to be pushy and then get hung up on pretty much all the time. This comes with the job. Which means, you shouldn’t threaten to bomb their homes when it happens. Unless they’ve changed how it’s done. Read

It stands to reason that a man named Jackmeoff Mudd would be up to no good. You saddle a guy with that kind of name and you almost guarantee that at some point, he’s going to get himself into some trouble. That’s exactly what happened in Ft. Lauderdale, FL recently.

It may not be good form to use the actual word, but the term for it is now officially a part of the English language. The word czars at Merriam-Webster have added the “F-bomb” to the dictionary.

Guess what, kids! No longer do you have to serve hard time or get sold into slavery in order to experience the exhilarating yet restrictive feeling of wearing a shackle chained to your ankle. Adidas is now bringing the restraints to you in the form of their new ‘Handcuff’ shoe.

It’s common knowledge that many states have towns called Springfield, based on the number of them who thought they were the inspiration for the hometown of TV’s ‘The Simpsons,’ only to find out they weren’t. But there are other city or town names you may not have heard of, and for good reason.

At last, summer vacation time is here. If you haven’t started planning, it’s not too late. There’s a lot of summer ahead of us, and you can still find time to get out of town with your family before school starts back up again. Just make sure you you don’t fall into a few common traps and you’ll have the best vacation ever.

Even though you love your kids dearly and want to spend time with them, the months that kids are out of school can be the longest of the year for any parent. The key to a peaceful summer household is keeping the kids busy and entertained.

Moms do a lot for us. Even after we are no longer their responsibility, they are still doing things for us that we take for granted. We should be celebrating these great ladies every single day of the year, not just on Mother’s Day.

Boy bands are back. With One Direction’s much buzzed-about performance on ‘Saturday Night Live‘ last weekend and the new hotness of The Wanted, the boy band is definitely a thing again. But before we get too excited, let us not forget where they came from. Is the return of the boy band a good thing?