If someone on your “social obligations” Christmas gift list has a little girl… and that little girl is a fan of Hannah Montana… but, truth be told, you really don’t like her parents all that much… here’s the perfect (slightly evil) gift.

For about ten bucks, you can pick up a singing Hannah Montana collector doll.

She comes with a snazzy outfit that the kid can put on and take off her until it falls apart, a doll display stand that someone’s bound to step on, and a delightfully tacky Hannah Montana “keepsake” in a convincing gift box.

Apparently, batteries actually are included, too!

But don’t let that fool you — this toy has genuine potential to ruin a parent’s holiday.

Because the Hannah Montana doll only knows one tune — she’ll sing Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree until every adult in the house wants to smash the doll with a case of Tylenol bottles.

How perfect is that?

Delight the child.
Annoy the parents.
And most likely get yourself off the hook for giving anything to that particular family next year!

Really, it’s the next best thing to giving the kid a drum kit for Christmas…

Only a soul that’s devoid of joy can fail to love a good sock monkey, or to smile at that goofy knitted-primate face and gangling limbs. More fun yet, when the sock monkey gets celebrity status!

This little guy, from the Sock Monkey Jungle of Lancashire, UK, channels Elton John at his most groovy, complete with over-sized sunglasses and a star-spangled red-striped outfit you wouldn’t have been caught dead in even in the depth of Disco Days. (The slouchy newsboy cap? Maybe.)

A self-described “sock monkey addict,” crafter Blue Saphire makes a wide range of unique sock monkey characters — from amusing rips of Batman, Rocky, and even Santa Claus — to girly-girl monkeys with fancy party frocks and long flowing hair. And I spotted a Bride and Groom couple, which seems to me just about the perfect wedding gift — way better than giving the newlyweds yet another waffle iron!

Gift certificates, sock monkey kits and patterns, even sock monkey notecards, as well as the cuddly critters themselves, can be found at bluesaphire.etsy.com.

In this season of boots and giving, some intnernational celebrities have climbed on board with Art & Sole, UGG Australia’s annual auction in support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

It’s fascinating to see actors and musicians explore their visual-artistic sides… even more so when the canvas on which they’re painting a message of hope is a pair of suede Classic UGG Mini Boots.

Beyond question, the hands-down prize is this henna-inspired design by Liv Tyler.

Cindy Crawford‘s done a ducks-egg-blue flowered pair that’s worth a look, too — but with an auction price that’s standing at $1700 as I write, with three days left to go, I’m afraid that looking is all I’m going to do! And Miley Cyrus’s rainbow boots have a top bid of $2400 — that’s a lot of moola to help the sick kids.

Celebs who have pitched in a paintbrush for the cause include Eva Longoria, Martha Stewart, Matthew McConaughey, John Travolta, the cast of Friday Night Lights and Las Vegas, Whoopi Goldberg, Sharon Stone, and Ashlee and Jessica Simpson among others.

[via SheFinds]

Let’s get one thing perfectly clear off the top — I am not obsessed with laundry.

That said, I think we can all acknowledge that clean is better than not clean. There’s nothing like the remnants of last week’s lunch on your shirt-front to ruin an otherwise promising first date or job interview.

Or so I’m told…

And I’ll bet Kelly Ripa would agree. (Even if she weren’t the perky new spokesperson for Tide’s latest offering.)

The main point of Kelly’s amusing pitch is the ease of schlepping a nifty little bottle of 2X Ultra Tide from the store to the laundry, compared to the giant old-style detergent bottle.

Concentrated detergent, you see, means the same number of loads can be cleaned with the contents of a much smaller bottle — lighter to handle. And good for the environment, too, of course, what with that much less plastic packaging.

But, hello… aren’t we missing a low-cost exercise opportunity here? Buy two giant jugs of detergent, maybe, and do a few bicep curls in the checkout line? Beautiful biceps could be yours in no time!

And then maybe no one would notice a dirty shirt?

Oh, right.

It’s Kelly Ripa.

She could crawl into work in a potato sack and all the fashion mags would be talking up the “mud look” before coffee break. For the rest of us, however… the Tide people say they’ve tweaked their formula for 2X Ultra Tide, not just the bottle, to make the product better than ever at stain removal.

Squint close at the screen, what do you think?

Hmm, Kelly’s shirt does look spick-and-span bandbox clean…

I’d probably do the bubble bath thing with James Dean… you know, if he weren’t dead.

And I’d definitely share my scented soap with sexy-evil pirate Captain Hook… you know, if he weren’t just a character from fiction.

Gene Simmons or Bill Clinton in my tub?
Not so much.

This whole question comes up because I’ve just stumbled across Celebrity Ducks, where everyone from the Blues Brothers to Pope John Paul II turns up as a rubber ducky — even the divine Betty Boop!

If your bath time is less entertaining than it once was, $11.99 will get your favourite celebrity or storybook character to bob about in the bubbles. A bargain! Just add candles and an appropriate soundtrack.

Do I need to get out more?