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Christmas is a time of Zen, when you think about it. For every Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle® you get, you’re also sure to receive the box with Aunt Clara’s custom-made, double-knit, pink felt bunny suit. So it goes that for every A Christmas Carol produced by a movie studio, there will undoubtedly be 8 more The Santa Clauses, starring TV’s Tim Allen. That’s enough to turn any holiday meal into heartburn.

So why endure so much shiny, happy celluloid torture while spending time with your family this year? Let’s make things interesting. Here are the top 7 recommendations for the most unsettling holiday films ever. Treat your family and rent them, download them or buy them. If you actually plan on buying some of these, they will probably be in the Super Bargain Bin underneath titles like “Pilates For Dummies” and “Top Romantic Movie Moments with Earnest Borgnine”. But each title has something special in store for your over-stuffed loved ones this holiday season. You’ll thank us later.

Santa Claus (1959)
Santa Claus, high above the North Pole in his cloud-borne castle equipped with more surveillance devices than the Homeland Security Department, prepares to deliver presents on Christmas night. But Pitch, a demon sent by Satan to prevent Santa from delivering presents to the children of Mexico has other plans.

Santa teams up with Lupita, the daughter of a poor family who wants nothing more than a doll (that’s it kid, dream big). He also brings a young boy whose parents are wealthy but never spend time with him. See? Even in Mexico rich people got it rough. Pitch begins to get the best of Santa and the good kids, so Santa does the only logical thing to help thwart his foe – he recruits the help of the powerful wizard Merlin! Satan = pwned!

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
How’s this for subtext? Martians, upset that their children have become obsessed with TV shows from Earth which glorify Santa Claus, decide there’s only one logical thing to do: INVADE EARTH. So they send 2 red-faced grumpy guys to do the dirty work. If that’s not enough, these extraterrestrial terrorists decide that they should just kidnap Father Christmas and hold him for ransom. But how do they find him? Don’t worry Voldar and Lomas! These two stupid kids will sell out St. Nick and take you to his North Pole hideout just for asking!

This movie presents the audience with two odd premises:
1. Santa is one bottle short of being a total wino.
2. Apparently any random child knows where Santa’s workshop is.

Babes in Toyland (1986)
During a Christmas Eve blizzard, Lisa travels to Toyland in Wizard of Oz-like fashion as young bridezilla Mary Contrary is about to marry mean, old Barnaby Barnacle despite the fact that she loves Jack Be Nimble. Lisa tries to stop this terrible wedding because Barnaby wants to stage a hostile takeover of Toyland. Lisa, Mary and Jack ask the Toymaster for help, but he can’t help them because Lisa doesn’t believe in living, talking toys. Yes, that’s right. By Lisa’s system of reasoning:
• Warping time and space via teleportation? Yes!
• Talking toys? Ridiculous!

Drew Barrymore has the starring role as Lisa Piper, Keanu Reeves emerges from The Matrix to inhabit the body of a horrible actor as Jack-be-Nimble and stork-style karate master Pat Morita scares every child within reach as The Toymaster. Un-fun for the whole family.

Black Christmas (1974)
Many consider this evil gem “The First Slasher Flick” in movie history. Jason Voorhees wouldn’t hack his way through Camp Crystal for at least another 5 years. Don’t find slasher flicks all that unsettling? How about adding a screaming and moaning pre-Superman Margot Kidder into the mix? Oh no! The killer is terrorizing her sorority house! “Come on girls! We can’t let this meanie overcome our spunk and spirit during this time of caring and sharing!”

Suffice to say, it doesn’t end well for most of them.

Surviving Christmas (2004)
This movie has a miraculous central scene. It’s hard to convey the yuletide joy one feels while watching Tony Soprano pound a shovel through Ben Affleck’s hairpiece on his front lawn as Christina Applegate cowers in the car. By most reports, half of this film was improvised on the spot because no one involved could make much sense out of the original script. Oh yeah, this is supposed to be a comedy.

Jack Frost (1996)
Not to be confused with Michael Keaton’s tickling tear-jerker, this movie may have it all for you if you harbor any sort of snowman fetish. Jack Frost shoots deadly icicles, decapitates kids with a sled, uses his carrot nose to get busy with American Pie’s Shannon Elizabeth and even kills a victim by turning her into a rotting Christmas tree. Worried about watching this around the little elves of the family? Worry not. Although there’s tons of blood and a nude scene, the cast makes quite an audible effort to refrain from using any obscenity. There’s lots of “hecks” and “darns” and “goshdangit’s!” Hollywood leads the way again for solid family values!

Top Pick
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
This one is a seriously rotten treat. You know, even the man that created the CGI monstrosity of Jar Jar Binks has a limit when it comes to pain. He’s made it his mission to prevent you from seeing it. That’s right, kids. If you want to treat your family to 97 minutes of schmaltzy, canned-applause 70s star power, you’re going to have to pirate this variety hour from your favorite underground video network. Fortunately, this one is so notorious that it probably won’t be hard to find.

How bad is it? Wrap your space noodle around these trivia tidbits:
• The script originally penned by Lucas, was secretly rewritten by random studio executives at least 4 times before shooting commenced. When Lucas saw it, he had no idea what was going on and was mortified.

• Princess Leia sings the special’s closing song, set to John William’s Star Wars theme music - badly.

• At that point in time, it was the most expensive TV variety hour ever produced. It cost over 1 million space bucks to make.

• It was actually named “The Worst 2 Hours of Television Ever Made” by a panel of professional critics. Think about that for a minute. Wow.

• In 2006, Conan O’Brien surprised his guest Harrison Ford with questions about the special and a short clip from the show. Before the end of the segment, Ford walked off the stage in disgust.

Still not convinced? Fine. Try Bea Arthur playing a bartender who sings “Good Night, But Not Goodbye” to the aliens in the cantina band as segue to a song by Jefferson Starship filmed in 3D. And that’s not even the weirdest thing that happens.

Most families pay for college using a combination of savings, current earnings and financial aid. How do you reduce financial worries and save money?
Start saving early!

• You can accumulate a good amount of compound interest by saving early and regularly.
• Even if you save smaller amounts, you can accumulate more by starting early.
• Early planning allows you to save for both education and retirement.
• Early investing helps you complete college with less debt.
• When you have a larger college fund, you have a broader range of college choices.

When searching for the right scholarship, contact:
• Clubs
• Businesses
• Churches
• Professional organizations
The types of scholarships listed above are not widely publicized. This means they have fewer applicants, which, if you find them, equals higher odds of winning for you! Don’t forget to ask your college financial aid office, local high school counselor or librarian for direction. Remember – helping students locate financial aid is part of their job, and they help people like you every day. Let them be a helpful resource to you!

Related Quick Facts
• 63% of all undergraduates enrolled in 2003–04 received some type of financial aid.
• Undergraduates are more likely to receive grants than student loans, but the average grant amount is usually less than the average student loan amount.
• 51% of undergraduates receive grants and about 1/3 take out student loans.
• In 2003-04, the average amount of grants students received was $4,000 and the average amount borrowed by undergraduates was $5,800.
• Enrolled undergraduates are more likely to receive federal grants than grants from any other source.
• An alternative source for grants can come from employers, parents’ employers or private foundations.

Finding Scholarships and Grants
• Your prospective school may award scholarships based on academic performance, but this doesn’t have to be the only measurement of worth.
• Ethnic heritage organizations often provide scholarships to exceptional students who share their ethnic or cultural backgrounds.
• Some employers offer scholarships to their employees or to children or spouses of employees.
• Churches, synagogues, temples and religious denominations offer scholarships to members in their congregation or who are planning careers in the clergy.
• Trade and research organizations sponsor scholarships to attract students to a field of study facing a worker shortage. They also encourage returning, international or minority students to work toward a specific degree in their designated field.

‘Tis the season to be broke - especially if you are in the mood for giving great gifts. But, you don’t have to break the bank or start spending your child’s college fund just to give a great gift. You may be just buying for your family and friends. Or you may give gifts to the entire office. Either way, there is no need to auction off your kidney to the highest bidder on eBay.

Start with who are you buying for. Believe it or not, “blind buying” will get you in more trouble than you thought. Make a list: mom, dad, mailman, boss. Whomever you intend to buy for, write down their name. According to some articles, it is better know who you are buying for before you go to the store.

Family Ties
Let’s start with the family. Pictures are a great gift and not that expensive. Download or scan family photos onto your computer and burn them onto a CD. It’s relatively inexpensive and it’s fun! Or you could go one step further and download your pics to Shutterfly or Snapfish and make a photo album. For about $30 (plus shipping and handling), you can make an 8×8 20-page photo storybook from Shutterfly, or even a 12-month calendar for as little as $25. It will be creative and sentimental. You can even get great discounts if you’re a first-time user. If not, try to catch one of their sales (which they have all the time).

If you’re a whiz in the kitchen, bake up some Christmas cookies and arrange them on a give-away plate. Not the Betty Crocker type? That’s alright! Print up some of the family’s favorite recipes. For instance, include Grandma’s home-made apple pie and Dad’s famous chilli recipes. Put them in a recipe book to give the family.

Cube Mates
Having a holiday party and don’t want to seem like you’re playing up to the big wigs with big gifts? Instead, get something for your cube mates. According to an article from ABC.com, you can find great gifts for the people who work around you. Making your own gift baskets can be a great, inexpensive way to express holiday cheer in the office. Gift baskets can include candles, picture frames or stationary sets.

Not Martha Stewart? That’s okay! We have a whole section for you. Start with personalizing game balls. You can go to golfballs.com and include a word of encouragement like, “Swing for the green!” (ranging from $20-$30). Want to add some humor to the office? Try some whacky sticky notes or a “Things to do” book (ranging from $3.95 to $19.95) from Knockknock.biz.
If you have a big IT department, look into ThinkGeek.com. This is a great web site for the technologically advanced or just for the geek in the office. Buy anything from caffeine-infused soap ($6.99) to a multi-functioning USB port tape dispenser (yes, they have one for $17.99).

For my BFFs
Gifts for friends can go beyond an annual Christmas card featuring your kids or your Caribbean vacation. Try throwing a Christmas party of stealing gifts from friends. The game is called Dirty Santa. It’s a fun way to get your friends together. And, you don’t have to worry about gifts for everyone. Just put a limit on what you spend and make a night of it. You can buy wine, DVDs or CDs. You can also get creative and put together themed gifts. For instance, ‘Night at the movies’ might include your favorite DVD, a bucket of popcorn and candies. Or for caffeine lovers, put together a couple of coffee mugs stuffed with gourmet coffee and accessories.

Just because it is the season of giving doesn’t mean you have to refinance your house to get everyone a great gift. Happy holidays - and happy budgeted spending!

You see the advertisements for online college courses everywhere, but what are they really about? Ever since schools made the early decision to organize online learning programs in a successful effort to propel their growth and widen their outreach to students, they have come up against many myths and stereotypes.

Some people think that online learning is inferior to classroom learning, that the online programs are little more than diploma mills, or that graduating with a degree from an online school won’t get you anywhere. In truth, however, according to student surveys, there is very high satisfaction among students who have earned an online degree.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common myths about online learning:

Myth: Earning an online degree is easier than earning a degree in the classroom.Many students find that the course material taught online is relevant and on track with the work their peers are completing in their educations at traditional institutions. The coursework for some classes will be more difficult than others, and you may come across some professors that you can communicate with better than others.

Because online learning requires an incredible amount of discipline and independence, some students may even find getting an online degree more difficult.

Myth: Online learning offers little personal attention and no communication with other students.
This is not the case. Most online classes enroll no more students than at a traditional university.

Many students find the tech support and counselors at various online schools to be excellent. They often call and e-mail regularly and are extremely willing to help with any questions or concerns.

Myth: An online degree isn’t as respectable as a traditional degree. While this may have once been the truth, online degrees are gaining prestige around the world.

Online schools provide a respectable outlet for working adults to earn a higher education. Like many other things, you will only get as much out of your online education as you put into it, so if you take advantage of the resources provided, you can get a valuable education that employers will respect.

However, online education may not be for everyone. First-time college students with no family responsibilities and no full-time jobs may feel the desire to leave home, become independent, attend school with peers and learn how to manage their own lives.

Myth: The credits you earn online won’t transfer to traditional colleges.A growing number of colleges and universities do accept transfer credits from online schools! Still, it’s always a good idea to do some research before you enroll in a program. Check with your state and any educational institution you might want to enroll in later to make sure that credits and certifications will transfer.

Myth: Employers won’t take an online degree seriously. A large percentage of alumnae from online programs have seen an increase in their marketability. They have been able to secure jobs that they desired or have received promotions in their present jobs.

Plus, many faculty members of online schools are executives at reputed companies when they are not mentoring students in the classrooms, lending even more credibility to their instruction!

Myth: You’ll never set foot on a college campus.
While concentrated time spent on a college campus can be a great way to learn, the advent of technology has made physical presence unnecessary! In fact, because attending class is not possible for every student, online learning is one of the best options available.
It can provide the flexibility of time and place while you receive a quality education. Additionally, online learning can be a great option for students with disabilities.

But many online programs offer blended campus learning as well, or might invite you to attend a campus-based graduation ceremony after completion of your program.