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Traveling for the holidays can be a great way to escape the cold … or a little family drama. Or maybe you’re dreaming of giving an experiential gift to a partner or your family. However, you know time is running out to plan a getaway, and prices seem to be on a tear in a thoroughly bah-humbug direction, so you’re concerned you won’t be able to pull it off this year. It’s not your imagination: Flight and hotel prices are steeper. According to Priceline’s 2025 holiday-travel snapshot, the cost of plane tickets and hotel rooms across the United States have been climbing as we head into the peak season. Domestic airfare over Christmastime (Dec. 19 to Dec. 28) is averaging a hefty $414, up 2%. New Year’s flight data (Dec. 27 to Jan. 4) is showing an even steeper increase at $428, a 9% jump. Hotels are pricier during the same time frame too. U.S. rates have climbed 12% to $188 during Christmas week, and up 7% to $229 over the pre- and post-New Year’s timeframe. Before you call us Grinche...

Picture it: You’re headed out on a road trip—or just your daily commute to work or school—and all of a sudden you see something peculiar on the road ahead. No, it’s not a traffic stop or a car crash, but a strange addition to the road itself. Instead of the typical white and yellow lines you normally see, now the lines are … orange? If this sounds like an urban legend or sighting of the Loch Ness monster, rest assured orange lines on the highway are definitely real. What gives? When did these become a thing? Well, like those elusive pink traffic signs you may have heard about, orange lines on the road have a very specific meaning. Orange lines are relatively new, so we had to do some digging to get to the bottom of the mystery. Ahead, we talk to Nigel Tunnacliffe, co-founder and CEO of Coastline Academy, the largest driving school in the country, and Paul Dorr, director of engineering design with the Traffic Group, a traffic engineering and transportation planning firm. Read on to ...

If I’ve learned anything covering (and buying!) Jellycats in the past six months, it’s that early shoppers get the best selection. This year alone, Halloween Jellycats arrived in August, and the Christmas collection dropped just a few weeks later in September. While both launches were months before their respective holidays, top styles sold out almost immediately. Why am I telling you this? Because we’re just days away from the Valentine’s Day Jellycat launch. And if you want to get your hands on the most coveted styles (hello, Heart Dragon !), you’re going to have to shop while the Christmas tree is still up. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming drop on December 17. Getty Images, Via Jellycat.com Valentine's Day Jellycats From dragons to sweet treats, there's something for kids and kids at heart in the 2026 Jellycat Valentine's Day collection. Shop on Jellycat What are the Valentine’s Day Jellycats? Stuffed animals are right up t...

You’re finishing up washing your hands in a public restroom and have a split-second decision to make: Do you blast them with the jet dryer … or burn through paper towels like it’s 1985? You don’t want to harm the planet, of course, but it’s a scientific fact that public bathrooms are pretty disgusting. If you’re like me, your main goal is to get in and out of there without transferring something nasty to your just-washed hands. While the days of drying our hands on that funky, half-stained, communal woven towel on a roller are over— whew! —it’s still tricky to tell what’s the safest way to dry off. Paper towels can be tossed after using, so that’s a plus. Then again, dryers these days seem to be loaded up with germ-busting tech. Should you wait (and wait) while the blower shoots mystery air your way … or pick paper and never look back? Wonder no more: Recent research looked into this very question and landed on a clear answer. We checked it out, then consulted Brian Labus, a profes...

In  Reader’s Digest’ s new series, “Is It Really Rude to…,” Charlotte Hilton Andersen tackles low-stakes etiquette questions from everyday life using a combination of her common sense and vast knowledge from writing 50-plus etiquette stories for this site. Have a situation you can’t stop ruminating on? Email us at advice@tmbi.com . The text arrived while I was standing in the checkout line at Target, arms full of toilet paper and the kind of discount Halloween candy you buy in November because it’s marked down so much it’s practically free and you have no self-control. “Hey! We’re collecting $75/person for Mike’s going-away gift! Venmo @OfficeSirenJen by Friday!” Seventy-five dollars. For a man who had only ever spoken to me twice, once to ask me to move my car and another to explain what offsides in soccer means (I didn’t ask). On one hand, he’s high up the management chain and I want to be seen as a team player. On the other hand … he’s high up on the management chain and his pa...