How much time did you spend picking out that perfect sweater for your sibling? Well, there is a good chance that it’s heading back to the store right now. An estimated $46 billion in merchandise will be returned the day after Christmas.

KRem.com reports that nearly 10% of all Christmas presents will be returned. This year, that means that nearly $46 billion is heading back to stores.

So what are the most returned Christmas gifts? According to a poll conducted by Kohls in 2008, clothes were returned most often. A poll conducted this year by MarketTools confirmed Kohls findings. Clothes and shoes will make up an expected 62% of all returns today.

Here is a breakdown of the most returned Christmas gifts. 

• Clothing and shoes, 62%.
• Toys, games and hobbies, 16%.
• Consumer electronics, 14%.
• Kitchen and bath, 13%.
• Beauty and cosmetics, 10%.
• Jewelry and watches, 10%.

But not everyone tries to return their bad gift. According to Consumer Reports, about 18% will try to donate their gift to charity, 15% will try to re-gift the item, 11% will just throw the gift out and 6% will try to resell the item.

Consumer Reports also says that some people choose a different way to deal with a bad gift. Two percent confront the present giver and tell them to return it. While another two percent post pictures of their detested gift on the internet.

Did you get a bad gift this year? What did you do with it?

The Most Returned Christmas Gifts: $46 Billion in Clothes, Electronics, and Jewelry Head Back to the Store is a post from: The Inquisitr

With throngs of people flooding stores during the holiday season, thieves have the perfect opportunity to slip by unnoticed. So what holiday gifts to crooks fancy the most?

Adweek reports that shoplifting is up 6% from 2010 and that 1 in 11 holiday shoppers will ‘accidentally’ forget to pay for at least one item. This adds up to an estimated loss $119 billion (1.45 percent of total sales) for merchants.

Johnny Custer, director of field operations for Merchant Analytic Solutions, said:

“Most shoplifters simply succumb to temptation. But add a sense of desperation because of the economy and holiday pressures, and you have the recipe for theft soup.”

Here are the ten most stolen items during the holidays.

1. Filet Mignon – The loss rate for luxury meat has risen by 21 percent between 2009 and 2011
2. Hard Liquor – From underage kids looking for a holiday party, to alcoholics who want to treat themselves to a free bottle of booze, the shrinkage rate for liquor is 2.9% in North America.
3. DIY Items – Tooth brushes, power tools, and razors. These thieves may want to better their lives, but they don’t want to pay for it.
4. Handheld Electronics – As electronics get smaller and pricier, they’ve become the perfect target for holiday thieves.
5. Razor Blades and Shaving Products – After shopping for friends and families, there just isn’t enough money for basic items. Read Hayes, director of the Loss Prevention Research Council, said: “In bad economic times, you’ll see more basic items stolen.”
6. Deodorant – The deodorant choice for thieves, according to Adweek, is Axe.
7. Clothes – Since 2009, clothing theft has increased 31%.
8. Hot Toys – Items on the 2011 Toys ‘R Us “Hot Toys” list are expected to be prime targets this year.
9. Perfume – “Highly desirable and often small in size, [they] can be extremely vulnerable to theft,” reads The 2011 Global Retail Theft Barometer report.
10. Sneakers – Shoplifters can easily swap out shows during an annual holiday theft run.

‘Tis the Season for Stealing: The Ten Most Shoplifted Items During the Holidays is a post from: The Inquisitr

Everyone likes a BBQ, but what if you could get your beer flung at you instead of having to take it out of a cooler.

The Shoot a Brew Cooler is a cooler that literally flings beers to you via a remote control. To use, you fill the cooler with 12 oz cans, then you press a button on your remote control.

Highlights according to the sales page include a two second reload time, pass through lid, two wheels and a handle, and capacity for 24 cans.

The price: well, it’s not super cheap but you will have a talking point at your party: $295. Ordering details here and demo video below.

Perfect Christmas Gift: Shoot a Brew Pops Up Beer Cans At You is a post from: The Inquisitr

The independent product testing group that last week said one of this Christmas’ most popular toys (Zhu Zhu Pets, a mechanical hamster) may contain harmful levels of certain toxins is now backpeddling on those claims after the Consumer Product Safety Commission stepped in, deeming Zhu Zhu Pets to be safe.

The CPSC confirmed that the toys had passed safety tests and did not appear to pose a risk to children:

“The Consumer Product Safety Commission confirmed today that the popular Zhu Zhu toy is not out of compliance with the antimony or other heavy-metal limits of the new U.S. mandatory toy standard,” agency spokesman Scott Wolfson said.

“We will still do our own independent testing at CPSC. But we’re confident today and can confirm that the toy does not violate the very protective antimony standard that applies to all toys in the United States,” Wolfson said.

Good Guide sheepishly admitted that Mr. Squiggles might not be so poisonous after all:

“Since issuing our release, we have learned that the testing methodology used in the federal standards (a soluble method) is different than the methodology we used in our testing (a surface-based method),” the San Francisco group said. “Accordingly, while we accurately reported the chemical levels in the toys that we measured using our testing method, we should not have compared our results to federal standards. We regret this error.”

As you might imagine, Zhu Zhu Pets distributor Cepia LLC is not too pleased with the rumors circulating less than a month ahead of Christmas:

“They accused us falsely of having high levels of antimony and tin in Mr. Squiggles by using a methodology that is not used by any federal standards,” said Natalie Hornsby, Cepia’s vice president of marketing. “Their testing was certainly not comprehensive and certainly not at the government standard.”

Consumers remain wary about toy safety after a cluster of recalls in 2007 that included unsafe magnets and high levels of lead in toy paints.

[LA Times]

CPSC says Zhu Zhu hamsters are safe, Good Guide apologizes is a post from: The Inquisitr

A California consumer safety group says one of the most sought out toys this Christmas may contain unsafe levels of certain toxins.

Good Guide, a group that independently tests products for the presence of toxic chemicals, says Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters tested positive for higher than acceptably safe levels of a metal called antimony, as well as potentially unsafe levels of tin. Zhu Zhu Pets remained sold out through man outlets as early as October, and many of the trendy toys are expected to show up under trees this Christmas.

“If ingested in high enough levels [it] can lead to cancer, reproductive health, and other human health hazards,” said Dara O’Rourke, an associate professor of environmental science at U.C.-Berkeley, and co-founder of goodguide.com.

Good Guide says the Zhu Zhu stood out because of high levels of antimony.

The federal limit is 60 parts per million. But the Zhu Zhu had 93 parts per million in the fur, and 103 in the nose.

“If these toys aren’t even meeting the legal standards in the U.S. then I would say that it isn’t worth the risk for me to bring it into my household,” said O’Rourke.

Zhu Zhu Pets are manufactured in China, and distributed by a company based in St. Louis called Cepia. Cepia did not address requests for comment on the toys’ safety, and there is no recall in place for Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters.

Consumer advocacy group says Zhu Zhu hamsters contain toxic chemicals is a post from: The Inquisitr

Can’t think of what to get that special person in your life? How about embracing new cultures like that of Catalonia where it is Christmas tradition to buy statues of well known people crapping and hide them in nativity scenes for your friends to find. Yep you read that right, ceramic statues of famous people shitting, which you then invite friends over to find.

Nothing says “I love you and I take an interest in world affairs” like getting a Barack Obama statue taking a dump. I personally love the Obama statue, it has the slogan “Yes we can” written on it, which juxtaposes neatly with him… well you know.

The statues are called ‘caganers’ and are a tradition which dates back to the 18th century in Catalonia. The figures whilst appearing to be well known people doing a shit, actually symbolize fertilization, hope and prosperity for the coming year. Because nothing says that better than a ceramic figurine, doing the business.

I love the intricate detail and texture of the crap. No word on whether these things come as scratch and sniff.

If Obama isn’t your style you can also get the Pope, Suri Cruise, the French President’s super model wife, famous soccer players and most of Europe’s leaders, including Gordon Brown. See the whole gallery here.

I like the one of Gordon Brown, his poo seems quite a unique shape. Not sure if results may vary and Obama and Brown were unavailable for comment, so make up your own mind.

Christmas Must Have: Statues of Famous People Taking a Dump is a post from: The Inquisitr

I spotted this on a break in Hobart, Tasmania: the Bling Hammer from Hello Dolly.

The Bling Hammer includes a neck delightfully encrusted with fake diamonds, and a slogan that says girl power in 2008: “Add some Bling to your Bang,” and “Create Make Obliterate.”

A classy Christmas gift for the one you love.

For the woman who has everything, a Bling Hammer is a post from: The Inquisitr