Holidays the Weird Way

In Santa Barbara, despite our woeful lack of snow, sleighbells, or reindeer, we tend to get into the Christmas spirit with surprising enthusiasm. The tree in front of the Arlington Theatre is greeted with fanfare each year; the lights on every tree and sapling along State Street give downtown the appearance of fairyland. It’s all quite tasteful, pleasant, and no doubt conducive to the spending of mass quantities of money on gifts.

But where’s the weird?

To repair this lack of the strange in Santa Barbara’s holiday preparations, I’ve scoured the Web for the oddest, tackiest, and most bizarre holiday appurtenances. For the convenience of lazy holiday shoppers, most items are available online – and can be shipped in time for the winter holiday of your choice. What follows is the top five most outre pieces of holiday cheer to be found; think of it as an advent calendar of the weird.