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Why we should all re-gift unwanted Christmas presents

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18 reasons Christmas sucks in your twenties SorryDad_Illustration_Liberty Antonia Sadler_Metro
Don’t want them? Re-gift them! (Picture: Liberty Antonia Sadler for Metro)

Admit it.

There are probably a few presents now lying around your house which you don’t exactly need.

Or probably even want.

A scarf or two you will never wear, probably a few tins of chocolates or biscuits you might not like and definitely a set of smellies that will gather dust on a bathroom shelf.

What to do if your contraceptive pill is affecting your mental health

Not forgetting that ‘funny’ secret Santa gift that you got from a colleague which is no… Read the full story


How a diagnosis helped me come to terms with my mental illness

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(Illustration: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

Being diagnosed with a mental illness is what finally helped me come to terms with it.

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder two years ago, at the age of 20. It’s a diagnosis I fought pretty hard for.

Before I was diagnosed I struggled to come to terms with what was going on inside my head. Lost and alone, I knew there was something wrong but as a young woman, I struggled to receive help because doctors so often blamed my moods on ‘hormones’.

I knew there was more to it.

My mum has bipolar disorder. It’s hereditary, and so there was a huge chance I had it too.… Read the full story

Why you should make Boxing Day the ultimate self-care session

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metro illustrations
(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

Whew. Christmas is over.

You made it through making more food than anyone could possibly consume in one sitting, you’re just settling down from the excitement of unwrapping a bunch of presents, and you managed to put up with your family for a full day.

What now?

Tradition dictates that Boxing Day should be spent hitting up the sales or having more festive family fun.

But we propose a new tradition: Let’s all make Boxing Day the ultimate self-care session.

As joy-filled as Christmas can be, it’s bloody stressful. It’s emotionally exhausting. You end the day completely stuffed, rundown, and surrounded by stuff you now have to find… Read the full story

Fancy a stay in a Volkswagen Beetle in Jordan?

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(Picture: REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed)

Hotels are boring, hostels are a bit hit and miss, and you can’t afford that fancy Airbnb you’ve got your eye on.

The obvious choice: A VW Beetle that serves as a hotel room.

Over in Shoubak, Jordan, loads of people are skipping the budget hotels to flock to a Volksawagen Beetle, owned by 64-year-old Mohammed Al-Malahim.

People aren’t just paying to sleep in the back of Mohammed’s car, to be clear. The VW Beetle has been kitted out to make a cosy room for any guests who fancy a stay.

It rests on rocks (so no, you can’t drive off) and is filled with handmade embroidered sheets and pillows from… Read the full story

5 reasons why I miss working in a shop at Christmas

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Still from film Elf
Buddy the Elf understands why I loved Christmas retail (Picture: Alan Markfield/New Line Prod/REX/Shutterstock)

Since I stopped working in retail, the run up to Christmas hasn’t been the same – it is no longer as exciting, fun, or festive.

A lot of retail workers will probably think I’m mad as the Christmas shopping period is extremely chaotic, and the days are filled with stressed-out customers and much more work than usual.

Why celebrities like Aston Merrygold should be banned from Strictly Come Dancing

But it also meant I was getting paid to work and immerse myself in the Christmas spirit… Read the full story

What can you do with your unwanted Christmas gifts?

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Ungrateful? A full three-quarters of us don’t like our festive gifts (Picture: Liberty Antonia Sadler for Metro.co.uk)

‘A novelty Christmas jumper – how did you know I adore them?

‘I’d really love to put it on today of all days but, seeing as I’m already in my Christmas outfit, I’ll save it for tomorrow.’

Said garment will, of course, wind up in your pile of unwanted gifts – the ones that make you question whether that person knows even a tiny bit about your tastes and hobbies.

What it's like to train as a female rabbi

Each Christmas, many people are left with unwanted… Read the full story

10 best Christmas leftover recipes

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Your turkey won’t be looking quite like this by Boxing Day (Picture: Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

It’s the day after Christmas.

gingebread latte hairGingerbread latte hair will make you feel festive even now Christmas is over

The fridge is full of leftovers, but you don’t fancy a reheated Christmas lunch and are out of ideas.

How about trying some of these clever recipes to use up those Christmas bits and bobs?

1. Turkey Teriyaki Rice Bowl

This is a great way to use up all that spare turkey.

Chop it up and make this easy Turkey Teriyaki dish.

Great idea for a TV dinner while you… Read the full story

You might want to get your Christmas tree out of your house if you spot one of these clusters on the branches

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Family Outdoor walking home and carrying Christmas Tree Together

When do you need to take your Christmas tree down?

Traditionalists will say to chuck it out the moment Christmas day ends, getting rid of all festive decorations by Boxing Day.

Others will stick to the ‘if it’s still up by 5 January it’s bad luck’ rule, and will get around to dismantling their tree in the first week of the New Year.

Then there are those who leave it up for so long that they debate just keeping it there for next Christmas.

These are all valid options. But let us warn you: there’s a sign that you need to get your Christmas tree out of the house now.… Read the full story


You can spend the night in a hobbit house with a view of the sea

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(Picture: SWNS)

When you think of travelling, you probably think of sleeping in a luxury igloo under the Northern Lights or heading to a town in Puglia.

What you don’t think of is a hobbit house.

But now, Lord Of The Rings fans can now spend a getaway on a farm, inspired by the books.

Carol Cavendish, 37, opened the hobbit house for guests three years ago and since then, it’s been inundated with visitors from far flung locations  including New Zealand and New York.

Why do we have Christmas trees and when should we take them down?

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Why do we take down Christmas decorations 12 days after Christmas?
Why do we take down Christmas decorations 12 days after Christmas? (Picture: Getty)

Christmas is over, and you’re probably still be feeling the effects of the festivities and, of course, all of that amazing food consumed.

But now that Christmas is over and done with, you’re probably wondering when is the best time to take down the Christmas decorations and Christmas trees.

Buying and decorating the Christmas tree may have been an arduous process and you might be thinking that today is not the day you want to take down the baubles, lights and tinsel.

But fear not, you don’t have to. But for those… Read the full story

18 terrible things people did to their vaginas in 2017

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Like the rest of us, vaginas have had a tough year.

They’ve been through ridiculous opinions about the existence of the female orgasm (it’s real, mate. You just haven’t witnessed one), an increase in people asking for labiaplasty to meet a restrictive ideal of genital beauty, and, as usual, a whole host of terrible vagina-related detoxes, cleanses, and fads.

You’d hope that after all the ‘please don’t put ___ in your vagina’ articles of 2016, people would stop doing strange things to their vaginas.

But alas, the vagina-related misery continued into 2017.

We blame our general shame around the vagina and the lack of education concerning all things vulva and vag. No wonder people are reaching for bizarre DIY vagina treatments when they’re not taught about basic vaginal hygiene (namely that the vagina is self-cleaning and you can pretty much leave it to it. Just wash the vulva – the external genitals – with warm water).

Here are just… Read the full story

Why is Boxing Day called Boxing Day? What’s the meaning behind the name?

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How it feels to be depressed at Christmas (Lucy Dimbylow)
(Picture: Phébe Lou Morson for Metro.co.uk)

Christmas Day has come and gone and most of you will probably still be feeling the effects of yesterday.

Today is Boxing Day and it’s definitely a recovery day as some (probably most) of us are nursing heavy heads whilst reaching for antacids and paracetamol.

Boxing Day is synonymous for finding a bargain too and the people will be trying to beat the queues in the Boxing Day sales.

The unfortunate people who have to go to work today will be raging at the lack of some transport services.

All of this raises a question: What’s the point of… Read the full story

Behold Pastéis de Belém, the most reviewed bakery on TripAdvisor from this year

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(Picture: Pastéis de Belém)

If you thought your local does some great cakes, you may want to look away.

Because a bakery has been rated as the most reviewed on Tripadvisor and sadly, it’s nowhere near British shores.

Pastéis de Belém in Portugal’s capital is the home of the pastel de nata, aka the Portuguese custard tart.

For those unfamiliar with this sweet treat, we suggest acquainting yourself.

The café in the Belem district of Portugal, has been selling them since 1837 and now, Tripadvisor suggests it’s one of the most popular bakeries in the world.

Three million people will cash in on unwanted gifts

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(Picture: Liberty Antonia Sadler)

We all know the feeling of receiving a crappy Christmas present.

You have several options: you can re-gift it (it make sense) or come clean and say you’re not exactly a fan.

We probably don’t recommend saying that to your partner’s parents though if you have any intention of keeping the relationship going.

Down under though, it’s a different story altogether.

Rather than letting an unwanted gift lie in a closet till moths eat away at it, three million Australians are expected to cash in on the gifts they don’t want.

According to new research from Galaxy, 83% of them will sell their unwanted gifts online.

Read the full story

Watch men struggle to differentiate between porn scripts and #MeToo stories

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Be Frank
(Picture: Be Frank)

This year has seen major Hollywood figures like Harvey Weinstein face a barrage of allegations of sexual assault.

Women have come forward to share their stories of sexual assault on social media with #MeToo.

But now, Dutch filmmakers Damayanti Dipayana and Camilla Borel-Rinkes have asked men to read stories and guess whether they’re from #MeToo stories or scripts from porn.

One guy read: ‘I was masturbating and my brother’s friend walks in. Uhm, awkward. He says I look hot and if I need a hand. We end up having sex.

‘Porn? That seems like a porn situation. That seems like a guy’s fantasy.’

The men then go on to read storylines included… Read the full story


Virtuous baby names are going to be a trend to balance out the awfulness of 2017

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(Picture: Getty)

2017 was, to put it bluntly, a pit of despair filled with misery and disappointment.

So it makes sense that trends for next year are focused on dragging us out of the pit and giving us some hope again – including what we’ll be choosing to name our babies.

Parenting site ChannelMum has shared their predictions for baby names in for the next three to five years, listing ‘modern virtue’ names such as Felicity, Faith, and Hope, as a way for parents to signal their disapproval at the tough year we’ve just had and push for more positive times ahead. You know, because children are the future and all that.

Names including Felicity and… Read the full story

Deaf people teach us how to swear in sign language

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You may not have realised it but deaf people swear just as much as everyone else.

The only difference is that they’re able to do it a tad more discreetly.

If you’ve ever wondered how to swear in sign language, YouTube channel Cut has come to your aid.

Seven deaf people have given us the lowdown on their favourite NSFW words in American Sign Language.

And the result? A lot more fun than flipping the bird, let’s put it that way.

Some of the blue talk includes some obvious hand charades but others are a little more on the subtle side and could be mistaken for other meanings.

Some involve manually spelling out words using alphabetical signs so if you’re caught in public, an untrained eye will never guess it.

Mum makes fun of her model brother by getting toddler to recreate his poses

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(Picture: babyandthebody/Instagram)

When you have a sibling, you’re super proud of their success… but that won’t stop you from mercilessly making fun of them.

Take model Aristotle Polites. He’s a successful model and his older sister, Katina Behm, loves to see him doing big things. She celebrates his success as all sisters would – taking the p*ss.

Katina gets her son, Augie, to recreate his uncle Aristotle’s best model poses, capturing each side by side shot for her Instagram, babyandthebody – which has already racked up more than 57,000 followers.

Thankfully, Aristotle isn’t upset by the comparisons. He runs the Instagram account with Katina, where he’ll happily ask who wore… Read the full story

Naked calendar celebrates gay men with ‘ordinary’ bodies instead of super sculpted abs

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Naked calendar celebrates gay men with ordinary bodies
(Picture: ADRIAN LOURIE/MEATZINE)

What does it mean to be sexy?

Contrary to what you might see in adverts or the pages of magazines, there isn’t one rigid, narrow definition – and it’s not just super sculpted abs and perky bums.

That restrictive view of sex appeal is particularly pervasive in gay culture, in which gay men are pressured to meet specific ideals.

One calendar is fighting back.

The Meat Naked Calendar by Meatzine is a calendar made up of twelve nude portraits of twelve ‘ordinary’ men – meaning men of all shapes, sizes, ages, backgrounds, and professions.

The best Boxing Day sales 2017 – which stores are offering the best deals?

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There are many great deals this Boxing Day (Picture:PA Wire)

Christmas may be over, and you may have eaten delicious food till your heart was completely content.

You may have opened some wonderful presents yesterday, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get yourself a Boxing Day bargain too.

Dumb things we did to our vaginas this year18 terrible things people did to their vaginas in 2017

Many retailers already started reducing their prices before Christmas, and there have been further discounts already for Boxing Day.

Currys reported 261,000 visitors to the site between 10.00am – 11.00am… Read the full story

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