In fact, there are two Santas! Wearing little red numbers sure to make Old Saint Nick's heart skip a beat—and to make any other dude in the vicinity pretty darn jolly—a pair of PETA's Sexy Santas recently greeted Greenville, South Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia, grocery shoppers with free soy nog, kisses under the mistletoe, and copies of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit." Their merry mission? To urge shoppers to bring comfort and joy to animals by giving meat, milk, and eggs the old heave-ho-ho-ho this holiday season. After all, it's no "wonderful life" for animals who are raised, abused, and killed for Christmas dinner.

What is wonderful is a little (s)nog under the mistletoe. Just ask this dude:

Written by Amy Elizabeth

Some folks at our PETA headquarters were moved when they read that after spending the last few days packing up bags of food for needy families, a General Motors plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, has shut down, and thousands of workers have lost their jobs. So, we're extending the same offer that we gave to AT&T folks last week—because we still have bonus Tofurkeys left. So, if you're among the first 100 laid-off GM employees to contact us, we'll send you a healthy, hearty Tofurky roast to share with your family this holiday season.

Our best wishes and hopes for a brighter New Year to you and yours.

Written by Sarah King

This morning, PETA's Policy Department received a Scrooge-like phone call from someone purporting to be from Gov. Sarah Palin's office threatening legal action against us if we don't play ball—or, actually, stop playing ball. Why are Ms. Palin's peeps so mad at PETA? Well, if you've played our Holiday Snowball Fight game recently, you may know. The game asks players to pick up a virtual snowball and take aim at 2008's biggest animal foes, from Colonel Sanders to the Trollsen twins to Alaska's own Sarah Palin. But guess what, Sarah? We've checked with our legal team, and they say that it's "protected parody," or "fair game"—so the game stays! After all, we're throwing snowballs, not shoes.

In real life, the moose and other animals Ms. Palin blows to smithereens don't stand a chance. But, hey, our game is virtual and nonviolent. To be honest, I'm not quite sure why Sarah is so mad about the game anyways. Wielding a gun and decked out in a sexy bikini and pageant ribbon, I'd think she'd be quite proud of how PETA's portrayed her.

Though this game is just a bit of harmless payback, Palin's real-life hunting habit is no joke. Palin not only guns down big moose but also supports aerial hunting of wolves—she even proposed putting a bounty of $150 on their heads. Wolves aren't even overpopulated in Alaska. The sole reason for the bounty would be to boost the numbers of moose and elk so that hunters will have more living targets for their blood sport. Pathetic.

P.S. Governor Palin isn't the only fantastic figure in the game, so if you haven't had the chance to play, check it out!

Written by Liz Graffeo

Bet you thought Santa only came once a year. Well, don't be too sure! PETA's "Sexy Santas" are making the rounds to let fur-wearers know that they're on our naughty list this year. Check us out at these anti-fur demos handing out free candy canes and info on the horrors of fur, leather, and wool.

Some holiday shoppers might be wondering what the problem is with a little fur, but luckily our sexy Santa is here to educate them. Anyone who thinks it's OK to wear the product of innocent lives deserves a little more than a stocking full of coal, if you ask me! Hopefully some compassionate shoppers will decide to go "Ho, ho, faux" this year and give an early Christmas gift to animals on fur farms.

Speaking of the horrors of the fur industry, someone should let fur hag Donna Karan know about the torture that goes into her clothes (oh, right, we did). Check out our brand new Donna Karan Bunny Butcher site to learn more about our campaign!

Written by Lianne Turner

We’re busy, busy little worker bees in PETA’s Marketing Department, and nobody is busier than everybody’s second favorite PETA blogger, Amy “I think I’m so smart cuz I can make vegan cupcakes” Cook, who, in addition to running the Veg Cooking blog, coordinates most of the vegetarian-focused content that goes up on PETA’s websites. Well, in her unquenchable enthusiasm for the Holiday Season, our Amy coordinated so much Christmas content that we’re having trouble keeping up with it, which is a shame, because it really is very good. So the point is, even though she runs a rival PETA blog and is thus my evil arch-nemesis, I do want to highlight some of the exciting stuff she’s been working on for the Holidays. Check it all out, and be sure to congratulate her on the great work.

1. PETA has teamed up with Cherrybrook Kitchen, for a mouthwatering giveaway featuring mixes for vegan chocolate chip and sugar cookies, yellow cakes, pancakes and brownies. If you have a sweet tooth, you can check that bad boy out here:
2. I told my mom that if she forgets to load up on tofurkey this year while I’m home for Christmas, she can forget about getting any gifts from me. There are, however, more polite ways of accomplishing these goals, and PETA’s Ask Your Family for a Vegan Christmas feature can help you out with that.
3. You may also want to check out these tips and tricks to make vegan holiday baking easy.
4. And if baking’s not your thing, there are about a million other vegan holiday-specific foods you can prepare, so have a look at those here.

Amy has managed to exhaust her lifetime quota of favors from me by also asking me to talk about the variety of Christmas recipes she’s going to be posting on her blog in the next week, so be sure to check those out too. I hate to say it, but her first Christmas-themed entry does actually look pretty delicious. Feel free to scan her blog for a little while, but don’t forget to come back here, otherwise I shall be hurt and sulky. Enjoy!

We’ve been working on this bad boy for a long time now, and thanks to the genius of our Flash designers, I think it’s fair to say that this is the best e-card we’ve ever done. OK, fine, last year’s was pretty damn good too. Anyway, check it out and tell me what you think.

My own extended family and circle of friends are a ravening bunch of carnivorous barbarians who would gladly eat their own dogs and cats if they ran out of ground beef one day. But my colleagues have informed me that, thankfully, not all families are like this, and what with Christmas round the corner and all, they’ve suggested that I write an entry focusing on some of the fun, funny, and occasionally kind of weird gift ideas for animal lovers that we’re currently featuring in the PETA Catalog. With that in mind, here’s a top 10 for you. Because although there may be fewer animal lovers in the world than we would like, everybody loves a top 10 list. And that includes you. So read and enjoy. And Merry Christmas.

1. The Cat Vomit Warning Sign. If you like cats, vomit, and signs, you’re not going to do much better than this. It’s also a great way of letting guests know to tread carefully if little Mittens is prone to expressing herself via hairballs.

2. My Dog/Cat is a Rescue T-Shirt. Tell the world that you rescued your furry friend from a shelter! Bragging is OK if it’s also a public service.

3. Eat No Animal T-Shirt. Paul McCartney himself wears this very T-shirt in his latest video. And if it’s good enough for Sir Paul, it’s good enough for your family. (Recommended for vegetarians—otherwise it’s just confusing).

4. Let’s Have a Dog Party. The latest book by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk is actually a hell of a lot more practical than it sounds. Full of fun tips that will help you make your canine companion the happiest pup on the block, it’s a perfect gift for those people who never stop talking about their dog. You know who you are, Allie.

5. Dogfighters are Cowardly Scum T-Shirt. Put animal abusers in their place and make a fashion statement at the same time. Just by wearing this T-shirt, you’ll be accomplishing two of the most important things you’ll ever do.

6. Be Scratch Happy, Don’t Declaw BackScratcher. Is your current backscratcher missing a humorous, cat-friendly message? Never fear, we have the answer. This is an ideal present for cat-lovers with itchy backs.

7.This KFCCruelty.com Bobblehead Ink Pen is perfect for composing that angry letter to KFC about their refusal to make even minimal changes to alleviate the suffering of the hundreds of millions of chickens killed for their restaurants each year. To be fair, it’s also good for writing, like, other stuff.

8. 'PETA Saves' Piggy Bank. Ah, so many levels of meaning. PETA “saves,” because PETA saves pigs, but you’re also “saving” money by using the piggy bank! OK, maybe it’s not quite so fun when you explain it. But it really is pretty darn cute.

9. Humane Smart Mousetrap. Catch and release, baby. It’s good for the mice, and it’s good for your soul.

10. And finally, the Gift Sets for the Animal People. In all honesty, this is more of a gift to us than it is to the person in question—but it’s a fun way of giving a donation in someone’s name. Pick the perfect donation package for your animal-loving family member, or, if you have a hunter in the family, why not give them the Peace for Animals Gift just to annoy them?

Oh, and for what it’s worth, everyone in my family’s getting a copy of this PETA book of New Yorker cartoons. That way I can eat my tofurkey in peace on Christmas day while they all laugh pompously and pretend they understand the esoteric jokes.

I’ve worked here long enough to know that for every nasty, cruel thing you could imagine to do to defenseless animals, there are some nasty, cruel people out there doing it. This is the latest one to come across my desk. These disturbing images, which have been circulating within the animal rights community and received coverage in Britain’s Daily Telegraph, Sun, and Mirror today, show the hideous “sport” of horse fighting, from an organized event in China.

One of the most disturbing things about these images for me is the crowd of sadists (and children who are too young to know any better) who look on and smile—as if they were at a football game rather than a ritual torture. PETA Asia Pacific is working to raise awareness about this hideous blood sport, and I’ll keep you posted on their success as they continue to fight the ludicrous notion that “tradition” can justify torture in this or any circumstance.

Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips were sentenced today to 18 and 21 months in prison on federal charges related to a dogfighting operation that they had been running in Virginia. We’re obviously very happy that these guys are going to be serving time for their crimes against animals, but the other key provision here is that they will not be allowed to “own” dogs for three years following their release from prison. If it were up to me, they would be banned from any contact with animals for life, but you take what you can get, and restrictions on “ownership” of animals are vitally important (and sadly, often overlooked) in any cruelty case, as repeat offenses are the norm. This provision was something that PETA had specifically asked for, and we know of no other federal case where defendants have been banned from owning animals. Purnell Peace was in tears at the sentencing and personally apologized to PETA and other animal groups for his role in these crimes—which, well, it’s nice to see some remorse, but we weren’t victims here, the dogs were, and there’s not much that an apology can do for them now. Let’s hope that this sentencing sets a strong example for any of the bastards who still think they can get away with torturing animals and forcing them to fight for amusement or profit.

Michael Vick is set to be sentenced on December 10.

Despite some of the morbid rituals that it’s often associated with, Thanksgiving has long been my very favorite holiday, because (unlike its overrated rival, Christmas) you don’t have to buy anybody presents for it. There are also not one, but two football games on Thanksgiving, which gives the day another powerful edge over the more popular December holiday (which is often embarrassingly devoid of sporting events), and its central theme—eating—is simple, but consistently satisfying. So, I put it to you that Thanksgiving is in fact the greatest holiday of all—or it would be, if they could only get over that whole unfortunate turkey thing. For more on that, check out this awesome ad we made a little while back to encourage people to give turkeys a break on Thanksgiving Day.