As the smell of pine fills the air and the stockings are hung with care, some liberal media outlets served up advice that’s as hard to swallow as a dry fruitcake. Their mission? Equipping you to survive holiday conversations with Trump-supporting relatives. 

From suggested scripts that sound more like hostage negotiations to icebreakers better suited for therapy sessions than a festive family gathering, here are five of the most over-the-top ideas mainstream media is dishing out to keep your Christmas "Trump-proof."

For one HuffPost contributor, the election of Trump wasn't just a political turning point – it was a holiday deal-breaker. Faced with the knowledge that her husband and his family voted for the former president, she decided to cancel both Thanksgiving and Christmas altogether. No lights, no carols, no awkward family dinners. 

"But I will not give thanks and hold hands in a circle with people who voted for a party that wants to take rights away from LGBTQ people," guest contributor Andrea Tate wrote. "I will not pass the turkey to someone who supports people who have signaled they will cause harm to people with disabilities and the elderly. I will not sit by a Christmas tree celebrating the birth of Jesus and sipping eggnog when I know how many people may now find themselves in grave – even deadly – danger because they cannot get the reproductive care they need. I will not unwrap gifts given to me by people who voted for a party that has talked about building internment camps and mass deportation."

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After a psychologist made headlines last month arguing people should avoid Trump-supporting relatives this holiday season, "The View" co-host Sunny Hostin agreed, saying many people feel "someone voted not only against their families but against them."

Shortly after the election, Yale University chief psychiatry resident Dr. Amanda Calhoun spoke to MSNBC host Joy Reid about how liberals who are devastated by Trump’s re-election can cope with the news, including separating from loved ones. 

"There is a push, I think just a societal norm that if somebody is your family, that they are entitled to your time, and I think the answer is absolutely not," Calhoun told the talk show host. "So if you are going to a situation where you have family members, where you have close friends who you know have voted in ways that are against you, like what you said, against your livelihood, it’s completely fine to not be around those people and to tell them why, you know, to say, ‘I have a problem with the way that you voted, because it went against my very livelihood and I’m not going to be around you this holiday.’"

If your holiday feast feels more like a political debate than a festive gathering, Time magazine has your back with a list of 11 carefully crafted phrases to defuse family tension.

The top pick? A simple yet stern declaration: "I won’t be talking about politics today." Framed as a way to create a politics-free safe zone, the advice encourages setting boundaries with relatives whose views you loathe – so you can focus on what really matters.

"Emphasize that you want to keep the focus on the festivities at hand, and ask for a commitment to avoid polarizing topics. If the conversation still ends up turning in that direction, shut it down: ‘OK, that’s enough of that,’ or, ‘We’re not talking about that here today,’" the Time article states. 

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The Associated Press has a simple solution: take a breather. Whether the conversation veers into a political minefield or Uncle Bob just won’t stop, the AP suggests calmly excusing yourself from the fray. No need for a dramatic exit – just a composed stroll to the kitchen, the porch, or anywhere that isn’t the battlefield of your family table. 

"Things getting intense? Defuse the situation. Walk away. And it doesn’t have to be in a huff. Sometimes a calm and collected time out is just what you – and the family – might need," the article recommends.

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In a searing MSNBC op-ed, writer Amira Barger challenges the notion that family gatherings should always be sacred if they have different beliefs. The author doesn't differentiate between Trump-supporting family members and liberal voters.

"I have come to realize that being related by blood doesn’t necessarily mean that those gathered will protect you," Barger wrote. "Finding family isn’t always about unity, or forcing yourself to remain in a place that causes you harm. Sometimes, it’s about clarity, and the difficult choices that come with it.

"This fall, after a conversation that spanned more than 1,000 texts in various family group chats, my husband and I made the difficult decision to hold a hard and fast boundary with much of my immediate family, whose stated values and votes made it clear to us that we could not feel comfortable around them."

She adds, "These were decisions we did not make lightly or hastily, but sometimes the best course of action is, in fact, to ban the bad actors."

Fox News Digital's Alexander Hall contributed to this report. 

• BNY CEO Robin Vince said the bank is currently in a "recharge period" until 2025.
• Employees at the finance giant are encouraged to focus on "core business activities." 
• The move is part of a larger push by the bank to provide mental health support to its workers.

The CEO of Bank of New York Mellon Corp. says it's OK to be more laid back at work during the last weeks of the year.

Robin Vince, who also serves as president of BNY, announced Monday that the bank is bringing back its end-of-year "recharge" period for its employees.

Beginning December 23, a spokesperson told Business Insider that BNY employees are encouraged to narrow their focus to client and core business activities, postponing more routine items until the New Year.

Non-essential activities, like internal meetings, work that isn't time-sensitive, and in-office requirements, will be paused until January 3, they told BI.

In a LinkedIn post, Vance said he's "missing the free Starbucks at our global HQ, but it's worth it to be able to spend more time with my family, all home together, while taking a break from the more routine work to really focus on what matters for clients and driving our company forward these next two weeks."

Vince told Fortune in June that BNY asks employees to be in the office "more days than you're not." BNY first introduced its two-week recharge in December 2023 to allow employees more time to focus on family than non-urgent work tasks.

It's part of a larger push by the bank to improve compensation and benefits for its employees. BNY announced Thursday that it'd increase the minimum hourly wage for US employees from $22.50 to $25, starting March 2025.

This year the company also partnered with Spring Health to bring more mental health services to employees and their families.

"We want talent to feel appropriately compensated and enjoy an industry-leading employee experience — and benefits are a part of that strategy," said Shannon Hobbs, chief people officer at BNY.

• Lyft sued San Francisco, saying it was unfairly charged $100 million in taxes from 2019 to 2023.
• Lyft argues the city's tax formula unfairly includes passenger payments as revenue.
• The lawsuit highlights global gig economy debates over worker classification.

Lyft has accused the city of San Francisco in a lawsuit of overcharging it $100 million in taxes over five years, arguing that the city used a calculation that doesn't reflect the ride-hailing firm's business model.

The lawsuit, filed at the California Superior Court in San Francisco, said that the city calculated Lyft's 2019 to 2023 taxes based on the total amount passengers paid for rides. But Lyft said it makes money from what drivers pay to Lyft, not what passengers pay to the drivers. Drivers make at least 70% of what the passenger pays, according to Lyft's website.

Lyft considers drivers as customers who use its service and not employees, the company said in the state court complaint. The city's formula is "distortive and will grossly overstate Lyft's gross receipts attributable to Lyft's business activities in the city," the filing said.

The filing said that the US Securities and Exchange Commission does not consider driver's fees as part of Lyft's revenue. Driver fees are also not recognized as income for income tax purposes on a state or federal level. Lyft is seeking a refund for the amount it overpaid.

Lyft and the San Francisco City Attorney's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Lyft doesn't take operating in San Francisco for granted and we love serving both riders and drivers in our hometown city," the company said in a statement to Bloomberg on Wednesday. "But, we believe the city is incorrect with how it calculated our gross receipts tax for the years 2019-2023."

The complaint is another example of ride-hailing and quick-delivery platforms like Lyft, Uber, and DoorDash making it clear that drivers on their US platforms are gig workers, not employees. Having drivers on a payroll would mean paying employment benefits such as vacation and overtime pay, minimum wage protection, and health insurance.

Last year, gig economy companies scored a big win after a California appeals court upheld a law that classified gig workers as independent contractors, not employees. But that argument has not always worked out for these companies in other markets: In 2021, the UK ruled that Uber drivers must be treated as company employees and not independent workers after a five-year legal battle.

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If you received a bunch of gift cards for the holidays, consider it a blessing. Whoever gave them to you likely wanted to give you a gift you'd actually use, and rather assume (incorrectly), they wanted to ensure you'd get their money's worth on something you actually like. Maybe there's nothing on your wish list at the moment, but you're keen to spend that gift card on something that will make your commute easier or your home feel more cozy. Below are some of our favorite items that are well worth that $50 gift card you're eager to use up, from power banks to streaming sticks to smart lights.

Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-ways-to-spend-your-50-gift-card-130021816.html?src=rss

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