'Tis the Season to ... Pinch $1.84B Worth of Stuff?

Fantasy gifts for 2011 unveiled in 'Christmas Book'

(NEWSER) - It’s that time of year again: time for Neiman Marcus to say, “Recession? What recession?” and urge you to purchase a $250,000 mahogany speedboat for your beloved this Christmas. Yes, the Christmas Book was unveiled yesterday. To really get into the holiday spirit, read on for the highlights, via AP :

• $1 million: A cool mil will get you a fountain, apparently with water that dances to music, installed in your home.
• $420,000: Private jet tour of European flower shows.

Includes wolf urine, ladybugs, and uranium ore

(NEWSER) - Sure, shopping on Amazon saves you from braving wintry winds and annoying customer lineups. But beware the bizarro products that Amazon peddles on its digital superstore. CNNMoney lists 15: More»

For recipients, it just doesn't matter, say researchers

(NEWSER) - Are you the kind of person who spends hours fretting over the perfect holiday gift? Or who tries to impress by spending big? Don't bother, because it's not helping your cause, writes John Tierney in the New York Times . In fact, price matters a lot more to the giver than to the recipient—and gift-getters would rather have money or something they put on a wish list than a surprise present, according to research by Stanford University psychologists. (Surprised? What do you think a married couple would rate more favorably: cash, the sheets they registered for, or those ridiculously expensive crystal candlesticks...) More»

A trip to outer space will run you only $200K

(NEWSER) - 'Tis the season for giving, and what better way to show your appreciation for someone then to bestow them with an absurdly lavish gift, presuming you are nestled high up into the 1%. Here are 11 of the most ludicrously expensive gift ideas, courtesy of Time :

• Pacifier, $17,000: Your baby will reign as the queen of daycare with this BabyWit pacifier, which is bejeweled with 14-karat gold and studded with diamonds.
• Space flight, $200,000: Send a friend on an extraterrestrial vacation via Virgin Galactic. The maiden flight is set for 2013.
• Diamond dog collar, $3.2 million: Adorn your pooch with this crocodile leather collar featuring 52 karats of 1,600 hand-set diamonds, from I Love Dogs.
• Personal submarine, $2 million: Celebrate the holidays 1,000 feet underwater in this miniature sub from Hammacher

• Schlemmer.

Cyber-thief got into her email, impersonated her

(NEWSER) - A billionaire Manhattan socialite got swindled out of about $550,000 last week after a hacker broke into her email account, reports the New York Post . The online bandit got access to personal information about Candia Fisher, a member of the Fisher Brothers real estate clan, and used it to impersonate her and have cash wired to banks in Australia. Fisher, 64, was especially vulnerable because she does almost all of her business via email, notes the Post. More»