Holidaze

How do you get 200 turkeys to people in need in Hawaii?

HAND 'EM TO MARSHAWN!

The ex-NFL star grabbed his Beast Mode shorts, some PPE and a few friends -- and hit the streets of Oahu on Monday to distribute 200 turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving.

FYI, Hawaii's economy has been hit particularly hard from the COVID pandemic -- crushing the tourism industry for months.

Tons of people are out of work and struggling -- and Marshawn Lynch decided a little Turkey Day love could go a long way.

So, he teamed up with Young's Fish Market, Tamura Super Market and other partners to get the birds to the people who could use some help this holiday season. Ex-NFL wideout Chad Owens, who's from Hawaii, was on hand to help out with the giveaway.

The video, shot by KHON's Rob DeMello, is fantastic -- showing Lynch bouncing from car to car ... dropping off turkeys like he was Santa in November!

At one point, he even struck a QB pose using a turkey as the football!

Don't throw it. Stick to the ground game.

It seems every doctor or scientist from Dr. Fauci on down is URGING people NOT to celebrate Thanksgiving, but based on our unscientific survey, folks don't seem to be listening.

We called around the country to various supermarket chains ... and turkey sales are pretty much the same they were last year, and in some cases, even more birds are going to have their gooses cooked.

-- Star Market in Boston has sold roughly the same number of turkeys as last year. And, get this ... they sold 30% more large turkeys this year, at least so far.

-- Stop & Shop in New York City has sold out all of its smaller birds -- we're talking 900 turkeys. The larger turkeys are not flying off the shelves. This could be a good sign that people aren't planning super-large gatherings.

-- Wegmans in Princeton, New Jersey has also seen an increase in smaller turkeys over last year. Again, maybe a sign of smaller gatherings.

-- Jewel-Osco market in Chicago is seeing the same number of turkeys sold this year as last, but small turkeys seem to be selling faster than larger ones.

-- Hy-Ve market in Minneapolis again says they're selling the same number of turkeys this year as last.

-- Giant Eagle Supermarket in Pittsburgh is also seeing the same number sold this year as last.

-- Kroger Fresh Fare in Dallas has seen a 20% increase in turkey sales this year as compared to last. They've actually sold out and are waiting for another shipment of 1,000 birds.

-- Whole Foods in New Orleans is seeing the same sales this year as last.

-- Publix in Atlanta has sold more turkeys -- both big and small -- this year compared to last.

-- Ralphs in Los Angeles is seeing the same rate of turkey sales this year as last.  They're almost sold out of small turkeys but larger birds are also selling well.

-- Albertsons in Kingston, Washington has seen an increase in smaller turkeys. The larger turkeys are not selling well.

-- Smart & Final in Phoenix is seeing an increase in turkey sales -- both big and small -- over last year. They fill their shelves with 8 cases of turkeys at a time and they sell out in just 4 hours.

French Montana is guaranteeing hundreds of families on his home turf have their main dish covered this Thanksgiving.

The rapper teamed up with members of City Harvest on Monday to give back to his Bronx community ... by funding and participating in the giveaway of more than 500 birds to those in need.

French is the latest hip-hop artist to hop on the grocery-giving train as the holidays approach. This past weekend, celebs like Dr. Dre and Nick Cannon took part in the nationwide Feed Your City Challenge in Compton.

Likewise, Tyler Perry fed thousands who flocked to his Georgia studio for a huge giveaway of nonperishable items -- and Kodak Black bought 1,000 turkeys earlier this month to distribute in Florida

A lame-duck is about to come bill-to-beak with a feathered friend ... the first of what promises to be a flurry of pardons before that lame-duck migrates south for the winter.

President Trump is moving forward Tuesday at The White House with the annual pardoning of the turkey ahead of Thanksgiving -- which will mark a rare public appearance from DT since he got beat by Joe Biden.

There'll actually be two birds sent to D.C. for the event ... one will be named the official Thanksgiving Turkey and the other will be an alternate (assuming the first runs away?). No word yet on what the Trump team might name the foul.

Last year, the staff dubbed them Bread and Butter ... Butter got pardoned.

The two birds this year are being selected from the Walcott family farm in Iowa -- the eighth such family from the Hawkeye State to raise birds destined for presidential sparing. After some face-time with Trump, they'll live out the rest of their days at Iowa State University and will be on public display come December.

It's a bit surprising the WH is soldiering on with such a light-hearted event ... y'know ... because of the dark cloud looming over just about everything there these days. Of course, Trump has yet to concede -- and seems more bitter than ever.

Gigi Hadid's teasing fans, but still not handing out the gift they want for the holidays ... that first full-face shot of her baby with Zayn Malik. Patience, grasshoppers.

The supermodel decided to show her baby daughter off a little bit -- something she's rarely done since the little one was born in September -- along with several photos of Christmas decorations put up in her home.

Gigi still hasn't provided the world with a photo of her girl's face, but the shots of her daughter resting on her chest in a baby carrier are adorable nonetheless.

Zayn and Gigi are keeping mum, to the public at least, about her name, but it seems "da bestie" is an early nickname. Gigi wrote ... "A whole new kind of busy & tired ... but she’s da bestie so she got Christmas decorations early."

Based on the shots of Mom and daughter and the festive decorations, it appears Gigi's at their Pennsylvania home ... where she's been living for months during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tyler Perry was in the giving mood this weekend -- and it appears thousands more were in the receiving mood ahead of an extremely challenging Thanksgiving.

Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta became the site of incredibly long lines of cars Sunday morning as folks came from all over to jump on the food drive giveaway the studio dubbed TPSGiving ... which aimed to feed 5,000 families.

TP and co. promised to offer up nonperishables as well as gift cards to the first 5,000 families to pull up to their grounds ... and the people heard them loud and clear, because the cars started arriving as early as Saturday afternoon, and only grew bigger going into Sunday -- with the drive going from 8 AM ET to noon.

Check out this drone footage TMZ obtained that shows a bird's-eye view of the scene -- you can see traffic backed up all along the surrounding freeway there ... and word on the ground is that it was even more packed than what this shows.

As for how it was carried out, Tyler's staff made sure to keep coronavirus in mind ... the hand-off of goods was all curbside pickup, and everyone receiving a care package was asked to wear masks. The TPS employees were covered in PPE from head to toe as well, so by all accounts ... it was as safe as can be for this type of thing.

Folks struggling with the pandemic and all of its fallout got a big break Saturday, with celebs and others pitching in to help feed those in need.

The Feed Your City Event is 10-events strong, and it was held in numerous U.S. cities.  Among them ... Compton, where Dr. Dre, music industry icon Tony Draper and retired NBA star Ricky Davis sponsored the event in Compton.

The event is timed around Thanksgiving, where people could get free groceries including, of course, turkeys. This year the giveaway includes PP supplies.

The event was COVID-safe, with a one-lane drive-thru and another line for walk-ups.  Everyone socially distanced and masks were plentiful.

Also involved in organizing the event ... Compton Mayor Aja Brown, Power 106 and 93.5 KDAY.

Clare Crawley and Dale Moss are already engaged, but they're taking their relationship to new heights by spending a holiday with each other's families ... despite cheating rumors.

Sources close to "The Bachelorette" couple tell TMZ ... they're ignoring claims that Dale stepped out on Clare ... they'll spend their first Thanksgiving together on the West Coast.

We're told Dale flew to Sacramento to meet Clare, and they'll be heading down to San Diego to feast on turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie with family and friends on both sides.

Our sources say they place no stock in recent reports alleging Dale was kissing women in NYC last week.

ICYMI ... Dale -- a former football player turned model -- was photographed walking around the city with a few models last week after they worked a Hugo Boss event together.

They got drinks afterward, and that's when the rumor mill churned out talk that he was seen smooching on women. They say it's absolutely untrue ... one of the women Dale was hanging with is married, and the other has a boyfriend.

Regardless, Clare was unfazed by the gossip and met up with Dale in his hometown in South Dakota a few days later. She shared a romantic pic of the meetup.

Our sources say they plan to split their time between Sacramento and NYC due to their jobs.

As you know ... Clare's time as 'Bachelorette' was unprecedented, as she and Dale hit it off so intensely he proposed to her just days into filming her season. She said yes, and as of now ... we're told there's still no trouble in paradise.

The Wet Bandits are once again being chased off a property by young Kevin McCallister this holiday season ... because somebody went to extreme lengths to bring 'Home Alone' to life at their own crib ... almost quite literally.

The house in question is decked out in perhaps the most EPIC Christmas decoration set-up ever ... with this home-owner going above and beyond to recreate some of the most iconic scenes and snapshot moments from Macaulay Culkin's 1990 comedy classic.

They even have life-size figurines of the three main characters -- little Kevin's up on the roof with his memorable paint can booby trap ... while Marv and Harry try to make a run for it from the porch below. Not exactly how things played out in the flick, but close enough.

If you'll recall, Kevin actually throws the paint cans from inside the huge Chicago-based McCallister mansion, tossing 'em over the stair banister and hitting each crook in the head to send them toppling back down to the first story.

There's more décor from the movie all over the house -- including the Michael Jordan cardboard cutout that Kevin used to make the bandits think someone was home ... plus the front page of the newspaper showing that Marv and Harry had escaped from prison. Whoever shot this also had the good sense to throw Brenda Lee's 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' as the background music ... a prominent song featured in 'Home Alone.'

Oh, and who could forget the classic line from the fake noir film Kevin used to scare people -- like an unwitting pizza boy -- as well ... 'Angels with Filthy Souls,' which had the best tagline ever?!? That makes a cameo here too, in spirit (and signage).

Think COVID could stop Russell Westbrook from helping out some families in need during the holiday? HELL NO!!

The NBA superstar grabbed some masks, gloves and sanitizer and hit the streets of L.A. on Thursday for his annual Thanksgiving dinner giveaway ... with some minor adjustments to keep everyone safe!

Westbrook's Why Not? Foundation teamed up with the L.A. Regional Food Bank and others to host a drive-thru event at Jesse Owens Park ... where all volunteers were decked out in PPE to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

It's the 9th year of Westbrook's food event -- but due to the pandemic, he had to make some changes this time around -- a challenge he happily met.

"This year is a little different with COVID and everything going on in our society," Russell said ... "But I'm thankful to be here to be able to give back to so many families."

He later added on Twitter, "Things are challenging right now & people are struggling. This is why it is more important than ever for me to support my community any way I can while keeping everyone safe."

Santa Claus is coming to town, but don't worry kids ... there's no coronavirus in his sack of goodies -- Dr. Anthony Fauci says the jolly guy is immune to COVID!!!!

The good doc is coming through with a dash of good news ahead of Christmas, telling USA Today Santa has "innate immunity" from COVID-19.

You might think Santa would be at a higher risk for COVID because he's pretty old and overweight ... but Fauci's giving him the all-clear to travel the globe in the pandemic.

So, put out those cookies and a warm glass of milk ... Fauci says "Santa is not going to be spreading infections to anybody." No word if those reindeer have herd immunity ... but ya gotta imagine.

Lots of folks are about to be giving thanks to Ibotta ... the shopping rewards app is hooking up free Thanksgiving dinners, and they're pretty easy to snag.

Here's the deal ... Ibotta's teamed up with a bunch of brands to offer cash-back rebates for Thanksgiving meal staples like turkey breast, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, green beans, crispy fried onions and cream of mushroom soup ... as long as they shop at Walmart.

Hungry folks can wash it all down with a free Coke, just like the Pilgrims did.

All ya gotta do is select from a fixed menu of 9 products from Butterball, Campbell's, Coca-Cola, French's, Great Value, Idahoan and McCormick at your local Walmart or online ... and then head over to Ibotta to get the refund for the meal.

To get the dough, ya gotta scan your Walmart receipt with the Ibotta app and boom ... turkey dinner, winner winner!!!

There is a limited selection, but with so many hurting economically during the pandemic ... this is pretty clutch.

Free Thanksgiving dinner beats the hell outta super spread meals. Every time.

This is a real hoot -- a baby owl found nestled in the freshly cut Rockefeller Center Christmas tree should be soaring free in no time.

According to the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center in New York ... one of the workers who helped transport the giant tree from Oneonta to NYC last week discovered the bird and took it in.

His wife contacted the nonprofit org to ask if they could rehabilitate the owl and they said yes, so the husband put it in a box and made the delivery.

It seems the owl's a bit of a Christmas miracle too, because Ravensbeard says it's a saw-whet owl -- the smallest species in the northeast -- and babies are typically born in the spring, not November.

The baby bird was badly malnourished, so the wildlife center gave it some fluids and has been feeding it all the mice it can handle ... and it's now in good shape.

Ravensbeard says once the owl gets a clean bill of health from a vet, it will be released back into the wild to continue on its journey. And fittingly, it's been named "Rockefeller."

Speaking of which, it seems Rockefeller the owl made out better than its former home -- the tree lost a lot of greenery on its way to placement in Rockefeller Center for the holiday season.

Take a look ... 2020 strikes again.

Not even a busted-up shoulder can take away the Christmas spirit from Christian McCaffrey ... the injured NFL star played Santa for Olivia Culpo's nephew -- and the vid is super sweet!

The Panthers running back -- who's currently out with a shoulder ailment -- jumped on FaceTime to pretend to be Kris Kringle for his GF's toddler nephew on Tuesday, and he CRUSHED the role.

Check out the footage Olivia posted of the cute moment ... McCaffrey made a white beard out of a blanket and had the little boy truly believing he was talking with Santa!

"Hey, Remi!," McCaffrey said on the phone. "Have you been a good boy this year?! I know you have! You've been a great boy!"

The two spoke for a while ... and McCaffrey ultimately promised him a truck and a bike for Christmas Day presents!

"My elves are going to work on it and we're going to fix it right up and put it under that great tree!"

#Adorable!

McCaffrey -- who's been dating Culpo for over a year now -- has played Santa for Olivia's nephew before ... and he appears to be killing it every step of the way as the swimsuit model's new man.

Forget your side of mashed potatoes ... this Thanksgiving holiday may come with a side of COVID-19 after a University of Alabama sorority got the OK to throw a massive, booze-fueled bash before breaking for the holidays.

The Kappa Delta sorority in Tuscaloosa is getting ready to throw the rager Tuesday night at the 14-acre Black Warrior Farms largely thanks to the city council giving the event a 4-2 stamp of approval last week.

The party coordinator rationalized it this way -- the 600 guests will NOT arrive all at once and instead be bussed in in 3 shifts ... each shift including 200 guests. Everyone will have their temperatures taken before hopping on the chartered buses and all attendees are expected -- not mandated -- to wear masks at the outdoor party. Yeah, good luck with that.

The school has also reportedly required the sorority to include a 30-minute break between each group's arrival/departure and to sanitize tables and chairs at the venue. They must also cap the bus ride capacity to 50 percent. So, multiple busses will be needed.

But, even though the event's doing its part to implement safety protocols ... the party -- and the city council's approval -- is coming under fire from locals, medical workers and university employees after 76 new overnight cases.

According to local reports .... there's been a recent spike in Tuscaloosa County, where there's 11,886 confirmed cases and nearly 150 deaths. Worse ... these students are expected to travel home for the holidays and could potentially spread the virus across the country.

With the holidays fast approaching, many are wondering how to celebrate safely amid a pandemic -- and, luckily, we have some answers ... courtesy of a top doc in the field.

Dr. Abraar Karan joined us on 'TMZ Live' to ask him how to tackle Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's ... all while 'rona is still lurking. He gave us some great tips on flying, testing beforehand and gatherings in general.

Dr. Karan -- who works at the Harvard & Brigham Women's Hospital -- dropped much-needed knowledge about boarding commercial jets. He says improved air circulation has made air travel much safer, but there are still a few factors to keep in mind.

The most important one is ... how many other passengers are on board -- but he says the duration of the flight is also critical to reducing your COVID-19 risk. BTW, he also strongly suggests going windows down during Uber or taxi rides.

As for sitting around a dinner table ... Dr. Karan noted a few misconceptions about getting tested beforehand and thinking you're home-free for home gatherings. It's not quite that simple, and he explained why you could still unknowingly pass the virus ... along with the stuffing.