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If there's one thing that you can bet will be a holiday hit, it's the festive focal point in anyone's home year after year ... the Christmas tree, but celebs obviously like to do things a little bigger and brighter and their trees are no exception.

Stars like Rob Dyrdek, Olivia Culpo, Selena Gomez, Saweetie and a bunch more celebrities are sharing how they're sprucing up their homes and making sure it's LIT for the holidays!

Jake Paul says fighting UFC superstar Amanda Nunes would be a complete "waste of time" ... telling TMZ Sports he wants a better-known opponent to generate more hype.

Remember, Jake recently called out Dana White to set up a fight with Conor McGregor ...  and the UFC honcho responded by telling us he'd consider letting Nunes "knock his ass out."

Nunes responded by saying she's down to scrap ... so naturally, we asked Jake if he'd entertain the idea.

"Nah, I wouldn't fight her," Jake says. "Waste of time. No one knows who she is."

Worth noting -- Nunes has more than a million followers on Instagram and several major endorsement deals ... but we take it Paul's comment is related to his fan base.

Of course, Jake acknowledges Nunes is one of the best fighters in combat sports ... but says he's looking for 2 things in his next opponent that the Lioness lacks.

"There's not a lot of hype there. Plus, there's no history."

"I wanna knock out Dilon because we've been talkin' s**t back and forth for 2 years, I've hooked up with his girlfriend, he's all butt-hurt about it, there's history there."

Paul even pulled up on Danis last week -- throwing water balloons and toilet paper at him in a drive-by.

Paul adds Danis might help him get closer to his goal of securing his dream fight with Conor ... "So, why would I waste my time doing some bulls**t like [boxing Nunes?]"

While Jake may not want to fight Nunes for those reasons, boxing star Devin Haney also spoke to us against the idea recently ... saying, "men should fight men."

Chicago-born signer and actor Tommy Sands first made a name for himself in the music industry in the late '50s with smash singles like "Teen-Age Crush" and "Going Steady" ... but it wasn't until after he took on the acting role of Tom Piper in Disney's 1961 Christmas musical "Babes In Toyland" that Sands became a classic holiday staple.

Tommy Sands was in the merry musical with Hollywood icons like Ray Bolger as the evil, Barnaby, Tommy Kirk as the tinkering toymaker, Grumio ... and of course Annette Funicello as the sheepish damsel in distress, Mary Contrary.

Kodak Black's acts of kindness continue even though he's locked up in prison ... this time dropping $20k on a toy drive benefiting kids from his hometown.

The rapper's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... Kodak bought mountains of toys that'll put some serious smiles on kiddos in his hometown of Broward County, Florida.

Kodak's team took their cues from Kodak himself ... from the selection of toys to the presentation. The kids scored games, dolls, stuffed animals, Legos, remote control cars, scooters and on and on.

He also gave away a bunch of $100 and $50 gift cards. Cohen says more than 60 families drove up to Bradford's law office in Fort Lauderdale Thursday to pick up the gifts.

Nearly 100 kids received gifts ... some were in foster homes. As if the day couldn't get any better ... the families were also treated to pizza.

Tons of celebs have been doing their part to make 2020 a little better for families struggling during the pandemic. We saw Prince Jackson sponsor shopping sprees for kids and Ariana Grande played secret Santa at children's hospitals.

Props to this man who saved this poor deer stranded on a frozen reservoir ... with the daring rescue caught on video.

Gil Lencour was heading home for a lunch break Tuesday in Wisconsin Rapids when he noticed the deer struggling in the middle of a frozen reservoir. The quick-thinking dude zoomed home to grab a leash and called a buddy for an assist.

Gil says when he got to the deer it was clear the leash wouldn't do the trick. his backup plan was the ol' heave ho ... pushing the deer as it glided to solid ground.  The deer suffers from bad manners -- it did not turn around to say "Thanks" before scampering into the woods.

Gil's buddy, John Moss, began recording after it became apparent John had the situation under control.

Kevin Spacey has delivered his 3rd annual Xmas Eve message, and this one is about people who have reached out to him contemplating suicide.

Spacey, who's had his own troubles with alleged sexual misconduct, starts his message on a park bench and then begins walking and talking about folks who he says have contacted him this year, fed up with life during COVID times.

He explains how he reassured them that things get better ... he believes that, he says, from personal experience.

Spacey's annual message began in 2018, with a super weird message delivered as Frank Underwood, his character from "House of Cards." He said he was owed due process before people judged him.

Spacey followed up in 2019 with an encore from Underwood, but this message was lighter ... saying he's made big changes to his life.

Shemar Moore has come down with COVID-19 ... and he's hoping this will be the end of a really bad year-and-a-half for him.

The "S.W.A.T." actor said when he started feeling lousy, he thought it was just food poisoning. The test he took Wednesday showed otherwise ... he had the 'rona.

As for symptoms, well, pick one -- chills, all-day aches. Shemar can still smell and taste, so he's not suffering the worst.

Shemar isn't doing that bad ... he's at home wrapping presents.

Shemar was fatalistic about his illness ... "I have to accept test results... I feel fine now...but I have to be responsible!!!! My Xmas n New Years is clearly not gonna be the best... my last year and a half has not been the best... but I WILL BE OKAY!!!!"

Tom Selleck is all about silver linings because he's figured out how to crack a smile in 2020 ... with a 2020 tip.

The "Blue Bloods" star chowed down at Elio's restaurant in NY where he chowed down to the tune of $200. So, multiple that by 10 and then some, and that was Tom's tip -- $2,020.

ICYMI ... this has become a thing. People challenging friends to plunk down a generous tip to support struggling restaurant staffers. Tom credited his co-star, Donnie Wahlberg, by saying, "I am honoring my friend Donnie Wahlberg's 'tip challenge' with my sincere hope for a better 2021."

Tom made Donnie proud, saying, "I found out that my TV dad #TomSelleck has generously accepted the #2020Tip Challenge at Elios Upper East Side! Love ya dad. I didn't start it but I'm proud to be part of it. To those who gave even the smallest extra amount this year -- THANK YOU."

Tom joins a long list of celebs who have jumped on the bandwagon. Donnie himself donated $2,020 at an IHOP. James Corden and Adele are others who have plunked down cash.

In-N-Out's famous for its burger spread, but there's a new spread at the fast-food joint -- COVID.

At least 80 employees have tested positive for coronavirus at 2 franchise locations in the Centennial State ... Colorado Springs and Aurora. Yep, it's the same Aurora joint that recently made headlines for its 12-hour wait after the grand opening.

Colorado health officials revealed 60 positive cases at the Colorado Springs location ... while the Aurora joint had 20 positive cases. Hold the calculator -- that's 80 cases. And, there are another 25 probable cases that have not been confirmed at the 2 locations.

The restaurants remain open, but all employees who tested positive were sent home to quarantine.

Taraji P. Henson revealed something shocking ... she seriously flirted with the idea of suicide for 2 days during the pandemic. She was thinking about opening her home safe, grabbing her gun that was inside, and ending it all.

Taraji was on her "Peace of Mind" show on Facebook Watch, when she opened up about 2 nights of dark thoughts. She said she was in a bad place and started thinking about suicide for 2 nights in a row. She said she was thinking about getting the gun she had in the safe, but never actually opened it.

She tried to talk herself out of it by thinking about her son, but she figured he was an adult and would get over it.

Taraji said she woke up after the second night and called a friend, blurting out she was thinking of killing herself. The "Hidden Figures" star said she felt it was important to tell a friend because if it remained secret, it would become a plan.

Taraji was speaking to Dr. LasShonda Green and her co-host, Tracie Jade.

The actress had lots of changes this year. She turned 50 and ended her engagement to Kelvin Hayden.

Psychiatrists warn suicide is a real problem during these times ... even with successful people who seemingly have it together.

Ariana Grande's spreading the Xmas joy at home and abroad ... by surprising kids who are spending the holiday at children's hospitals in L.A. and the UK.

The singer, along with her fiance, Dalton Gomez, sent gifts from wish lists at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital. Over in the UK ... Ariana dished out $135 Amazon gift cards for kids at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

Ariana has shown her generosity to families in Manchester following the attack at her concert back in 2017 ... she's visited kids in Manchester hospitals, among other kind gestures.

The staff over at UCLA also got a little something ... they were all treated to pizza!

Kelli Carroll, director of the Chase Child Life program at UCLA, says, "This pandemic may have changed how we do things, but we look for the same result – to alleviate the stresses of hospitalization and bring joy to our kids."  Well, Ariana certainly did her part.

A Columbus cop shot and killed an African-American man in his own garage ... and it all happened in 10 seconds.

Cops were responding to a non-emergency call ... someone reported a guy inside a car, turning the ignition on and off.

When officers arrived, they noticed the garage of 47-year-old Andre Maurice Hill was open. and Hill came out.

You don't hear the first 60 seconds of audio ... the cop's bodycam wasn't turned on. The cops shined their flashlights on Hill, who turned around and held his cellphone high in the air, almost to say he was not armed. They shot Hill, then ordered him to roll over on his stomach. He was unable to do anything but moan because he had been fatally shot. He died a short time later.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther says he was outraged by the shooting and demanded that the officer who shot Hill be fired. The Mayor was not just outraged at the shooting cop. He said he noted the bodycam video shows none of the officers jumped to give Hill any first aid ... no compression on the wound to stop the bleeding, no CPR. Columbus, Ohio police.

The police report does not go into any detail about the shooting other than to say, "Officer discharged his firearm upon confronting Mr. Hill. Mr. Hill did not survive his injuries."

Dr. Anthony Fauci not only got a surprise birthday party for his big 8-0 ... he is also the recipient of his very own day in the nation's capital!!!

Dr. Fauci's wife, Dr. Christine Grady, threw a surprise, zoom birthday party for the good doc, who became an octogenarian on Xmas Eve, and Fauci says it was truly a surprise.

Dr. Grady, a bioethicist who also works for the NIH, got 15 of Fauci's closest family and friends on the call, including their 3 daughters who are scattered around the country. They have always spent the holidays together, but not this year.

Fauci said, "Because I have been telling the country to limit travel, and I don’t want to be one of those health officials who tells the world to do something and then they go out and have a party themselves."

It wasn't an easy feat ... Fauci's security detail had to wrangle him from his work at the National Institutes of Health and get him home by 5:30 Wednesday for the shindig.

Now, Fauci told The Guardian, "[My wife] is a genius at fooling me. I mean, it's very tough to fool me. But she threw surprise birthday parties for my 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays."

Well, maybe he should have figured this one out ahead of time, but in fairness, it's not easy to throw birthday parties these days.

Joe and Jill Biden wished Fauci a happy birthday with the traditional song, which was almost on key! And get this ... as he was leaving work, Fauci was serenaded. The doc was truly touched ... and he decided he couldn't leave without first taking a pic with the crew that sang him "Happy Birthday." He also took the banner with him.

As for the cherry on the top, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser proclaimed Xmas Eve to be Dr. Fauci Day.

Santa is super busy today traveling here and there, so it's good to know he's being COVID-safe.

Our intrepid team analyzed the NORAD Santa website ... which allows millions of kids to track Saint Nick's progress as he traverses the globe. He's already visited the International Space Station. BTW ... he's traveling at 10,000 mph, less than half the speed of that asteroid headed for Earth.

Well, this year something's a little different -- Santa's all masked up!!!

In case you're wondering, at 9 AM PT Thursday, Santa was in the Maldives, near India. Estimates are Santa has delivered more than 2 billion presents already! Important to note, we don't think Santa has a deal with Amazon, so Bezos won't get any richer.

As we reported, Dr. Anthony Fauci said this past weekend he gave Santa the Pfizer vaccine, so he's Santa safe.

Mountain guitarist and co-founder Leslie West has died.

The band dropped the sad news ... "With a heavy heart, we are saddened to hear about the passing of #Dean Artist and part of the Dean family, Leslie West. [He was] legendary and one of a kind. Rest In Peace."

Leslie went into cardiac arrest at his Florida home and died Monday.

Tributes are pouring in, from the likes of Geezer Butler, Peter Frampton, Tom Morello and Joe Satriani.

West was considered top of the game on guitar ... and he was in awesome company during his heyday ... his contemporaries included Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen.

Leslie was born in '45 in Hackensack, NJ. His first professional band was the Vagrants, which he started ... it was a reasonably successful soul band in the '60s.

In '69, Leslie co-founded Mountain. The group's big break was performing at Woodstock their first year as a band, and it instantly cemented their status.

He's best known for his vocals on the song "Mississippi Queen."

Here's how Leslie described "Mississippi Queen" ... "[it] had just everything you need to make it a winner. You’ve got the cowbell, the riff is pretty damn good, and it sounds incredible. It feels like it wants to jump out of your car radio. To me, it sounds like a big, thick milkshake. It’s rich and chocolatey. Who doesn’t love that?”

Leslie had his health struggles. His leg was amputated in 2011 ... the result of complications from diabetes.

West is survived by his wife, Jenni. He was 75.

How'd you like a replica of the Statue of Liberty for Xmas? Or better still, how'd you like an asteroid twice the size of Lady Liberty for Xmas? Well then, you're just shy 2 million miles from getting your wish.

The asteroid -- SD224 -- is hurtling toward the earth and set to fly past on Christmas Day. It will travel just a few thousand miles faster than a space capsule -- 22,000 mph.  For you speed buffs, that's 30 times faster than the speed of sound.

NASA says this is a giant-ass asteroid ... more than 600 feet long.

Here's what's crazy. The asteroid is considered a near-earth object, yet when it passes it will be 8 times further away from earth than the moon.

BTW ... SD224 is not alone. There are nearly 25,000 near-earth objects in the skies. And, it wouldn't be the first time something hit, check out this massive crater in Arizona.

The odds are certainly in our favor ... NASA says the real threat of an asteroid destroying earth only occurs once in a million years. The question ... where are we on that spectrum?