Holidaze

Kid Rock was feeling the Christmas spirit this week -- thanks in part to Tyler Perry -- and helped hundreds of Nashville residents save some cash for the holidays.

The rocker announced Friday that he paid off the layaway balance at his local Walmart -- $81,000 worth according to the store manager -- after he was inspired by Perry doing the same thing in Atlanta last week.

Kid Rock's generosity reportedly cleared 350 layaway accounts ... which should make those shoppers a little more merry this season.

The kind gesture should also help Kid get back in the good graces of the community ... after he was removed as grand marshal of the Nashville Christmas parade for calling Joy Behar a bitch on FOX News.

We broke the story ... Tyler started the trend of paying off layaway items Thursday when he dropped $434k at 2 ATL area Walmarts.

Olivia Culpo's holiday shopping outfit is giving everyone lots of ideas ... for gifts. And, other things.

The former Miss Universe looked catwalk-ready Friday, as she floated out of a Epione dermatology in Bev Hills, rocking a ridiculously hot pair of red thigh high boots.

'Tis the season for red ... and leather, apparently. Mind you, this is just her out-and-about running errands ensemble.

Olivia's holiday shopping list will NOT include a stop at a Rolex store. She's got that covered.

Christmas came early for a bunch of lucky Walmart customers ... because Tyler Perry just picked up their tabs.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... the famous actor and filmmaker wrote a couple big checks to 2 Atlanta area Walmarts Thursday, to cover the cost of outstanding layaway items that were registered at the stores as of this morning.

We're told Perry dropped $178k at one store in ATL and another $256k at a nearby store in Douglasville.

All the customers have to do to collect their outstanding items is pay a penny at pickup ... as Tyler just explained in a video about the awesome gesture.

Add this to a laundry list of charitable acts by Tyler in 2018 -- including buying an old friend's mom a house and hooking up Geoffrey Owens with an acting gig -- and it's safe to say he's on the nice list.

Trina Braxton has an interesting thought about radio stations banning the Christmas song "Baby It's Cold Outside" in the #MeToo era -- and it's basically this ... Too. Damn. Far.

The singer was at LAX Tuesday where our photog gave her props for her and her sisters' new holiday album, "Braxton Family Christmas," which spurred a convo about the latest holiday controversy -- certain stations yanking 'Baby It's Cold' because critics think it promotes date rape.

If you've never paid attention to the lyrics, the song's about a woman trying to leave a date, while the guy insists she stay. One of the more problematic verses ... "Well maybe just a half a drink more // I'll put some records on while I pour // The neighbors might think // Baby it's bad out there // Say what's in this drink?"

Much as Trina defended the song, even she told us that verse is pretty shaky. Still, she says it's a classic that shouldn't be touched, and besides ... she reminds us the woman decides to stay in the end.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree ... how pricey are thy Executive Branch's expenses?

The cost of President Trump's second National Christmas Tree Lighting on Wednesday totaled $141,944 -- up slightly more than $2k from 2017 ... according to federal receipts.

The White House tab includes $115k for event management services, $14,322 on a sound system rental ... and $12,622 for ballistic glass to protect Donald, Melania and the fam.

For comparison -- the cost of lighting the tree last year was $139,881. We originally thought it was $128,424 ... but we found an additional invoice for more than $11k on event management.

Perhaps Trump heard about consumer spending being up on Black Friday and Cyber Monday and joined the party.

BTW, this Christmas bill doesn't the include the giant evergreen -- it's usually donated -- or the notorious blood-red trees Melania picked to line an East Wing hallway.

An OG castmember of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is firing back at critics who call the holiday classic "problematic" for the modern world.

Corinne Conley, who voiced the dolly for Sue in the 1964 TV special, tells TMZ she can't believe the outcry of criticism after more than 50 years of it being a beloved tradition for kids and their parents.

Critics came for 'Rudolph' this year, calling it out for sexism and bullying -- like the scene where Rudolph is forced to cover his red nose just to avoid all of the other reindeer laughing and calling him names.

Corinne, however, insists that any bullying or negative plot points are happily resolved by the end of the show. In fact, she contends if someone was a bully before watching, they'd learn a valuable lesson by the time the credits roll.

Bottom line for Corinne ... Rudolph should go down in history, and not just for pulling Santa's sleigh.

If this isn't the most Mariah Carey move of all time we don't know what is ... 'cause teaching her twins backup vocals is pretty legendary.

Mariah put Moroccan and Monroe to work Wednesday night, teaching them the backup vocals to her 1994 classic "All I Want For Christmas Is You." You can tell the kids have listened to this song once or twice ... they jump on cue when the song starts.

Roc and Roe -- as Mariah's dubbed them -- are definitely into this. You can see Moroccan crack his fingers and dab before putting in some work. Mariah kicks things off before the kiddos jump in with their I's and O's.

Mariah says the kids have been practicing the vocals ... and bravo, 'cause they nailed it.

A North Carolina man grabbed a shotgun and fired at his son during a HEATED Thanksgiving Day argument about kneeling players in the NFL.

Makes you feel a little better about your family, right?

Here's the deal ... cops say 51-year-old Jorge Luis Valencia-Lamadrid had invited family members over to his home for Turkey Day when his two sons began arguing about NFL kneelers.

The sons began fighting and Jorge tried to break it up -- but realized his kids were too strong. So, he went and got his shotgun.

Officials say Jorge told his 21-year-old son -- who appeared intoxicated -- to leave the home.

Things began to escalate again -- and the son allegedly threw a water bottle at Jorge, striking him in the face -- and causing him to squeeze the trigger on his gun.

The shot connected with his son -- striking him in the hand and leg. Jorge told cops he checked on his son, made sure he wasn't seriously injured and then went inside to change his clothes.

Don't worry, the son will be fine.

As for Jorge, he was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. He's since been released.

Could Tim Tebow's days as an unmarried man be numbered?!?!

Certainly seems that way ... 'cause the ex-NFL superstar brought his Miss Universe girlfriend to the Tebow Family Thanksgiving -- a sure sign that things are getting THAT serious.

Tim and Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters -- Miss Universe 2017 -- have been dating for a while now ... and they've been getting super cozy with each other the last few months.

Remember ... the South African model wished him a very public "happy birthday" back in August AND the two had a date day in New York with DLNP's fam in September.

In fact ... Demi even hinted she was "falling in love" with the minor league baseball star after the two hit up a Florida game last month.

But, the couple took things to another level last week ... when Tim brought her to the fam's turkey dinner.

"My first American style Thanksgiving with the sweetest family," DNLP said of the holiday ... "Grateful for an incredible year and everyone I got to share it with."

Tim never got a ring in his 3 years in the NFL ... but we wouldn't be shocked if he bought one pretty soon!!!

11/25 -- Ariana eloquently responded to a Twitter troll who accused her of "milkin" Mac Miller's death, saying quite simply ... "i pray you never have to deal with anything like this ever and i’m sending you peace and love." Ari later tweeted, "some of the sh** i read on here makes me sick to my stomach. it scares me the way some people think and i don’t like this world a lot of the time. if only we could be more compassionate and gentle with one another. that’d be sick."

Halsey jumped to her defense, telling AG's trolls in not-so-subtle terms to STFU. Ariana responded to Halsey with, "i love you very much."

Ariana Grande still has Mac Miller in her memory bank ... and Thanksgiving was a day for her to remember out loud.

Ariana posted this pic of her and Mac that was snapped one year ago to the day ... November 22, 2017. Her message -- simple -- "you're v missed."

It's clearly way bigger for Ariana than Throwback Thursday ... she was torn apart by Mac's death.

TMZ broke the story ... Mac died in September of a drug overdose. According to the L.A. County Coroner, Mac died from a mixture of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol.

Ariana gave Mac a shout out in her song, "thank u, next."

Justin Bieber and new wife Hailey Baldwin went ice-adjacent at the Ontario Junior League.

JB and HB seemed somewhat more into themselves than the game, as the Stratford Warriors battled the Kitchener Dutchmen. Justin cheered on Stratford -- his home team as they scored a goal.

Justin's grandparents were beside them in the stands, as Justin and Hailey joined in the chuck-a-puck, a Canadian Junior Hockey tradition where fans buy pucks for a buck to raise funds for the team, and then throw the pucks onto the ice during intermission. The person who throws the puck closest to the center wins a prize.

7:33 PM -- GOOD NEWS!!! The Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute has rescued the baby sea lion and it's being dubbed #99 because it's the 99th seal the org has saved this year. We're told volunteers found the pup had turned up at Mussel Shoals, which is about 7 miles south from where it had originally been spotted by Kaley & Co. on Thanksgiving Day.

We're told the male pup is very underweight ... at just 26 pounds. The good folks at CIMWI will provide medical care for the pup and rehab will last for a few months before the pup can fend for itself. Awesome!!!

1:33 PM PT -- Kaley just took to Instagram and said her husband, Karl, went looking for the pup up and down the beach and they did not see it. She added that she assumes the pup is OK and might have gone back into the ocean since the tide was close to the rocks where the pup was stranded.

10:14 AM PT -- The Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute, whose volunteers showed up to the beach to offer help, tells TMZ ... "unfortunately, we were not able to attempt a rescue effort [Thursday night] because it would not have been safe due to the animal's location on the rocks and the sun setting." A rep for the org also tells us people at the beach last night said they would check on the animal Friday morning and call the hotline if a rescue attempt was needed but it has not received any phone calls. The org added that volunteers are at the ready to respond if the pup shows up again.

Kaley Cuoco did a good deed on Thanksgiving ... an unexpected one as she strolled the beach and spotted a baby sea lion in a desperate state.

Kaley was spending the first Thanksgiving with her in-laws in the Santa Barbara area when she saw the animal on a rock, clearly in distress.

Kaley and hubby, Karl Cook, called a 24-hour marine and wildlife hotline and asked for help in rescuing the sea lion.

While they waited, a bunch of volunteers came to lend assistance. Everyone stayed, trying to help.

The sea lion's condition is unknown. We'll update when we find out.

Well done, Kaley and Karl.

Shaq didn't need to throw on a cape to become a hero and comfort a family that had just been involved in a scary car crash, because he had a different superhero outfit -- Broward County Sheriff's issue.

The NBA legend was on his way to give away turkeys in Florida on Thanksgiving when he and members of the Broward County Sheriff's Office witnessed a head-on collision. Shaq and the deputies rushed to their aid ... you can see him comforting the kids.

After cops handled the situation, they all continued on with their plan to hand out turkeys. BTW ... Shaq was on holiday duty. He recently became an "auxiliary deputy" for the Broward Sheriff's Office. See, even NBA Hall of Famers get stuck working the holidays when you're a newbie.