Enjoy your holiday vacay with something better than stale fruitcake.  Catch up on shoe news, sales and sweepstakes from across the interweb, all tied up with a bow.

 Random Notes: 

• Nicholas Kirkwood: “I’m pretty much over the five-inch-high platform and girls tripping all over the place. Granted, I’ve been responsible for some of that.” (Style File)

• From the wacky to the wow-factor – Hollywood keeps stepping out in truly over-the-top footwear. (People)

• Take a break from the holiday madness.  Slide into your bunny slippers with a steamy cup of joe and scope out “ShoeMinx’s Man Candy Special: Primetime Hotties.” (ShoeMinx)

• Surprisingly practical shoe advice from style stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Scarlett Johansson and more! (InStyle)

• Madonna flexs her pop muscle in new Louis Vuitton ads. The former Mrs. Ritchie and her LV pumps are quite simply fabulous. (ShoeMinx)

• Whether you’re a sexy stiletto-heel wearer or a fan of sporty sneakers, your shoes speak volumes about your personality. Find out what your footwear says about you.  (AOL Shopping)

• Some tips to help you avoid online scams this holiday season, because scoring a “great bargain” is not worth the very real risk of losing your hard earned cash (or your personal information, for that matter).  (The Budget Babe)

And be sure to check out Fantastic Toe’s “Morning Shoe Report” for all the shoe news that’s fit (har!) to print.

Sales and Shopping:

The silver lining in These Serious Economic Times: sales, sales, sales.  It’s practically guilt-free shopping! 

• 15% off Aldo when you enter the code ALDOPC08 at checkout. Expires Dec. 26.

• Bargains at Barneys?  Now those are two words that usually don’t go together but the bastion of designer goods has knocked its sale prices down even further online, with shoes now up to 75% off.

• Bluefly.com purges its end-of-year inventory with savings of 60% to 80% off designer shoes.

• From DSW, up to 70% off select styles, plus get $10 off any purchase of $50 or more (downloadable coupon).

• Still on the look out for boots to battle below zero temps?  Heels.com offers 50% off all boots to keep your tootsies toasty.  Talk about a cool deal!

• 20% off all purchases on ninashoes.com.  Check out ninashoes.com and use promo code INSTYLE09 from December 19th to January 31st.

• Online Sale: 60% off Alexander McQueen shoes, bags and accessories. Free ground shipping with all orders. Offer valid 11/25 - 12/30.

• Get shoes for even less with 15% off at Payless.  Enter code “26129″ at checkout.  Expires Dec. 26.

• Steve Madden is practically giving shoes away—now through Monday, Dec 22, take up to 60% off your entire purchase.  Use code HappyHolidays30 at checkout.

 Are You Feelin’ Lucky? Sweepstakes

• G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S.  From Glamour magazine, take a Chevy virtual test drive to get a $10 off DSW coupon, plus enter the “Happy Shoe Year” contest for a chance to win shoes for a year.  We’re positively giddy at the thought.  Giddy!

• It will be a very merry Christmas for one lucky winner in the ShoeBlog Holiday Giveaway.  Prizes include: a $100 e-certificate for your choice of online shoe store, set of clear shoe boxes from Diva Emporium, a copy of “Never Trust a Man in Alligator Loafers” and the “Shoes Gallery 2009 Calendar.”

• Enter Bluefly’s “Fashion Your Own Holiday Story” sweeps for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree.

Love shoes?  Join Fantastic Toe–FREE!  Use promo code: DCDiva