The Geminids, considered one of the best and most reliable meteor showers of the year, is underway and is set to peak Friday night into early Saturday. 

The shower will peak under a nearly full moon, which could make spotting the cosmic show a challenge. The light from the moon will wash out the fainter meteors during the peak, according to NASA.

“Still, the Geminids are known for bright meteors, and it’s common to spot their shooting stars up to a week before the peak,” according to NASA. “If you’re up before dawn that week, it’s worth looking up, just in case you spot a speck of dust from space streaking through the morning sky.”

When and where you can see the Geminids

Light from the nearly full moon will cut the visible rates for the Geminids by 50-75% during the peak this year, said Bill Cooke, lead of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office. The brightest meteors will still be visible, according to NASA.

With the bright moon on peak night, an observer in the U.S. may see around 15 Geminids an hour, Cooke said.

“In short, 2024 is a bad year for Geminid watching — December 2025 will be much better,” Cooke said.

The Geminid meteor shower is visible around the world and throughout the night sky. For optimal viewing conditions, head somewhere far away from city and street lights, then lie down flat on your back with your feet pointed south. Give your eyes half an hour to adjust to the dark. 

NASA advises bringing a sleeping bag or blanket to help with the cold while waiting for the Geminids. 

The shower usually starts around 9 or 10 p.m., with the meteors best viewed at night or in the pre-dawn hours. 

What is a meteor shower?

Meteors are space rocks that enter Earth’s atmosphere and heat up as they fall toward Earth, according to NASA. As they streak through the sky, glowing, hot air around the meteors gives the meteors the appearance of shooting stars. During meteor showers, many meteors travel through Earth’s atmosphere over a short period. 

Most meteors burn up in space. The few that survive the trip and reach the ground and considered meteorites. 

What makes the Geminids different from other meteor showers?

The Geminids are one of the strongest meteor showers of the year, with a rate of 120 meteors an hour under perfect conditions, according to NASA. 

While most meteor showers originate from comets, the Geminids actually come from an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon. NASA researchers say the asteroid acts like a “weird” comet.

And while NASA says most meteors appear to be colorless or white, the Geminids are usually yellow in color. 

The annual Geminids meteor shower first appeared in the mid-1800s.

Looking for the perfect holiday gift for the 20- or 30-something in your life? It might be in the toy aisle.

Many adults are unabashed from sharing their obsessions with what others would categorize as kids’ toys — from Mini Brands mystery packs that have long been sold in retailers’ toy aisles to other blind boxes like Sonny Angels, cherub figurines that have become a phenomenon as collectibles for adults. Even stuffed animals are making their way into adults’ homes from brands like Jellycats and Squishmallows. For other adults, Legos are on their wishlist encouraged by the brand’s growing number of grown-up sets, featuring more complex builds from flower bouquets to holiday table settings, “designed specifically for adults,” its website reads. 

All the while, these toys are topping charts for hot holiday toys for tots, too. According to the National Retail Federation, Squishmallows and Legos are part of the top 10 for girls while Legos come in first for boys. Miniverse items, which includes Mini Brands, are popular among both groups, according to Adobe Analytics. 

So, what’s with the fascination? Seeking and sparking child-like joy may be part of the appeal, said Maddy Ellberger, behavioral therapist and founder of Downtown Behavioral Wellness in New York.

“There are things that remind us of a particular age group,” she told CBS News. “Anything that reminds somebody, or harkens them back to a positive memory or a positive experience, is going to want to engage with that thing because it arouses those memories.”

Social media plays a role too, Ellberger said. 

“If people see people doing things that they want to be doing, or they want to be like, they’re going to buy, do, say the things that that person they’re admiring is doing,” she said. 

The Jellycat Diner, an in-store experience at FAO Schwarz in New York, for example, went viral on social media, drawing in fans of all ages from around the world.

“We often see adults and ‘kidults’ finding joy in the whimsical designs of Jellycat,” David Niggli, chief merchandising officer at FAO Schwarz, told CBS News in a statement. “I think especially for adults, toys like Jellycat are like comfort food, that allow you to have a laugh and take you back to a time where the simple joy of playing with and collecting toys was a happy time in the past.” 

The craze has spurred other big brands to take part, too, such as an Ulta Beauty collaboration with Mini Brands. 

“The joy and surprise of unwrapping each capsule to discover your favorite iconic beauty product replica in mini form creates that nostalgia and fun at the heart of this partnership, a no-brainer as our first foray into this new innovative category,” Muffy Clince, Ulta Beauty’s senior director of emerging brands and initiatives, said in a statement to CBS News.

It goes beyond toys, too. Clothing brands are also cashing in on millennial nostalgia — from Crocs creating a Lizzie McGuire clog to Lululemon’s Disney collection and tween brand Limited Too making a full comeback that includes adults. Barbie isn’t just for kids clothes now either, thanks to the recent film and “Barbie-core” fashion trend. (Both the famous doll and Disney items are also part of the National Retail Federation’s list of popular kids’ toys for the holidays this year.)

In addition to trendy appeal thanks to the Y2K fashion renaissance, these revivals can also touch on a feeling of connection during a time of increased division and isolation. 

“The way that people in my age cohort understand and experience that trend highlights a connection, right? There’s a temporal connection,” Ellberger said. “And it’s a starting off point to talk about other things that you probably are connected on.”

But, whether that desire for connection is satisfied depends on if you can translate online excitement into real, in-person connection. 

“It’s a great way to form community,” she said, but having or wearing the same thing is only an indicator. “It’s not the actual steps of creating connection. And I feel like that’s some of what gets lost, but it’s not impossible.”

How to consume and connect consciously

While these items may spark joy, that feeling can be fleeting.

So while it’s OK to indulge in these “little treats” — the same idea as splurging on a overpriced pick-me-up latte when you have coffee at home — Ellberger suggests consuming these goods consciously. 

“Do that one positive thing during the day, and make sure you’re doing it intentionally,” she said. “So if you’re going to get that latte, you better not be thinking about the fact that the guy that broke up with you is texting some other girl … If you’re ordering the toy, when you open that toy, you better be excited to open that toy, otherwise you’re not getting the benefit out of it. There’s other stuff that’s killing the vibe.”

Ellberger suggests considering, “How am I using this?” and “What am I hoping to get from it?”

What you’re reaching for may not bring you as much joy as you’re hoping, she said, but leaning into real connection can be a beneficial addition. 

“Not one single thing is going to fill that hole, right? So if this is something that you enjoy, maybe find other people that are into this trend, because they might also have other things that are similar in interest to you and then you can connect — actually, really connect.”

If you’re already on the toy trend, one way to incorporate it into your holiday is through giving these toys to friends in real life, Ellberger suggested. 

“If it was part of everyone’s secret Santa (or) white elephant — that’s a really cute way of connecting over this,” she said. 

During his electoral campaign, President-elect Donald Trump pledged to extend many provisions in his signature Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, a 2017 law that overhauled the tax code and handed a financial break to almost every taxpayer. 

Many of those provisions are set to expire at the end of 2025, such as the current individual tax brackets and standard deduction. If Republican lawmakers are unable to pass legislation to extend the TCJA reforms next year, more than 6 in 10 filers would face a tax increase in 2026, according to an analysis from the Tax Foundation.

While those dates may seem distant, passing a major tax bill before the TCJA provisions expire next year represents a significant undertaking by Congress. Beyond extending the tax breaks, Trump also dangled a host of additional cuts to everyone from tipped workers, vowing to eliminate taxes on tips, to senior citizens, promising to eliminate taxes on Social Security income. 

Extending the TCJA will “keep people in a stable place,” Duncan Campbell, tax leader in Baker Tilly’s private wealth practice, told CBS MoneyWatch. But “We might not see anything and wake up in 2026 with everything setting back to pre-TCJA, and some folks who didn’t think about it are like, “Oh shoot’,” he added.

In the law firm’s tax planning with clients, Campbell noted that Baker Tilly is preparing as if the TCJA provisions could expire at the end of 2025. That helps people protect themselves financially and avoids being caught flat-footed in case Congress fails to pass an extension.

“Prepare as if everything is sunsetting,” Campbell advised. “Something is going to happen to the TCJA, but there is a whole year of things that need to happen before that from a new administration and a new Congress.”

Here’s what to know about the potential federal income tax changes in 2025 and how they could affect you. 

Could the Trump tax brackets expire?

The expiring Tax Cut & Jobs Act provisions that could impact the greatest number of taxpayers are the law’s tax brackets, which would revert to their pre-TCJA thresholds if Congress fails to extend the changes under the 2017 law. 

Another provision that could also impact millions of taxpayers is the TCJA’s larger standard deduction. Under the tax law, the standard deduction nearly doubled, providing more Americans with a bigger shield for their income. The standard deduction, which reduces a taxpayer’s taxable income, will be $15,000 for single taxpayers in 2025 and $30,000 for couples filing jointly. 

But if that provision expires, the standard deduction would shrink to $8,350 for single filers in 2026 and $16,700 for joint filers, according to the Tax Foundation. Personal exemptions, which were eliminated under the TCJA, would return, at $5,300 per filer. 

What about the Child Tax Credit? 

Without an extension of the TCJA, the Child Tax Credit would also revert to its pre-TCJA level in 2026.

“The maximum child tax credit would revert back to $1,000 from $2,000 under TCJA and begin phasing out at $75,000 in adjusted gross income for single filers and $110,000 for joint filers, compared to $200,000 and $400,000, respectively, under the TCJA,” the Tax Foundation notes. 

Some Republican lawmakers are sounding the alarm about the potential cut to this tax credit, although they largely voted against a bill earlier this year that would have expanded the CTC to provide more relief to low-income families.

In a December 11 statement, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri, advocated for the extension of the $2,000 CTC.

“Raising a family can be challenging enough without Washington pulling the rug out from under parents,” Smith said. “But that’s exactly what will happen if the 2017 Trump tax cuts are allowed to expire next year.”

Could the $10,000 SALT cap deduction change? 

The state and local tax (SALT) deduction allows taxpayers who itemize to deduct property taxes, sales taxes, and state or local income taxes from their federal income taxes. Prior to the TCJA, there was no limit on how much people could deduct through the SALT deduction. 

The TCJA limited the deduction to $10,000, regardless of whether claimants file as a single taxpayer or married filing jointly — a measure that was widely criticized in regions with high property taxes, such as many areas of the Northeast.

In the years since the tax law was passed, more people have been hit with the SALT deduction cap due to the rise in property values and local taxes. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to scrap the $10,000 cap, while his economic adviser Stephen Moore on Thursday said the new administration would like to raise the cap to $20,000.

How likely is Congress to extend Trump’s tax cuts?

Republicans have a majority in the House and Senate, as they did in 2017 when Congress passed the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act. That greatly boosts the odds of extending the tax cuts.

At the same time, economists and fiscal hawks are raising concerns about the fiscal impact of prolonging the cuts, with the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimating that extending all the provisions could add more than $5 trillion to the deficit through fiscal year 2035. 

For their part, Trump campaign officials have floated cuts in federal spending as a way to eliminate the nation’s growing deficit. Billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been tapped by Trump to create recommendations on slashing spending, with the pair saying their Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, plans to cut $500 billion in costs.

However, DOGE is an advisory body, not a federal agency, and it remains to be determined how effective the group will be in reducing spending.

What should you do now ahead of potential tax changes in 2025? 

If possible, prepare for the TCJA provisions expiring next year, Campbell advised. That’s going to be most applicable for higher-income Americans, who are more likely to be affected by some of the changes. 

For instance, the TCJA almost doubled the lifetime estate and gift tax exemption — the amount people can gift to others without paying taxes — to $13.6 million per person and $27.2 million for a married couple. If the TCJA expires, that would decline to about $7.5 million per individual and $14.5 million for a married couple, according to Fidelity.

To be sure, that change wouldn’t impact most Americans, but those with significant assets may want to plan ahead, Campbell said. “If you do nothing, you have lost out on ability to transfer another $7 million” before the provision expires, he added. 

Another potential change is the expiration of the qualified business income deduction, which allowed small business owners, freelancers and others who own their own business to deduct 20% of their income from their taxes. That tax break is set to expire at the end of 2025. 

If that isn’t extended, small business owners should plan to set aside extra cash to pay higher taxes in 2026, Campbell said. “The law is what the law is today, and it’s going to expire,” he said. “That should be first and foremost in our planning.”