Strap on your party hat and break out the noisemakers, 2008 is almost upon us. Spirited searchers are on the look out for ways to send 2007 out with a bang. Queries on “new years eve party ideas” are up 235% as folks figure out a way to pop the cork with style.

If you’re headed out to get your groove on, you won’t be alone. Searches on “new years eve hotel parties” are soaring with folks making their way to the ballroom to boogie the night away.

We’ve also seen a marked increase in general party searches. Queries on “party city stores” (+241%), “party supplies” (+121%), and “party favors” (+95%) are making a racket in Buzz.

Hearty partiers are also busy looking for the hottest cities for festivities. Recent interest has centered on “new years eve las vegas,” “new years eve chicago,” and “new years eve new york.” Wherever you decide to dispatch with 2007, make sure you send it off with style. Party on!

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James Goes Buzz Buzz (Thomas and Friends) (Step into Reading)James is a very busy and very splendid red engine with many important things to do. He has no time to be bothered by small insignificant bees. But whe... Read More >

What does New Year’s mean to you? Whether it’s a chance to make resolutions, a reason to party hearty, or an excuse to watch parades and football—the new year is popular in Search.

From what we can tell by this week’s search data, far more people are looking to send cards and wishes than are interested in dialing up parties. A walloping 72% of the folks checking out “new year quotes” happen to be women. Does that mean men already know what to say? Perhaps they’re merely pleased with their own choice of words.

Don’t toss out those party plans in favor of eCards, however. It’s entirely possible to do both. So while you’re prepping for the big bash, take a peek at the top 20 “new year” searches…

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Do you miss Bret Michaels and his bevy of lovely ladies? Dust off your bandana and get ready for VH1′s “Rock of Love 2,” which will air on January 13th.

Since commercials started earlier this month for the upcoming premiere, searchers have been eager to learn more. And as we get closer, the buzz is burning up for “rock of love” (+504%), “rock of love 2 casting” (+311%), and “rock of love 2” (+254%).

Who’s most interested in the show? It’s nearly a tie between 13- to 17-year-old boys (16% of searches) and women aged 35-44 (15% of queries). For now, curious viewers from Minnesota and Massachusetts far outpace those from Wisconsin and California.

While folks are looking ahead to the spectacle, some can’t stop thinking of the past. Lookups on Jes, Brandi M., Heather, and Brandi C. from “Rock of Love” continue, while nobody cares about crazy Lacey any longer. But those looking for drama or stripper poles in the new season are not likely to be disappointed, according to those teasing commercials. Rock on!

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Buzz-Buzz, Busy Bees (Mini Edition): An Animal Sounds BookBuzz-Buzz,

buzz the busy bees as the fly around the farm. Touch and feel these fuzzy, busy bees and count them on each spread in this lovely rhyming story of bees who make a sweet suprise for their barnyard friends!

After the carving knife is put away and the dishes are done, there are inevitably remainders from the holiday feast. These remnants of a delicious dinner can often be stretched into multiple meals.

Enterprising kitchen engineers are using the Search box for ideas on how to make the best of the rest. Queries on “leftover ham recipes” (+302%) and “leftover turkey recipes” (+259%) have spiked as cooks look for mouth-watering ways to revisit their repast.

Ham and turkey lord over the top leftover searches, but we found other foods are being refashioned after spending time in the fridge. Besides the two titans, here are the top leftover searches right now…

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Buzz-Buzz, Busy Bees (Mini Edition): An Animal Sounds BookBuzz-Buzz,

buzz the busy bees as the fly around the farm. Touch and feel these fuzzy, busy bees and count them on each spread in this lovely rhyming story of bees who make a sweet suprise for their barnyard friends!

Plenty of searchers went musical this Christmas. Instead of caroling, gamers broke out the guitars and little drummer toys and played Rock Band. Searches on the must-have game jumped 75% on the holiday after aspiring rockers unwrapped the enormous box of rawk.

After searching on the game, wannabe stars turned their attention to breakin’ the law. Searches on “rock band cheats” jumped 268% and “rock band cheat codes” and “rock band codes” also shimmied up the charts.

Rockers were curious what tunes they’d encounter on the way to stardom. Queries on “rock band song list,” “rock band songs,” and “rock band downloadable songs” hammered the Buzz.

Frustrated gamers also strummed the Search box with vigor. We saw lookups on “rock band guitar problems,” “rock band microphone not working,” and “rock band troubleshooting.” If you had initial trouble rockin’ out, we hope you’re now shreddin’ through expert level. Rock on!

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Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and CaffeineAlcohol and caffeine are deeply woven into the fabric of life for most of the world's population, as close and as comfortable as a cup of coffee or a ... Read More >

After 12 days and 12 nights of tinsel, eggnog, and family friction, even the most grounded individual may glance at the ceiling and cry, “What does it all mean?”

As the year comes to a close, the seasonal surge in queries seeking the true meaning of things has emerged once more. Here, we present the top holiday-related lookups from Search this week…

For those who know exactly what “bah humbug” means and utter it often, we also have the top 20 searches seeking definitions unrelated to end-of-the-year ceremonies. May your name mean joy, your dreams mean peace, and all your searches be prosperous…

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Buzz Said the Bee (Hello Reader, Level 1)As one animal sits on another in an accumulating progression, the reader learns the sounds each animal makes.

Santa Claus, winner of 97 consecutive “Most Generous Person of the Year” awards, was seen flying over northern New Hampshire several minutes ago. The sighting was confirmed by several area children, each of whom could barely contain his or her excitement at seeing the jolly ol’ man soaring through the sky.

The witnesses were supposed to be all snug in their beds at the time of the sighting. Fearing parental recrimination, each requested that their names not be printed. However, the ragamuffins strongly insisted that the blazing bolt of red was none other than St. Nick. Several offered to pinky swear in a court of law if necessary.

Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to spot Santa with their own eyes. Fortunately, there are other ways to stay updated on the big guy’s whereabouts. NORAD’s Santa Tracker is the most accurate gage on the Web. Searches on the site, which keeps track of Santa’s location throughout Christmas Eve, are soaring among children and their parents. Every one of ‘em wants to know when Santa Claus is coming to town. The answer: soon.

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Buzz Said the Bee (Hello Reader, Level 1)As one animal sits on another in an accumulating progression, the reader learns the sounds each animal makes.

If you want to learn how to operate that new Bluetooth headset, universal remote, or care for the poinsettia that your sister left on your doorstep—it’s best to follow the instructions.

In the past week, searchers have looked up instructions for hobbies (origami, knitting, playing guitar) and gifts (Lego, iPod, Aroma rice cooker). Some interesting queries didn’t fit into either category, however, and we’re wondering about those folks who looked up “driving instructions.” If they weren’t studying for driving tests, maybe they really meant “driving directions.”

While some people tried to make sense of the “honeywell thermostat instructions,” other handy-dandy home improvement types dialed up “hardwood floor installation instructions” and “tig welding instructions.” We think we’ll stick with our PSP instructions, thanks.

Pay attention and check out the top 20 “instructions” searches.

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What a wonderful invention the gift card is. Walk through almost any grocery store checkout stand, and you can pick up a few last minute presents. Or, even easier, buy a stack of them online.

We’re not the only ones under their spell. Folks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and California are frantically looking up “gift cards” just in time to turn around and give them away. From cards for restaurants, gas, charity, and movies to more branded ones for iTunes, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, and Red Lobster—if you’ve waited this long, it’s the gift card that may save your bacon.

Take a gander at this week’s top “gift card” searches…

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So, what have you been reading lately? We won’t be surprised if you answer, “Eat, Pray, Love.” The spiritually-inclined travel memoir, which for many months has dominated the New York Times bestseller list, recently catapulted into a genuine online phenomenon after the Oprah Winfrey Show featured author Elizabeth Gilbert on not one but two episodes.

Some of the more garbled searches for the book read like the transcript of a game of Telephone. We can imagine these searchers at the bookstore, requesting “eat pray live,” “love eat pray,” or (our personal favorite) “eat sleep pray.” Never fear; however you phrase it, the booksellers will likely know exactly what you mean. And don’t feel bad if you’re not ready to jump on the bandwagon. Some people have confessed to the Yahoo! search box, “i disliked eat, pray, love.”

The bulk of Eat, Pray, Love’s online followers are women in their thirties and forties. No surprise there—Elizabeth Gilbert was in her thirties when she faced a midlife crisis and set out, book deal in hand, to eat well in Italy, pray deeply in India, and find balance in Indonesia.

What’s next? Why, the “eat pray love movie,” of course, currently in development with Julia Roberts. It won’t be the first time Elizabeth Gilbert’s exploits have made it to the big screen. An article she wrote for GQ inspired the movie “Coyote Ugly.” Sounds like Gilbert has a knack for turning her adventures into the kinds of stories screen sirens want to star in. Nice work, if you can get it!

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Johnny Depp may make mincemeat of the box office competition, but if ”Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem” opened this Friday instead of on Christmas, the monsters could’ve crushed the singing barber.

1. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (R). Johnny Depp sings and minces meat in the Tim Burton film, which climbs into this week’s top 2,000 searches. Females love the song-and-slash Broadway musical adaptation, making up nearly two-thirds the look-ups. Guys won’t argue if they get to ogle Helena Bonham Carter, who cuts in front of Depp as the top-searched actor in a movie opening this week.
2. “Charlie Wilson’s War” (R). A southern belle and a Texas slacker congressman conduct a covert war… and of course, it’s based on a true story.  The Golden Globe-nominated film which stars Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman attracts a mostly older male crowd (25 on up), with a fair share of interest (about 18%) from the overall under-25 set.
3. “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” (PG). Silly intrigue suffuses the family movie of the week, as Nicolas Cage looks for John Wilkes Booth‘s diary. It ranks a distant but respectable third, but its secret “Treasure” might not be the mystery of Cage’s hairline, but the allure of actress Diane Kruger as the ex-girlfriend and fellow treasure hunter.
4. “P.S. I Love You” (PG-13). For a romantic drama about a widow following tasks her late husband left behind, a surprising number of guys (4 out of 10) are showing interest in the vehicle based on Cecelia Ahern‘s novel. Could be the macho main attractions—Gerard Butler (“The 300“) and Hilary Swank (“Million Dollar Baby)—as well as a loveable cast starring Lisa Kudrow (who outbuzzes Swank), Gina Gershon, and Harry Connick Jr. 
5. “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” (R). Perpetual character actor John C. Reilly has already been working hard, touring the country as the faux musician Dewey Cox. He may have to work harder, given the film’s fifth place ranking. Reilly leads a cast of dozens, which include a search-provoking bunch of Saturday Night Live alum, actors Justin Long, and singers like Jack White, Jackson Browne, Jewel, and Ghostface Killah.

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Retirement can make one a little garrulous. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan went on the talk show rounds recently, but instead of spreading holiday cheer, he Grinched about a recession.

Not everyone believes in his economic prognostications or his motives, but people listen—or at least, they search: His own buzz rose 94% in the past 7 days. In the meantime, headlines directly attributed the stock tumble to his loose lips.

He probably wasn’t saying anything that people weren’t feeling already, according to a new poll. Still, Greenspan might’ve helped double the queries for “recession” in the past week. Searchers also wanted to check if the holiday blahs were a more serious affliction, by looking for a more precise “definition of recession.”

Are people hugging their pocketbooks a little tighter as a result? Here is a highly unscientific check-up on the money buzz in the past week, with nary an economic theory as an explanation.

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Buzz Said the Bee (Hello Reader, Level 1)As one animal sits on another in an accumulating progression, the reader learns the sounds each animal makes.