Monday, December 24, 2012
How much will we spend this year? And what's the best-selling Christmas song of all time? Find the answers below.
We know that there were three Wise Men, 12 days of Christmas and that Santa delivers all his presents around the world in one night. But did you know... $23,439.38 How much it would cost to buy your "true love" all the gifts in the 12 Day of Christmas . 12.9 billion hours, $447 billion How many hours Americans were expected to spend shopping, wrapping and returning gifts last year. That was about 42 hours and $688.87 per person. Get your postman/postwoman a gift According to Hallmark, Christmas is the largest card-sending occasion . Nearly 1.5 billion cards are sent to friends and family every Christmas Season. (That's actually down 400 million cards since 2004.) $983 million The value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from …
Sunday, December 23, 2012
A weak storm front expected to bring up to two inches of snow starting Monday night.
Cross your fingers. As of Sunday, weather projections indicate a storm front entering the region that could give us—gasp—a white Christmas. According to the National Weather Service, there is a 20 percent chance of snow on Tuesday, with a temperature ultimately reaching 38 degrees. Stephen Pellettiere, with Ion Weather based at the Morristown Municipal Airport, said current projections appear to have the small storm begin producing at about 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve, tapering off at the latest 6 a.m. Tuesday morning. "A little storm is passing to our south," he said. "There's a tenth of an inch of moisture, which translates to about an inch of snow." Some areas, including southern Morris County, could see as much as two inches of the white …
The North American Aerospace Defense Command has a website that now offers a Santa tracker mobile app to follow the jolly man's magical flight.
They sent him their wish lists, sat on his lap, and left cookies and milk for his arrival. Now the only thing left for children to do is track Santa's progress as he delivers gifts around the world on Christmas Eve. Thanks to the folks behind the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) website, families worldwide can now follow Santa's Christmas journey in real time. The tradition started in 1955 after an advertisement for Sears Roebuck & Co. misprinted a telephone number for a special "Santa hotline." Instead of reaching Kris Kringle, the number put kids through to the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Commander-in-Chief’s operations, according to a description on the NORAD Tracks Santa Facebook page, which has more than …
Saturday, December 22, 2012
A look at the hot toys for tots this holiday season.
Every holiday season, the mailbox fills with the latest toy catalogs. Children peruse the pages as they scribble their lists, daydreaming about what they will find under the tree come Christmas morning. Parents pull out their pocketbooks, spending hard-earned cash as they anticipate the joy on those little faces. What will be the runaway favorites this year is always a guess, but here are some of the latest trends, mixed with tried-and-true perennial favorites. jChews Smartphone teether by Jellystone No tears for parents or babies. Babies love nothing more than to gum Mom and Dad’s cell phone, but now they’ll be too intrigued with their own smartphone to chew on. The Jellystone smartphone teether comes in seven funky colors and is BPA …
As you look over the list of gifts you need this holiday season, an unsettling feeling starts. How will I pay for all these gifts? How about homemade gifts?
Gift-giving is meant to be a time for sharing how much you appreciate others, but rising prices and tight budgets take the feel-good vibes right out of gift-giving traditions. This year, take the money stress out of the holidays by turning to homemade gifts. Homemade gifts are a great way to show you appreciate someone while also adding a personal touch. Gifts don’t need to be expensive to be special. Get the family involved in the fun and you will be creating memories while making unique gifts for those who mean the most in your life. Patch explores the homemade holidays in hopes that you will find something to inspire you to enjoy the season more. Healthy options: Pack energy in a jar with healthy snacks like energy bars, dark chocolate…
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Our Patch Elf on the Shelf has gotten ahold of our computer and now wants to know what his buddy elves are up to. Share your photos here!
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Hi friends! I'm the Patch Elf on the Shelf. Call me Patchy. I've heard about more of my friends hanging around the area lately, and I wondered what they were up to. Could their families post pictures here on Patch to show me? I'd love to catch up with them. We all go back to Santa on Christmas Eve, but in the meantime, we'll be watching you! Cheers, Patchy the Elf Add your photo by clicking on the green "Upload Photos and Videos" icon.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Here are ten ways to have fun and spread holiday cheer without breaking the bank.
This year’s holiday season can be special for you and your family regardless of your budget. Here are some fun tips for creating new holiday traditions while saving money. 1) Make your cards from recycled materials. Cards can be made from paper grocery bags, cereal boxes, used file folders and even last year’s holiday cards. Feature your family’s artwork and use recycled wrapping paper or paper from catalogs and magazines for backgrounds. A great resource for making cards from recycled materials is "Creative Correspondence" by Michael and Judy Jacobs, available on Amazon.com. 2) Have fun together and create a festive decoration by making a gingerbread house. You can bake the gingerbread yourself and use royal icing to construct the …
Sunday, November 25, 2012
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. For grandparents, that number might be a little higher.
Here's the first thing you need to know about holiday shopping for grandparents: We just can't get enough pictures of our grandchildren. Whether they're printed on Kodak paper or popped in as wallpaper on our iPad screens, grandparents love, love, love looking at those precious faces. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking in the right direction: These are available on-line through sites like Snapfish.com, or you can order them when you take your digital images or film to Walgreen's, CVS, Rite Aid, or wherever you order prints. My personal favorite is a 4x6 album that fits into my purse. (Go ahead, ask me about my grandchildren.) Help the kids make a frame using a craft-store kit, or simple materials like heavy cardboard or Popsicle …
Friday, November 23, 2012
Earlier and staggered store openings result in shorter lines, less frenzy the day after Thanksgiving.
Varied opening and sale times at retailers for the Black Friday rush seemed to spread out shoppers throughout North Jersey’s biggest stores this weekend. This year marked a new marketing tactic—more retailers opened Thanksgiving night. While some stores bought into the new trend, others stuck to the traditional early-morning opening times Friday, while others chose to open at 7 or 8 a.m. And, the different opening times gave shoppers a lot of options, and the ability to hit multiple stores. Long nighttime lines awaited shoppers at the Rockaway Townsquare Mall, which saw customers skipping Thanksgiving dinner to line up almost a day before some stores’ 8 and 9 p.m. openings. The line at the Walmart in Watchung started forming at 1 p.m. …
Share your best recipes for the day after.
Dinner’s done and the only thing more stuffed than the bird is you. Now, what do you do with all those leftovers? While many say simple reheating is all that’s necessary to have a “day after” feast, others have elaborate recipes for turning Thanksgiving leftovers into gourmet delights. From savory turkey soups to sinfully delicious pot pies and mile-high sandwiches, everyone has their own ideas on what to do with what’s leftover. The Food Network even has an entire recipe collection dedicated to the topic. We’d prefer to hear from you! What are your favorite Thanksgiving leftover recipes? Share them in the comments section or upload them as an announcement.
Scott Helming
1:21 pm on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Actually, there is no firm evidence there were three wise men. We know if three gifts, hence the thought of three persons...An ongoing mystery! more ›