^{Posted by: WhitneyMWS}

Dear Santa,

Last Christmas, I was only a little infant. So the whole present thing went over my head. This year's a different story! I love crinkly paper and toys. And I just love the idea that I may actually get some toys of my own that my brother won't try and steal from me. (A baby can dream, right?)

So Santa, please bring me the following toys. I promise I'm a good boy.

The

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^{Posted by: Princess_Peg}

I had to sum up my turkey day for my readers in a nutshell. Each year, like so many others across our great nation, our family gets together with extended family for the Big Turkey holiday. We give thanks by coming together as a family in one house in a country where we are free to practice the religion of our choice (or not, as the case may be...) and in a climate that is generally willing to… Read More

^{Posted by: Joe_LoCicero}

The scents of the season start coming (sweetly) fast-and-furious now, and one of my favorites is cinnnamon. To that end, I've found some wonderful cinnamon baking chips (made by Hershey's) that provide an uncommonly delicious addition to scones, cookies, muffins and cakes.

Typically, I've only been able to find these packages around the Fall-into-Winter time frame, and you may have difficulty rounding them up at your favorite grocery store. (They're usually in the baking aisle, and they're… Read More

^{Posted by: WhitneyMWS}

So for the first time in my 33 years on earth, I went out shopping on Black Friday. I don't know what possessed me but I made plans with a friend for us to go together. I picked her up at 7 am and off we went.

Which brings me to lesson #1: 7 am isn't early enough. Some of the stores opened by 4 am, and the crowds were already in full force when we… Read More

^{Posted by: BuckeyeChristy}

In our house, we never have to fight over which family gets to see the girls for the holidays. There's no trading off, doing one year with my husband's family and one year with my family. We escaped this holiday nightmare because my husband is Jewish, and his family celebrates Hanukkah, while my family celebrates Christmas. While we certainly didn't marry because we'd get two holidays in December, there are advantages to our situation. Both sets of grandparents get ample… Read More

^{Posted by: ShortOrderMom}

It's a plight that we all seem to face each year; what to do with those Thanksgiving leftovers? I do look forward to the leftovers almost as much as the meal itself, but it can get really old really fast. Mostly we reheat as-is, make open-face sandwiches and cook up a pot of Turkey Corn Chowder. I'm betting the rest of you do something similar. How about a few different-than-the-norm ideas? Cranberry sauce--thin with apple juice or cranberry juice… Read More