What's Your Favorite Christmas Movie?

Vote in our poll and share your thoughts in the comments.

In the midst of all the holiday hoopla, do you stop every time you find Miracle on 34th Street on television? Between the made-for-TV offerings, the newbies and the annual chestnuts, there are lots of opportunities to get some holiday spirit from the comfort of your couch. Vote in our poll and share your favorites in the comments! Do you need some modern humor, like Elf, or are you hooked on classics like It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas when it comes to Christmas movies? Which variation of A Christmas Carol has you wishing for roast goose and plum pudding, Alastair Sim's version or Scrooged? Are there TV movies that you remember, even though few do, like The Homecoming (which led to The Waltons series) or The House Without a …

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Sandie S.

1:56 pm on Thursday, December 27, 2012

Love Bad Santa (Badder Santa - unedited)!   more ›

Poll: Do you return bad gifts you receive?

Let us know what you do with gifts you'd rather not keep.

It's Christmas morning and the last box to open must be the Xbox you've been waiting for. After tearing off the paper, you dig in and realize the contents are light and squishy. And—drumroll please—it's a sweater! With tiny bells...and tinsel? A Christmas sweater. Don't forget the matching socks, says your grandmother. I think we've all been in this situation, whether it's a sweater, Britney Spears album or dustmop. So, what do you do with these gifts you don't want? Take our poll and let us know in the comments what your worst gifts were this year.

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Jessica Roblin

10:40 am on Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Good point! That saves you some shopping time next year, too.   more ›

How Soon Is Too Soon?

Target's plans to launch Black Friday shopping at midnight Thanksgiving night has triggered some backlash.

Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, is still a week away, but already the thought of it has shopping enthusiasts salivating and others feeling positively Scroogy.  Which camp to you belong to? Are you one of the folks who will be lined up outside of Target at 11:59 p.m. Thanksgiving night? Or do you go into hiding until sometime in late December?  People have bemoaned the ever-increasingly commercialized holidays for years, particularly when it comes to Christmas, and yet retailers continue to bank on holiday shoppers. No doubt Chapel Hill Mall will be packed on Black Friday. This season the backlash has led to a petition to stop Target from opening at midnight Thursday night/Friday morning. Will a petition …

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Too Soon?

The pumpkins aren't all gone from stoops and street curbs yet, but scenes from another holiday are coming around.

The ongoing debate over how soon is too soon to start thinking about Christmas and other solstice-type holiday has entered another season of decking the halls and for some in protest, bah-humbugging. So let's fan the flames of the debate, maybe even throw a little gasoline on the fire. What say you? Too early for snowmen and Rudolph and Santa and Nativity scenes and all the rest?  Or are you ready get your Christmas on?  There's even a poll below to stir the pot a little. As always, comments are welcome too. The folks on 13th Street who brought a ghastly Halloween scene with a "body count" that would keep CSI teams busy for a month have already traded in the gore for snowmen and reindeer. 

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"What Was I Thinking?"

After-Christmas Sales

No rest for the holiday weary

Next to Black Friday, after-Christmas sales probably are its nearest rival. I wish I could tell you I had read that somewhere, but, unfortunately, I experienced it first hand. But not by choice. I actually did it as an act of friendship. On Christmas Eve when my siblings and their families and my family gathered at our dad's house for the holiday, I found myself talking with my sister-in-law, Carla.  With the excitement of Christmas coming to a close, our thoughts turn to spring and Blossom Music Center. Even though she's been an usher at Blossom forever, she only could speculate as to who was coming to the stage. She tossed out a few "I heard so-and-so was coming" - nobody I'd heard of, but given my age and taste in music, that doesn't …

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Hundreds Give the Gift of Life

A countywide blood drive in downtown Cuyahoga Falls helps the regional Red Cross in a time of need.

Hundreds came forward to give a priceless package just before Christmas at the largest blood drive in Summit County this year. More than 800 people, most from all corners of the greater Akron area, stopped by the Sheraton Suites in downtown Cuyahoga Falls to donate their blood on Dec. 23. The Northern Ohio Blood Services Region of the Red Cross collected 780 pints of blood in a 12-hour time span. Each pint helps serve up to three people, said Katy Berger, spokesperson for the region. "The lives of over 2,000 patients in need may be touched as a result," she said. Berger credits the Falls location and more word-of-mouth marketing for the higher turnout in comparison to the 2009 event, which attracted a crowd of about 600 people.  …

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Holiday Hosting: Skip the Sit-Down and Mingle

Chef Dino Reed takes you out of the kitchen and in to the party this holiday season.

Eat, drink and be merry: it's the mantra of the holiday season. But as the host of this years' holiday dinner or party, how merry will you be if all your time is spent in the kitchen preparing the meal while your guests mingle and enjoy each other's company? Dean "Dino" Reed Jr., head chef at Totally Cooked Catering and Market , 2730 Front Street, and former corporate chef at the B.F. Goodrich World Headquarters, recommends giving your guests a quality spread-- and enjoy it yourself-- by skipping the traditional sit-down dinner. "Sit-down is nice but grazing, as we call it in catering, lets you and your guests try a lot of different things while mingling," he said. By having a large variety of appetizers, hors d'oeuvres and small-plate…

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Wonderful Life: Rich Fletcher

The gift of Christmas day.

Wonderful Life is a series of essays from Patch contributors on what the holidays mean to them. We welcome your thoughts on the holiday season, your family's traditions and how you celebrate. "Dad, what do you want for Christmas?" my kids asked me this week. "He likes socks," said my 12-year-old Richie. "He gets them every year." "No, dad wants a Nintendo Wii so he can play us…and we can beat him," laughed Ryan, 11. "Guys, daddy wants Tree Trunks (a pink stuffed animal elephant) and he's going to keep him in my room, right?" asked the ringleader, Isabella, 8. Though the socks would be nice, truth is I've already received all the gifts I need – my family. Christmas is the selfless act of giving, starting with our Heavenly father's gift of…

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