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 …
How to make a meaty meal to satisfy holiday guests.
Prime rib is a very expensive "company's coming" cut of meat, and typically it only goes on sale around the holidays. Prime Rib is on sale at Shop Rite for $4.99, for $5.99 at Pathmark and for $6.99 at Stop & Shop. I like to buy Sheffield & Sons “Angus” standing rib roast which has large, traditional prime rib bones and a good grade of meat (USDA Angus Choice Beef). It is typically three to four pounds. (With tall college guys in my family, we usually think a pound per person, including a bone with each slice.) Select a roast that is "marbled" with bits of fat "speckled" in the center of the roast (ask their meat manager to help you select if you have a question). This "marble" will give the roast the best flavor and ultimately the …
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 …
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 …
Advice on avoiding holiday stress, plus three unique cookie recipes from the editor's kitchen.
City sidewalks, busy sidewalks dressed in holiday style… In the air, there’s a feeling of Christmas… Maybe in your private Idaho. Here in the real world, what I sense mere days before Christmas is stress. My to-do list remains distressingly full—life doesn’t always cooperate with pre-holiday plans. That means the next few days will be busy ones, what with all the cleaning and decorating left to do. And shopping too. In keeping with our family’s desire for a spiritual rather than materialistic holiday season, we don’t do much mall-hopping for store-bought gifts (save for Mom’s perfume, something musical for the guy and video games for the son). Some things, however, like food and household/holiday necessities, simply must be purchased. So, …
Friday, December 21, 2012
Where to observe the holiday in the township.
Parsippany area Christmas-related events and services include: This article will be updated when remaining churches provide information as requested. Know of other Christmas church services and events? Please add them in the comments section.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
No meat, no dairy, no problem!
Whether you shape your holiday cookies in Christmas wreaths or Hanukkah dreidles, there's no denying that in December, dessert is the main event. Well, that and shopping, of course! The first time my aunt attempted to make a vegan holiday dessert, we all couldn't help but laugh at the outcome. She followed the recipe for "dessert balls," but they tasted more like desert balls—dry, flaky, leaving your mouth absolutely begging for water. That was back in December 2008. She Googled vegan desserts, and combed through a handful of recipes before landing on the famous peanut-butter dessert balls. Today, a Google search for "vegan desserts" returns more cookies, pies, bars and cakes than one could make in a year. I've followed a few over the …
Monday, December 17, 2012
If you need a new recipe for your holiday bird, give one of these unique turkey twists a try.
- BUSINESS
-
Monday, December 17, 2012
There are many ways to cook everyone’s favorite holiday bird. Each family has its own special technique for cooking a turkey, whether it's using an old family recipe, adding a secret ingredient or shopping at a certain store in town that helps make the turkey taste all the better. In Parsippany, you can find all the ingredients you need to roast your bird—including the turkey itself—at the Arlington Plaza Shop Rite, Pathmark on Route 46 and Super Foodtown on North Beverwyck Road in Lake Hiawatha. Closer to Route 10 and Morris Plains? Consider the Shop Rite at Routes 10 and 202 and the Route 202 Stop & Shop. If you're hosting Christmas supper this year, you can try any of the recipes below to add a new kick to your feast. If you're …
Friday, December 14, 2012
Don't know what to buy a loved one? Save the cash and get cooking.
The winter-holiday season is among my favorite times of the year. It's amazing how much joy comes from seeing twinkling lights on a tree, from feeling the warmth that emanates from a nearby menorah, from hearing Christmas carols sung by a passionate chorale, from experiencing anew the wonder for a baby's birth 2000-odd years ago. And of course there is the glow on children's faces—there is nothing like seeing a kid gorging herself on candy gelt, anticipating a visit from Santa or running through a field covered in wintry white. Accompanying these magnificent joys is one proclaimed in an old adage: It's better to give than to receive. Don't get me wrong: I love getting presents as much as the next guy. (Again: I enjoy receiving gifts as …
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Win $100,000 For Par-Troy Schools In Patch's “Deck the House” Contest and $500 to pay your electric bills!
- NEWS
-
Thursday, December 13, 2012
We’re launching our annual Deck the House Contest to find the most over-the-top holiday decorations in America—the best “decked” house in the country—the one home so spectacularly decorated that everyone in town jokes your holiday decorations could rival Rockefeller Center’s. If this sounds like your house, upload a photo or video of your home to our contest page from Nov. 26 to Dec. 16. Only residents of Patch towns are eligible to enter. We’ll select 24 regional finalists, and from them, pick one grand prize winner. Patch will pay up to $500 of the utility bill for each finalist, while our national winner will have $100,000 donated to his or her local school district. Our contest is right around the corner, so now’s the time to get your …
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 ›