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 …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Many will close early on Christmas Eve, and several restaurants are taking reservations.
Sometimes there's just not enough days in the week, but every Wednesday we'll give you an idea of something to do to relax, spend time with family and just take some time for yourself. And with Christmas approaching, we want to give you a list of places that are still open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day if you’re looking to get out of the house. Did we miss anything? Do you know of any stores open, or restaurants offering deals? Let us know in the comments!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
A guide to making the most of the holidays in Hillsborough.
There's lots to love about the holiday season in Hillsborough, great community get-togethers like the lighting of the township Christmas tree and Menorah, awesome showcases of local talent like the school concerts and Somerset Valley Players, decorated homes and more. You'll see our favorite in the slideshow—but what's yours? Which event do you look forward to the most? Tell us your favorite local holiday event in the comments box below.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
NORAD tries to predict when you might expect St. Nick coming to your home.
For 364 days out of the year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) spends its time tracking airplanes, missiles, space ships—anything flying near the United States and Canada. But on Christmas Eve, a team of volunteers spends the night tracking a very special pilot: Santa Claus. "We are the only organization that has the technology, the qualifications and the people to do it," NORAD said on its website. "NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house." Santa usually starts at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and travels west, NORAD noticed, meaning he moves from the South Pacific to New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe …
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukah aren't forgotten at the Resource Center of Somerset.
Holiday dinners typically mean a day surrounded by family and a bounty of food. For the families using the Resource Center of Somerset, the county’s domestic violence shelter, that image isn’t as consistent. But, despite the lack of a normal home life, the center provides the holiday experience for its clients, with almost all of its offerings coming from community donations. “In that sense, we are very fortunate that the community is very generous with us,” Paloma Amar-Coleman, center director, said. “We are very dependent on donations and luckily, the community is very generous with us.” Amar-Coleman said the center provides for about 150 to 200 hundred clients and their families each holiday season. Those clients can include families in…
40.495318
-74.654142
Resource Center of Somerset
427 Homestead Rd, Hillsborough, NJ
/articles/center-provides-holidays-for-families-who-can-t
1761042
/locations/5873626
Friday, December 17, 2010
A gallery of lights and decorations from around town.
Decorating's become and integral–and sometimes unforgettable—part of the holidays in any town. Hillsborough's no exception to that, so Hillsborough Patch presents a small (and admittedly sub-par. Taking Christmas lights photos is not easy!) gallery of the lights around town. Think we missed something? Do you or your neighbor have a memorable display? Feel free to add it!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Somerset Valley Players transforms classic movie from the screen to the stage.
You've seen the movie about 200 times, now get ready to see the play. Old Man Parker is loving his leg lamp, Flick's tongue is frozen to a flagpole, and Ralphie is longing for a Red Ryder air rifle as the Somerset Valley Players stage "A Christmas Story" at the playhouse on Amwell Road through Dec. 19. Philip Grecian's adaptation of the 1983 movie, which was based on the writings of Jean Shepherd, made its debut in 2000 and is a natural for community theater groups. It offers a familiar tale with lots of laughs, along with some heartfelt moments. The story is loosely based on Shepherd's life growing up in a small Indiana town. The central character is Ralphie, a young boy who lives with his parents and younger brother. Ralphie listens to "…
40.50016
-74.71198
Somerset Valley Playhouse
689 Amwell Rd, Hillsborough, NJ
/articles/a-christmas-story-in-hillsborough
1832123
/locations/2660783
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 ›