Which Christmas Tree is Right for You?

How to pick out the best tree for your home, preference and price point.

Picking out a Christmas tree can sometimes make you feel like you're in "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Any given tree can either be too short, too tall, too bald, too bushy or have a myriad of other problems. So how can you tell which tree is the right one for you? To help select your favorite tree, the characteristics of the more popular species are listed below. Douglas fir: This tree is generally available as a sheared tree and is the most common species found on tree lots. It has a nice fragrance and a medium-to-good shelf life. Because of the thick, bushy crowns, they do not lend themselves to large or heavy decorations.  This species is the easiest to grow because it is relatively problem-free. It requires seven to eight years to …

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Hanukkah Recipes for the Festival of Lights

Make these brisket, latke, and sufganiyot recipes for Hanukkah, which begins Saturday.

This year, Hanukkah begins on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 8, and ends on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 16. Observing the Festival of Lights goes hand-in-hand with making special Hanukkah foods. Before you light the menorah, make sure you have all the ingredients for some great brisket, latke, and sufganiyot. Although there are many recipes, below are a few to try during the eight nights. Potato Latkes Ingredients Instructions Once they are ready to eat, try them with some apple sauce mixed with sugar & cinnamon, sour cream or just a sprinkling of salt. Brisket Ingredients Instructions  Sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) from chabad.org Ingredients Instructions What are your favorite things to eat during Hanukkah? Do you have any special or …

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Tree Lighting, Open House Dec. 1

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on the Duluth Town Green precedes arrival of Santa Claus. City Hall Open House at 4 p.m. Games and crafts start on Town Green at 5 p.m.

Santa Claus will again arrive by sleigh pulled by live reindeer on the Duluth Town Green Saturday, Dec. 1, signaling the start of the holiday season in the city. Santa will hand out candy canes and pose for photos with children in his sleigh. The festivities include an Open House at Duluth City Hall. Santa's appearance will follow the lighting of the giant Christmas tree next to the Duluth Festival Center and a holiday program. Choral groups from Duluth High School and B.B. Harris Elementary School will perform seasonal music on the center’s stage. The Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony is sponsored by the Duluth Fall Festival and the City of Duluth. The entire community is invited to attend the ceremony starting at 6:30 p.m. The Duluth Fall…

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Giving Tuesday: Give Back During the Holiday Season

Atlanta-based CARE, Habitat for Humanity and Project GRAD Atlanta are among the nonprofits trying to encourage people to pause in their shopping and find a way to help others.

Will donating to charity ever be as popular as shopping during the holiday season? A partnership of nonprofits hopes so. For many people, the holiday shopping marathon began on Thanksgiving Day, with some national chains opening their doors just hours after the traditional turkey dinner. Then comes Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, which has morphed into Cyber Week. Now, there's a new campaign asking you to open your wallet  -- Giving Tuesday. The Giving Tuesday website says the effort, coming on the heels of days devoted to consumerism, is designed "to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations." …

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Enter Patch's “Deck the House” Contest For a Chance to Win $100,000

Did you decorate your house for the holidays this year? Enter our "Deck the House" contest and you could win $100,000 for your local school district and $500 to pay your electric bills!

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. (Here's a direct link to our contest page so you can enter). 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. Enter …

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Thanksgiving Turkey Making You Tired?

Here are the Thanksgiving post-feast facts about tryptophan.

by Dr. Desirea D. Caucci, PT, DPT, OCS - Physical Therapist and Co-owner If your family is anything like mine then you all fall asleep soon after eating that big feast on Thanksgiving, (or you want to!).  Most of us eat a delicious meal of turkey and other side dishes like mashed potatoes (regular and sweet), stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, and of course pie for dessert.  Is the hype about the tiredness related to eating turkey true?  I did some research and I have the answer… Thanksgiving turkey does have the makings of a natural sedative in it, the amino acid called tryptophan.  Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, meaning that the body can't manufacture it by itself; the body has to get tryptophan and other essential amino acids from…

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Pleasant Hill Lane Closures Halted for Holidays

Access to Gwinnett Place Mall should improve as the Gwinnett County Department of Transportation ceases lane closings on the Pleasant Hill Diverging Diamond Interchange construction project through Wednesday, Jan. 2.

20th Year for Magical Nights of Lights

Lake Lanier Islands Resorts to flip the switch on 20th anniversary holiday lights driving tour Nov 16. Tour continues through Dec. 31.

Lake Lanier Islands Resort® in Buford will flip the switch on its Magical Nights of Lights for the 20th year on Friday, Nov. 16. During its debut on Nov. 20, 1993, occupants of an estimated 76 cars saw about 40 animated light displays and stopped to visit with Santa in a large tent at the end of the tour. Over the past two decades, the show has drawn an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 people through the gates of Lake Lanier Islands for the holiday lights driving tour. The 20th anniversary edition will include favorite light displays and introduce a few additions. “It means a great deal to my family that Lake Lanier Islands Resort holds such a special place in the hearts and holiday traditions of so many people throughout the Southeast,” said …

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