Holidays not a jolly time for everyone: What to do if you’re grieving
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This Christmas, Karen Wrate of New Hartford, N.Y., will celebrate with her son Sean by hanging his stocking and some ornaments he made as a child on her tree.
And she’ll decorate a tree and a wreath placed on his grave.
Sean Reilly died of a rare muscle cancer, called rhabdomyosarcoma, in the wee hours of the […]

Christmas & Family


Late Christmas gathering celebrates extended family
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This past Saturday, my mom and I went to the Twin Cities to spend time with some of our extended family.
Mom’s side of the family decided to get together for a late Christmas. Mom and I had a lot of fun seeing all of our cousins and other relatives.
The oldest people in attendance were in […]

Christmas & Family


Reliving the holiday hangover
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Our family Christmas celebration was rather mild this year.
None of us over- imbibed in my potent rum punch and all drop-in guests were welcomed. No child wept with disappointment at not receiving a Play Station 3, and adults were delighted to receive presents they did not plan to re-gift.
In retrospect, I thought about my own […]

Christmas & Family


Christmas Store Helps Families In Need
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There is a store that is making the holidays a bit brighter for hundreds of families.
“Everybody gets gifts. To me, Christmas is Christmas. You give Christmas to everybody. It’s happiness,” said Nancy Martin of Community Services League.
Barbara Hatfield said this year has been tough for her family and money is tight. She is using the […]

Christmas & Family, Christmas News


Reduce stress to take the crisis out of Christmas
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Ever wonder how some people seem to always look relaxed, happy and oh-so-put-together during the holidays? Meanwhile, the rest of us are showing the strain of late nights at the office, skipped workouts, entertaining out-of-town relatives and last-minute shopping? [Simplify Your Christmas: 100 Ways to Reduce the Stress and Recapture the Joy of the Holidays]
The […]

Christmas & Family, Christmas News


Family tradition includes bell-ringing
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Amy Gallo’s family likes to ring in the holidays.
In fact, all eight members of the Gallo family are volunteer bell-ringers for the Salvation Army.
“It’s a tradition for us. That’s how we start our holidays the day after Thanksgiving,” Gallo says.
The Salvation Army red kettles and hand bells were pulled out Friday for the annual fundraising […]

Christmas & Family, Christmas News, Christmas Traditions


Christmas with grandchildren
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We spent this last Christmas in Arkansas with our son Alex and his family, Arrate, Elise, Hannah, Alden, and Sabin. The family moved there from San Sebastian Spain last February. The triplets are five and a half, and Sabin was just 40 days old when we arrived. Our very special little Christmas present. Whoever said, […]

Christmas & Family, Christmas News


Together at last: Miller siblings gather for Christmas
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All 11 of the Miller children were separated after their mother died during childbirth. The last day they all spent together was Christmas of 1963 until this December, when the Miller children gathered for the first time in 43 years.
The children, Virginia, Jeanne, Christine, Stephen, James, Jane, Ricky, Debra, Carol, Pam and Bernie have seen […]

Christmas & Family, Christmas News


Santa needs helpers: Charity can bless children
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The toughest balancing act for parents this past holiday season might not have been the budget — although that can be pretty hard, too.
For many families, the tightrope was: How to make a holiday celebration happy and memorable for their children while teaching them about charity and humility?
And for the youngest kids, there also was […]

Christmas & Family, Christmas News, Christmas Spirit


Christmas season puts the stress on family
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IT is supposed to be a time of goodwill and relaxation but the festive period is more like a time of stress and fraught nerves, according to research published today.
Many hit the bottle, light up a cigarette or eat to excess in an attempt to stave off Yuletide exasperation. A survey by high street retailer […]

Christmas & Family, Christmas News