Readers share their favorite holiday movies

Romantic holiday

My “it’s-not-Christmas-until-I’ve-seen-this-movie” pick is "The Bishop's Wife." It stars Cary Grant (you can’t go wrong with a Cary Grant movie) and Loretta Young and David Niven. . . . The original is a really good mix of values, humor, love and Christmassy stuff. There’s a skating scene that will just take your breath away. The supporting characters are distinct and memorable in themselves, and that always helps make a movie great.

Posted in Entertaining Forum Playtime

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Here is our gift to you: Gift tags you can download and print. Happy holidays!

Posted in Entertaining From this issue Gifts

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By SUSAN HALLER for Smart

So you’ve been dying to get together with a few girlfriends for weeks, but amid shopping, baking, wrapping, cleaning, decorating and stressing out, you just haven’t had time.

How about setting aside a night to make some homemade gifts, gab with friends and enjoy some of those cookies you’ve been laboring over?

Come on. Just one night. It’ll be fun, we promise.

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By JENNIFER VOGELSONG for Smart

Do you think your friends and relatives really mean it when they tell you to “make yourself at home” while spending a few days at their place? Of course not.

During the holidays, a good many folks find themselves either hosting or being a house-guest. Unfortunately, way too many people have no idea what either role really entails.

Posted in Entertaining Gifts

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By TRACEY CULLEN for Smart

For some special people in your life, a gift card just won’t do as a present. You want it to be personal. You want the recipient to know you really made an effort this time.

Maybe something handmade? . . . but there’s no time for that now! Aha . . . that computer of yours can be used for more than just checking e-mail and downloading music. You can actually create gifts online!

Posted in Entertaining Gifts Smart Ideas

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By BETH BENCE REINKE for Smart

The holidays are just around the corner, and that means Christmas shopping.

You need gifts for friends, family members and the special kids in your life. But what about the mailman, the trash collectors, the baby sitter, your hairstylist, the bus driver . . . ?

Without some kind of criteria for deciding which service providers you really want to give a gift, things can get out of hand — and out of wallet! How do you decide?

Posted in Entertaining Gifts Parenting

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By ERIN ESMONT for Smart

When I was child, we ushered in New Year’s with a small family party at home, just the five of us. My mother made Chex Mix in the oven (this was before it came in bags at the store). She served us a kid-friendly version of an adult beverage, fizzy 7-Up in a clear plastic cup with two maraschino cherries.

We’d eat pork and sauerkraut for good health in the New Year. We’d watch the countdown on TV and shout, “10-9-8-7,” then rush onto the porch at midnight with our pots and pans and bang them like crazy to keep the evil spirits away.

Fast forward three decades, click on the Internet, and you’ll find several sites offering an array of party supplies, craft ideas, games and activities, and theme-tinged foods.

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PAUL KUEHNEL for Smart

Shawn Brady of Manchester Township takes his family's three Christmas trees to Solid Waste and Refuse Authority's yard waste compost site off of Flour Mill Road in Manchester Township last year. Recycling live trees is one way to have a 'green Christmas.'

By ERIN ESMONT for Smart

When compiling this year’s holiday to-do list, take a moment to consider the environmental impact of your annual shopping and decorating rituals.

Posted in Entertaining Gifts Parenting

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By ERIN ESMONT for Smart

Caryn Bilotta directs a credit counseling office that serves 5,000 people, mostly Pennsylvanians, and teaches them how to get out of debt and live on a budget. There are 150 York County residents enrolled in a local version of the class.
Bilotta sees people every day struggling with money-management issues.
She knows that the coming months — November, December, January and February — will be the most fiscally challenging times for these clients and many others, who are either teetering on the financial brink, or simply caught up in the retail adrenaline rush known as the holiday season.

Posted in Gifts Parenting Smart Ideas

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