You can still tell Santa what you want
There are only a few days remaining until Christmas, and the panic is probably setting in – you (or your child) still haven’t sat on Santa’s lap and told him what you want. That’s okay, though, because the Jolly One seemingly has plenty of time to spare, despite his deadline fast approaching. If you’ve missed him at places like the Feztival of Trees and the city tree lighting, there’s still one option that’s as reliable as any: the...
Here are some last-minute gift ideas for you
We know it’s getting pretty late to be doing Christmas shopping, but we also know that plenty of us (ourselves included) still have a lot to do. There’s less than a week before the big day, so to help everyone out we searched the city for some good last-minute gift ideas. These things are all available in local stores, and they’re all pretty affordable. Check it out.
Some cool ideas for your holiday bash
We figured you might be in the market for a few new recipes for your holiday get-together.So we sent out an email to our newsroom colleagues and here’s a sampling of what we got back. Enjoy!Buffalo Chicken Dip Ingredients 2 cups of cooked or shredded chicken 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened ½ cup of your choice of hot sauce ½ cup of either ranch or blue cheese dressing ½ cup of shredded cheese or blue cheese crumbles...
We’ve got some suggestions for your Christmas Eve
We understand this week is going to be a little hectic.With buying last-minute presents, going to holiday parties and getting ready for Sunday (that’s Christmas), you don’t have a lot of time for anything else – like figuring out what your Christmas Eve looks like. Don’t worry though, we’ve got you covered.By the time Saturday rolls around, you should be done with shopping (and if you’re not, we feel for you), and you can finally...
We got the lowdown on winter operations
Snow season is officially here! Concord has received a few snowstorms already and crews have been out plowing. As a reminder of our winter operations, streets and sidewalks are plowed on a priority basis. Two sets of crews rotate as needed through snowstorms for street plowing. Our main crew plows streets from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Our swing shift operates when necessary from 3 to 11 p.m. As needed, our main shift resumes operations at 11...
We only got one adult letter to Santa Claus
A few weeks ago, we put the call out for letters to Santa. But instead of enlisting the likes of little Billy and Suzie, we were looking for all the adults out there to write their own wish lists for jolly ol’ St. Nick. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite get the response we were looking for as we got a grand total of one. We were even hoping for a few that we couldn’t print, but nope just the one. That’s alright though, because of a nice...
The cold weather shelter needs volunteers
The Concord Cold Weather Shelter will be run out of the St. Peter’s Activity Center at 135 N. State St. again this year, and the Friends Program will be managing the day-to-day operations. There is no firm open date, but it looks like no earlier than Jan. 4. And the shelter is in need of volunteers. Without enough volunteers, the shelter will not open. You can sign up for recurring shifts or simply pick and choose the shifts that fit...
Friendly Kitchen to host community dinner
It can be pretty easy in today’s world to lose sight of what Christmas is supposed to be all about. While many of us are concerned about whether to buy the iPad or the Kindle Fire for our sweethearts, others are wondering where they’ll sleep tonight, or whether they’ll eat. For those people, Christmas is often just another day. But in Concord, there’s another option: the Concord Community Holiday Dinner. Every year on Christmas Day,...
There’s an art to making a gingerbread house
Presidential Oaks didn’t get a much of a response from the community about its annual gingerbread house contest (don’t worry, we forgot too), so the retirement facility decided to have an employee contest instead. And as you can see, those employees sure put together some pretty impressive gingerbread creations this year.
Here are some helpful tips for getting rid of all that white stuff
With last week’s first official winter storm and another good one over the weekend, we figured it was the right time to remind you of some simple yet very helpful tips to removing snow after a storm. When it snows this early in the season, it could mean a very long and very white few months. And thanks to the people at the Bow Public Works Department, we’ve got some pointers that should help make all that snow removal a little easier...
The Holiday Food Basket Project is back
The Capital Region Food Program’s holiday food basket project kicked off last Friday, and it’s been an all-hands-on-deck approach ever since to make sure all those boxes (almost 5,000 of them) get packed up and into the hands of the people who really need them. You might remember that Tim volunteered last year, filling boxes for a shift, but this time around we caught up with project chair Maria Manus Painchaud, whose father began the...
Take a different approach to holiday eating
With the holiday season in full swing, for most Americans, that means eating – lots of eating – followed by weight gain and a New Year’s resolution to lose weight.The holidays are a time to enjoy family, friends and food. And, contrary to popular belief, you can have all three without putting on the extra pounds. So why not take a different approach this year during this holiday season and beyond? Simply by curbing carbs with lighter...
Bulletin Board
Riverbend offering parenting class Parenting the Second Time Around, a free eight-week workshop series for grandparents, relatives and others who are parenting again, will be held Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 10. The workshop will be held at Riverbend Children’s Intervention Program, 105 Loudon Road, Bldg. 3, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. For more information or to register, call Kathleen Egan at 228-0547 ext. 4041. Judith Stowell ...
Book of the Week: ‘The Second Mrs. Hockaday’
The Second Mrs. Hockaday Susan Rivers To be released Jan. 10, 2017 272 pages Fiction When Major Gryffth Hockaday is recalled to the front lines of the Civil War, his new bride is left to care for her husband’s farm and infant son. Placidia, a teenager now living far from her family with no experience in running a farm or raising a child, must endure the darkest days of the war on her own. By the time Major Hockaday returns two...
This Week in Concord History
Dec. 20, 1979: U.S. Rep. John Anderson, a Republican from Illinois, comes to Concord to officially register for the GOP presidential primary. Ronald Reagan, he tells the Associated Press, “is a long way from being home free in this race.” Dec. 21, 1998: The Concord City Council orders City Manager Duncan Ballantyne to review the process used to rename 31 city streets after a prolonged furor over the issue. Ultimately, they say,...
Don’t have time to bake? Try some of these options
We know some of you might not have the time, resources or know-how to bake your own holiday treats. That’s why we poked around the city to see if we could find some ready-made options for you to pick up on your way to that office Christmas party. Here’s a little selection of what we found.
Granite State has your candy needs covered
Take a walk around Granite State Candy Shoppe this time of year and you’ll certainly find the perfect addition for the chocolate lovers stocking in your life.Or if they really have a sweet tooth, you could put together one heck of a main attraction gift.Because Granite State Candy is a bit of a holiday wonderland – at least when it comes to candy. Just about everywhere you look, there’s holiday sweets just calling out for you to...
Food Snob: We finally did it – we ate an actual fruit cake
Watch enough holiday movies or TV shows, and you’ll probably start to see a trend when it comes to the topic of fruit cake.Let’s just say it doesn’t seem to be on the top of everyone’s favorite holiday treat list. The typical reference is something along the lines of ‘why did they give me this?’But to be perfectly honest, we’ve never tried one. After all those glowing reviews, what would be our motivation to do so?Well, a story. We’ve...
Get your holiday baking needs at Chandler’s
This time of year, though festive and mostly good-natured, can be pretty stressful, especially if you’ve been chosen to bring the big dessert to the family or office Christmas party. Maybe you just started a new job at some fancy law firm or medical practice and you’re really trying to make a good impression on your peers. Or maybe you’re a stay-at-home dad who just wants to make something extra special for his daughter. In any event,...
The library needs warm stuff for its tree
It’s getting pretty cold out there these days and unfortunately, it’s going to stay that way for a long time.And because the fact that winter is officially here, you’ve probably busted out your hats and gloves, scarves and long socks, to ensure you stay as warm as possible over the next few months.But there are people who don’t have the basic necessities to get through another long and cold winter. So the Concord Library is doing...
See ‘The Nutcracker’ at the Audi
If you haven’t caught a performance of The Nutcracker this year, you still have time – but not much. As far as we can tell, there’s only one more show coming to Concord this holiday season and it’s this Friday at the Concord City Auditorium. The New Hampshire School of Ballet of Hooksett will put on a full production of the holiday classic, complete with the growing tree, falling snow and 50 dancers. And unlike some shows, this is a...
Help a senior by grabbing a tag at GoodLife
At this time of year, there are lots of toy drives and secret Santa type programs to ensure all the area youngsters have a nice Christmas. Especially the ones who wouldn’t get a single present under the tree if not for the kind generosity of strangers.Don’t get us wrong, that is a great and wonderful thing, but one age group that seems to get lost in the shuffle when it comes to gift giving is the senior population. And GoodLife...
Go Try It: Make some nice Christmas muffins at home
We figured that since we’re doing an issue all about holiday sweets, we should try to make some ourselves.This Insider isn’t particularly well-versed in the art of baking, so I knew right from the get-go that there was a good chance I’d find myself in over my head on this one. I really couldn’t remember the last time I baked anything.Nonetheless, being a good soldier I went for it anyway. My original idea was to try something from the...
Mr. Aaron is about to launch his new album
If you’ve ever been to a Little Rattlers music class at the Concord Community Arts Center, you’re probably quite familiar with Mr. Aaron (real name Aaron Jones). If not, you’ll have a great chance to learn about him – and his music – at his CD release show this Saturday.The album, All My Friends Are Giants, hit the shelves last week, and Mr. Aaron will be at the community arts center at 4 p.m. Saturday to play some of the songs from...
Tasty Brews: Kirin Ichiban at Beijing & Tokyo
We seem to always be trying beers made right here in the Granite State, over the border in Vermont or farther afield locations like Colorado. These are all fine and good, but we were in the mood for something different last week and decided to try something from the east – the far east.We ended up at Beijing & Tokyo (not the two giant cities on the other side of the world, but the restaurant on South Main Street), as we figured a...
The quilters guild put together stockings
Members of the Capital Quilters Guild are known for their ability to sew.And this time of year, they use it to do some good in the community.It all started in the summer when guild members got together for their annual Christmas in July sit and sew. It’s where they pick out festive holiday fabric and begin to sew Christmas stockings for those in need.Over the ensuing months, they finish their stocking or maybe a few of them, and wait...
