Retro Holiday Cookies: Snowball Recipe

Try this annual favorite

Countdown to Christmas: Regifting

We've all done it—gift-wrapped an item we didn't want or need and handed it off to someone else.

We're way past asking the question whether regifting is right or wrong. It just is. As long as there are gift bags with pretty tissue paper wrapped around candles that smell like "Winter Snowstorm," there will be regifting. We have never passed off a smelly candle as the fruit of our own special shopping trip dedicated just to you, but we have, um, shared our wealth. A cocktail recipe book comes to mind. But it was so new the spine wasn't even snapped yet. And wasn't it green of us not to throw it away? There's an urban legend about somebody's aunt who keeps a whole closet full of gifts for regifting. When somebody pops in for an unexpected visit, Auntie runs to the closet, grabs the least conspicuously bad thing and puts a bow on it. We …

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Patch Poll: Christmas Cards

The holiday cards and family-history missives will start arriving in our mailbox this week, but we're wondering how many we'll get. Take part in our Patch Poll: Will you be sending holiday cards this year?

  For those of you who thought snail-mailed holiday cards were a thing of the past, think again. This Montclair Patch editor received her first Christmas card of the season—on Nov. 28. Wow, for my household, I believe that's a record. Whether you like them or not, Christmas cards have been around since 1843, when students at boarding schools wrote home over the holidays to show their parents how much their handwriting had improved during the school term. Somehow, that has evolved over the years to a massive worldwide industry. "Each year I say I'm not going to send cards but I always do because I don't want to upset my aunts who live far away and never hear from me," said Mary Harris, a Montclair mother of two. The additional dilemma? …

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It's Black Friday! What's Open, What's Closed Today?

Not sure? Check out the list below.

The turkey is a distant memory carefully put away in an overstuffed refrigerator. Today is Black Friday, the day to to go work off those calories. It is the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season. ■ Public schools are closed. ■ Post offices are open. ■ State motor vehicle offices are open regular hours today and tomorrow. ■ Financial and stock markets will close at 1 p.m. ■ NJ Transit will provide additional bus service to major New Jersey shopping destinations throughout the day beginning today and continuing through Dec. 24. Family Super Saver fares will remain in effect until 6 a.m. Monday. For details, refer to timetables, check the agency’s website at njtransit.com or call (973) 275-5555. ■ PATH trains are operating on a …

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What New Jersey's Doing with Leftovers

A turkey sandwich is just so lame. Try these ideas from around the state.

So the feast is over and everyone has had a good night's sleep fueled by an excess of food and drink. So what to do with the leftovers? We asked our own staffers and their friends and neighbors and of course, being Patch, scoured the Web, to find out what Jersey does the day after the feast. Of course, there's a turkey sandwich. But why not make it a bit more Jersey-specific, with a turkey Sloppy Joe? First, a bit of history: cooking enthusiast Ben Salmon explains the history of how the sandwich was invented in South Orange and rates three local purveyors. But now on to the recipe, complete with homemade Russian dressing. Ben has lots of other good ideas for leftovers, including what sounds to us like a Thanksgiving Dagwood. Want a more …

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