Christmas Tree

"Grandma, in 13 days I'll be hanging up my stocking! I need to write my list for Santa before it's too late!" Grandma smiled and asked, "Before you do that, Jack, help me with this old tree of mine. " They set up the Christmas tree near the window where its lights could shine out into the night. Jack climbed up on a chair to put the Christmas angel up on the very top branch. Grandma said, "It's a shame that some of the branches have lost some of their artificial needles.

"The Lucky Lottery" Ron Roy Has anything ever been stolen from you? If so, then maybe you should read this book. A grandfather sends a $-million winning lottery ticket to his grandson. Before he can cash it, someone steals into the house and steals it! Now, Dink, Ruth Rose and Josh try to track the thief. Will the stolen ticket ever be found? Read the book! Reviewed by Jesika, 9 R.D. White Elementary Glendale "The Nutcracker Ballet" Deborah Hautzig It is Christmas Eve, Marie and her brother are waiting for the party in the living room to begin.

Reporting from Los Gatos, Calif. -- Behold the typical Christmas tree: A faux fir fashioned from metal and plastic with that special dragged-from-the-attic scent. Or maybe it's bound like a hostage and plucked from a pile in a parking lot, a soulless commodity masquerading as tradition. As an alternative, drive the switchbacks of California Highway 17 through the Santa Cruz Mountains a few minutes west of San Jose, pull off and ascend twisty roads into a canopy of oaks, redwoods and evergreens so thick you'll need to flip on the lights.

A Toluca Lake home still referred to as the Bing Crosby Estate despite a succession of other entertainment industry owners has sold for $4.02 million. The singer and actor lived on the property from 1936 until early January 1943, when the 20-room house there was gutted in a Christmas tree fire, according to Times archives. Crosby was out at the time of the fire. His wife, Dixie Lee , and their four sons escaped injury. The damage to the structure and its contents was estimated at $200,000, and the family's cocker spaniel, a complete collection of Crosby's recordings, his golf trophies and his pipe collection were lost.

Years ago, the close of the holiday season for some Orange County residents meant stringing the Christmas tree back on the car for one last trip--to the county landfill. But in the last few years, cities and unincorporated areas throughout the county have begun curbside Christmas tree collection and recycling, a program so widespread that the county landfills stopped recycling trees in 1993.

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon wants all of the city's Christmas tree vendors to warn buyers about the fire dangers of the trees. We have a thought or two on the subject as well. If your Christmas tree is still up, you ought to get rid of it properly, like now. There is a simple rule of thumb here. If running your hand along a branch creates a cascade of falling pine needles, you've got a tree that is ready to burn with little prompting.

I just finished decorating our Christmas tree, and it looks beautiful. My husband and I debated whether we even wanted one this year. After all, our daughter is now all grown up and has a home and husband of her own. Our first Christmas tree was a table top plastic tree that we purchased two days before Christmas, 28 years ago. Having come from India originally, I had no idea about how to celebrate Christmas.

A Raider fan's Christmas wish list: (1) A starting quarterback who was drafted by the Raiders, not traded for an unmerciful price. The quarterback who earned outright the starting job from a washed-up, gave-up-Jim-Lachey-for, former UCLA quarterback. (2) An owner who doesn't hold grudges, who knows when to admit his trade has gone bad, not a pigheaded throwback trying to prove he outsmarted the other guy. Please, Santa, we just want Steve Beuerlein to assume the position he rightly deserves.

The Christmas tree remains a powerful symbol for many of us, a mandala of sorts, evoking emotions that can be traced through thousands of years of humankind and across many faiths. "Christmas trees probably add more to mark the period of 'peace on Earth, goodwill toward men' than any other product of the soil," says Ann Kirk-Davis, whose family has been raising and selling Christmas trees for generations.

Deck the halls with boughs of Barkley. Three days before Christmas, the USC football program was stunned Thursday to discover three shiny, previously unobtainable objects under its tree. A possible 2012 national championship. A possible 2012 Heisman Trophy. An impossibly glowing kid named Matt Barkley. PHOTOS: Decision day for Matt Barkley Yeah, he's staying. Against all odds, he's staying. Defying all practical advice, he's staying. Turning down buckets of NFL money to embrace a community of Trojans hearts, quarterback Barkley announced Thursday he was returning to school for a final college season that his presence could turn into one of the most memorable in school history.

Reporting from Los Gatos, Calif. -- Behold the typical Christmas tree: A faux fir fashioned from metal and plastic with that special dragged-from-the-attic scent. Or maybe it's bound like a hostage and plucked from a pile in a parking lot, a soulless commodity masquerading as tradition. As an alternative, drive the switchbacks of California Highway 17 through the Santa Cruz Mountains a few minutes west of San Jose, pull off and ascend twisty roads into a canopy of oaks, redwoods and evergreens so thick you'll need to flip on the lights.

We Americans pride ourselves on our religious pluralism and toleration. Although presidents do feel obliged to end every speech with the title of an Irving Berlin song ("God Bless America"), by and large they adhere to the Founding Fathers' ideal of separation of church and state. But contrary to this general rule there each year arises the exceptional custom of White House Christmas cards. Should the president and first lady really be issuing messages to celebrate a religious holiday that not all Americans celebrate?

Ringing like a Salvation Army bell, more Christmas-themed outrage is in the air. This time, it's a kerfuffle over some holiday carolers being ejected from a post office in a Maryland suburb outside Washington. It seems that the carolers, dressed like something out of Dickens, ran afoul of a federal law that prohibits organized groups from assembling on post office property. It's likely no one would have heard about it, except that J.P. Duffy, a spokesman for the influential conservative advocacy group the Family Research Council, was among the dozens of patrons at the post office in Aspen Hill, Md, on Saturday.

"Grandma, in 13 days I'll be hanging up my stocking! I need to write my list for Santa before it's too late!" Grandma smiled and asked, "Before you do that, Jack, help me with this old tree of mine. " They set up the Christmas tree near the window where its lights could shine out into the night. Jack climbed up on a chair to put the Christmas angel up on the very top branch. Grandma said, "It's a shame that some of the branches have lost some of their artificial needles.

For 44 years, the Jordan family crafted an elaborate Charlie Brown-themed Christmas display outside their Costa Mesa home. The doctor was in, with a Lucy cutout offering counseling. Charlie Brown and Sally clutched a wrapped gift. Linus (with blanket) stood beneath the Christmas tree. And much of the "Peanuts" gang ice-skated around a faux pond. "I grew up around the corner from there. It's been there every year," said Lisa Dugan, who helps with the setup.

Ski Dazzle, the ski and snowboard expo, opens Thursday for four days at the L.A. Convention Center. Tickets are $20 for adults, $5 for children 6-12. For info, click here .... Solvang is hosting holiday wine tastings, pageants and more throughout December. For details, click here .... Half Moon Bay, 40 miles south of San Francisco, is also holding holiday festivities that include gingerbread bakeoffs, tree lightings and boat decorating. For details, click here  ....

A horse-drawn wagon presented First Lady Michelle Obama with the 19-foot balsam fir tree that will be the official White House Christmas tree. The 18-year-old tree arrived Friday from a farm near Neshkoro, Wisc. Growers Tom and Sue Schroeder were at the White House for the arrival of the tree, which was harvested last week and shipped to Washington. The tree was hand-picked by the White House superintendent of grounds and an official with the National Park Service after the Schroeders won the National Christmas Tree Assn.'s National Christmas Tree contest in August.