Ring in the New Year in Downtown Lawrenceville

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Last Minute Holiday Shopping: Is That Gift Card a Good Idea?

The Better Business Bureau is warning that some gift cards may not be such a good, quick idea after all.

'Twas just hours before Christmas. And, if you still have shopping to do, a gift card may just end up being what you buy someone. However, some of those cards are actually more trouble than they're worth -- literally. The Better Business Bureau is advising consumers of what they should know before purchasing that all-too-convenient gift card. Gift Card Tips The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which took effect in 2010, established standards that give consumers additional protections when using gift cards. The standards prohibit retailers from setting expiration dates less than five years after the card is purchased and charging dormancy, inactivity, and service fees unless the card has not been used …

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Video: Fireworks Safety Tips From Gwinnett Fire

Stay safe this New Years when handling sparklers.

The Gwinnett County Fire Department held a demo to show how to safely use fireworks and sparklers this season. According to the department, statistics show that in 2010 there were an estimated 8,600 injuries caused by fireworks treated in the U.S. hospital emergency rooms. While the only type of fireworks legal in Georgia are sparklers, the National Fire Protection Association reports that sparklers can cause serious burn injuries. They burn at about 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit and are typically viewed by parents as relatively harmless fireworks for children, according to Gwinnett Fire. Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, Gwinnett Fire Marshal/Assistant Chief Steve Hrustich and Georgia State Fire Marshal Dwayne Garriss demonstrated …

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Recipes to Celebrate Hanukkah 2012

Make these brisket, latke, and sufganiyot recipes for Hanukkah.

This year, Hanukkah begins on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 8, and it ends on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 16. Observing the Festival of Lights goes hand-in-hand with making special Hanukkah foods. Before you light the menorah, make sure you have all the ingredients for some great brisket, latke, and sufganiyot. Although there are many recipes, below are a few to try during the eight nights. Potato Latkes Ingredients Instructions Once they are ready to eat, try them with some apple sauce mixed with sugar & cinnamon, sour cream or just a sprinkling of salt. Brisket Ingredients Instructions   Sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) from chabad.org Ingredients Instructions What are your favorite things to eat during Hanukkah? Do you have any special or …

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How to Get a Letter From Santa This Christmas

Thanks to a very special U.S. Postal Service program, Santa Claus will reply to children who mail him their Christmas wish lists this holiday season.

Every year, millions of children sit down to make a wish list for Santa, hoping he will make all of their Christmas dreams come true. But what if Santa actually wrote back? The United States Postal Service is now accepting "Letters From Santa," a program that allows any person to play Santa by sending a letter signed by Saint Nick to any child. According to a postal service news release, "The 'Letters From Santa' program helps parents fulfill the dreams of their own children." Instructions to send a letter from Santa: Letters to Santa can be dropped off at the Lawrenceville Post Officeor any other USPS location. Find a post office close to you by clicking here. Do your children or children in your family plan on writing a letter to Santa …

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Show Us Your Holiday Lights! Win $100K in Patch's Deck the House Contest

Share your photos of your house decked out for the holidays, and enter to win $100,000 for Gwinnett County Public Schools and $500 for you.

FBI Offers Tips for Safe Cyber Monday Shopping

Before entering your credit card number online, take these steps to avoid becoming the victim of cyber crime.

Just when you've had time to recover from Black Friday, it's Cyber Monday -- a day for shopping from the comfort of your home on Duluth. While avoiding crowds and getting great bargains is enjoyable, Cyber Monday can be full of hazards for those shoppers who fail to take the proper precautions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation offers several tips to make your Cyber Monday shopping experience safe and enjoyable: If you do end up as the victim of an online scam, you can file a complaint on the Internet Crime Complaint Center website. Click here for more Cyber Monday tips, including where you can find the best deals.

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Holiday Shopping: Spending Limits For Kids’ Presents?

How much is too much to spend on children and teens? We want to hear your thoughts, Lawrenceville!

As the holiday shopping season goes into full swing, some people are maxing out their credit cards to pay for presents and others are setting budgets and sticking with them. Scour just about any Facebook stream or stop in a local coffee shop and chances are you’ll hear parents debating the merits of setting spending limits. Or, you'll hear them lamenting about just how much they've already spent. The ideas for a perfect limit do seem to vary rather greatly. Some parents say $100 per child is more than enough. Others tend to lean toward much more generous figures. After all, there’s nothing like seeing a child’s eyes light up as they unwrap gift after gift. And that’s what we want to hear from you about, Lawrenceville! Do you set spending …

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Black Friday Guide

Where to shop, what to buy and everything you need to know for Black Friday.