New Year's Eve Events Include Champagne, Dinner and Dancing

Several restaurants and bars offer special festivities to ring in 2011.

We know many people head Up North for this holiday weekend, but if the rainy forecast keeps you from the northern Michigan ski hill, here are several options here at home to help you welcome 2011. If your plans take you outside of Rochester, there are many party options in neighboring towns. In Royal Oak, a Rockin' the Eve party will feature music by the Gin Blossoms and a real live ball drop, not unlike the one in Times Square.

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Laura Cassar

1:30 pm on Friday, December 31, 2010

Open skate at The Onyx is sold out for today!   more ›

Confessions of a Mom on Break

Escaping the (Clean) House for an Indoor Playground

I venture downtown to Rochester Play and return home with two tired kiddos.

The first week of winter break is under our belts, and we survived unscathed. Now, we move on to Week Two.  But first, let's do a quick recap of our Christmas weekend.  My son lost tooth No. 6 the day after Christmas, and the tooth fairy only had a $5 bill and a $20 bill in her wallet. So, the kid scored $5 for a front tooth. (After begging for "tooth medicine" and saying that he would "faint from the sight of my own blood," she felt the dramatics deserved at least that.) Then the dog decided that eating Italian rice balls off the kitchen table was an awesome idea. For an impressive encore, he preceded to drink the remainder of my mimosa from a flute glass (seriously). A bellyache ensued, and he was rendered useless for two days.  But, …

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Five Places Open Around Town Today

Here are some ideas to get you out of the house on Christmas Day.

Done with Christmas so soon? Here are five places open around Rochester today, just in case you need to escape all the merriment inside your home.

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Track Santa Today From Your Phone, Facebook, Twitter

Children of all ages can follow St. Nick's every move with the help of NORAD's website.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is charged with keeping the United States and Canada safe from dangers originating from the sky or space. Tonight, however, the Colorado-based government agency adds one more important task to its daily list of duties. NORAD will provide its Official Santa Tracker, which marks St. Nick's every move as he makes his way around the globe. Included on the site is a countdown and activity page and a flight-tracking system. You can download a special application to follow Santa on your phone, and you can follow Santa's journey on Facebook and Twitter. NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command, have tracked Santa's flight every Christmas Eve for more than 50 years. 9:07 a.…

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Confessions of a Mom on Break

Finding the Real Meaning of Winter Break, One Play Date at a Time

A Rochester mom gives readers daily advice on what to do, where not to go and when it's OK to just run away.

Well, here we are. It's winter break: two weeks of entertaining the littlest set so they don't bludgeon one another with heavy objects. I'm the mom of two: a 4-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son. Luckily for me, I live in Rochester — land of play dates, kids-eat-free nights and indoor play areas. My best girlfriends know I'm the mom who needs to start each week — each day, really — with a well-laid plan of attack. Because I can sit through only so many "Super Mario Kart" tournaments and because, sadly, I know all the words to Barbie's  "Get Your Sparkle On," I have a specific thing-to-do every day over break. None of them involves Mario or Mattel. My goal is to entertain the kids while keeping their fighting to a minimum and my sanity …

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