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For a Fayetteville family fighting two cancer diagnoses, the Christmas season is a chance at normalcy.
Homeless families, retired executives and schoolchildren alike are finding blessings in sharing the Christmas spirit at a shelter run by the Durham Rescue Mission.
Shopkeepers in Raleigh's Cameron Village saw a rush of business Saturday as the clock ticked down on Christmas Eve. Many of the shoppers who crowded the urban shopping center said they were looking for something unique to put under the Christmas tree.
A 2 1/2-year-old Pembroke girl got an early Christmas present Friday: her daddy home from Iraq.
Durham Rescue Mission officials said 3,400 people attended Friday's pre-Christmas event, including 552 volunteers. They distributed 2,500 meals, 12,000 toys, almost 10,000 items of clothing and 1,200 bags of groceries.
The Martin family is back in their home just in time for the holidays after a tornado destroyed it in April.
A Clayton family says it's a Christmas miracle that a 21-year-old member of their family is making an amazing comeback after suffering massive head trauma overseas.
Foot traffic was heavy and parking lots full at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh Friday - the last weekday before Christmas 2011.
Safe Haven for Cats was named the winner of the 2nd Annual Triangle Christmas Tree Challenge Thursday.
For the 21st straight year, Moses Mathis is playing Santa Claus to hundreds of Fayetteville-area children.
Dozens of families who survived a series of tornadoes that touched down across North Carolina eight months ago are spending their first holiday season somewhere new.
A sharp drop in gasoline prices since spring may be the spark North Carolina motorists need to travel during the Christmas holiday.
How does Santa Claus make it all the way around the world on his sleigh, stopping at every chimney from here to Timbuktu, delivering presents to good boys and girls in just one merry night? For decades, mystified scientists have chalked up Santa's power to the inexplicable wonder of magic, but a North Carolina State University aerospace engineer said Wednesday that Santa is, in fact, a scientific genius.
Dozens of Triangle companies are reaching into their coffers to make the holiday season a little brighter for others.
The holiday travel season has been underway since before Thanskgiving, but it will hit its peak this week when millions of people cram highways and airports to visit family members. For the long-distance travelers who have to get on planes, the stress of getting to an airport, making it through security and actually arriving at the gate on time can bump stress levels up a few notches.
Someone donated a diamond ring and a wedding band to the Salvation Army of Wake County over the weekend, the charity announced on Monday.
A three-story Christmas tree, 25 feet wide is the centerpiece of the holiday decorations at the Biltmore Estate.
Shoppers packed into parking lots and crowded into long lines at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh Saturday to take advantage of the last full weekend before Christmas, giving retailers a good reason to be merry this holiday season.
Among the tall, fragrant evergreen trees dressed up in fancy ribbons and glittering ornaments that adorn Diamond View Park at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, stands one sad, drooping Charlie Brown Christmas tree with a message.
Gene and Violet Humphries are clinging to memories this holiday season after a fire claimed most of their worldly possessions. The Humphries and their three granddaughters, ages 7, 8 and 9, were unharmed in the fire that swept through their North Raleigh home Thursday night.
The 60 bicycles sitting in a Durham Police Department storage facility will find new riders this Christmas, and 60 people will get a new set of wheels courtesy of a cooperative effort between police and eight area non-profit service organizations.
Lynda and Bill can laugh now about awkward holiday memories.
Mike Corbitt, owner of Ink Well in Durham, gave away free tattoos and piercings in exchange for donations to Toys for Tots.
Capitol Broadcasting and Raleigh Parks and Recreation present an annual holiday celebration for area senior citizens at the Raleigh Convention Center.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday might be over, but the holiday deals aren't and one of the best places to find great savings is online, WRAL's Smart Shopper Fay Prosser said.
WRAL's Bill Leslie takes the "Hometown Hello" to North Carolina towns that throw memorable holiday celebrations.
WRAL's Smart Shopper Faye Prosser and avid blogposter Nancy got together Friday and shared their tips for frugal holiday giving.
A Sanford home construction company is turning to social media to help children find presents under the tree on Christmas morning.
The state of North Carolina's annual Christmas tree was lit Thursday evening at outside of the old Capitol building in downtown Raleigh.
Santa Claus delighted the young and the old with a visit to the WRAL Morning News.
WRAL anchor Bill Leslie has released a new Christmas CD, "A Midnight Clear: Christmas in Mitford," which includes 16 traditional and original Christmas songs inspired by author Jan Karon's best-selling Mitford series.
An Air Force contractor who has spent all but 22 days of the past two years in Iraq surprised his young daughter Tuesday by showing up at her Granville County school dressed as Santa Claus.
Find out where you can cut your own tree in the Triangle!
Putting up holiday lights outside is a tradition for many families. But some people are opting to leave the heavy lifting to the professionals. Rhonda Rowe paid JT's Landscaping to put up Christmas lights on her Wakefield home on Monday.
The dangers of driving while impaired were highlighted Friday at two very different events in the state capital.
Acrobats, musical entertainment and Christmas trees decked out for charity signal the start of the holiday season at American Tobacco Historic District in Durham.
One of the key figures in the holiday ballet "The Nutcracker" is magician Dr. Drosselmeyer. This year, the Carolina Ballet will take the magical ballet one step further through live magic on stage.
Entertaining during the holidays can become stressful and expensive, but home and lifestyle expert Evette Rios says there are ways to get creative and entertain without breaking the bank.
Clayton Mayor Jody McLeod sang a jazzed up version of the holiday classic during the town's Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 1, 2011.
When WRAL-TV flips the switch on its 52nd annual tower lighting Thursday night, the 300-foot tower becomes both a shining beacon and an early Christmas present. The best way to see the entire celebration is on TV. Tune on to WRAL News starting at 5 p.m.
The economy may be on the slow march to recovery, but holiday seasons continue to come, year after year, with an increasing need for charity and steadily dwindling donations.
The centerpiece of the night will be a 90-foot ferris wheel to be installed on Fayetteville Street. Dubbed "La Grande Roue de Raleigh," the ferris wheel is a nod to the annual tradition of Paris's Tuileries Garden.
Black Friday has long been the kickoff for holiday shoppers. More recently, Cyper Monday got its name for the rush of online buying after Thanksgiving. In between, a new tradition is forming in support of shopping locally.
The three-year-old Durham Performing Arts Center hit a big milestone Saturday when the 1,000,000th visitor walked through the doors.
Local businesses want Thanksgiving-weekend shoppers to think outside the large chain stores and to keep their dollars in the community.
The troops with the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade had quite a Thanksgiving spread.
Shoppers lined up as Thanksgiving Day gave way to Black Friday. Some shopped, went home to nap and came back out - all in the name of holiday savings.
Now that Thanksgiving dinner is out of the way, the busy season has started for North Carolina's multimillion dollar Christmas tree industry.
Scoring Black Friday sales is a competitive sport for thousands of Triangle shoppers and for the big-box stores and small, local stores competing for their dollars.
Family and friends of a man killed inside a Raleigh restaurant more than five years ago spent Thanksgiving serving up free meals to the community.
Hundreds of Triangle residents use Thanksgiving to celebrate with those less fortunate, a tradition that feeds the soul as well as the stomach.
For most people, pumpkins are used for carving or pie filling. But Marc and Tony Banka, of Durham, look at pumpkins a little differently.
Chef Chad McIntyre of Market Restaurant in Raleigh says Thanksgiving needs not be complicated to be perfect.
The Muppets, Marilyn Monore and 3D film all get good marks from Rotten Tomatoes.
Some Best Buy shoppers in Cary got in line Wednesday in order to be the first people through the doors when the store opens at midnight on Black Friday.
A revitalization project in downtown Dunn has local merchants worried that construction will affect holiday sales.
NFL stars Torry and Terrence Holt were in Wake Forest Wednesday to donate turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner.
The Carolina Ballet is gearing up for its annual presentation of Nutcracker. And this year, the show will be even more magical than usual. Literally.
After 61 years, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center's holiday show has been retired. But the Chapel Hill destination now offers a holiday concert series under the planetarium stars.
Best Buy plans to open at midnight, but employees have to show up earlier than that to set up. Employee Kendra Cole said she will be there with a smile.
The holiday travel season in under way at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, and changes, both to the terminal at RDU and to Transportation Security Administration screening procedures, could make traveling a little bit more complex.
Thanks to great weather and the presence of "American Idol" Scotty McCreery, the 2011 WRAL-TV Raleigh Christmas Parade drew thousands to downtown Raleigh Saturday morning.
The cost of Thanksgiving dinner has taken its biggest jump in 20 years, but Triangle shoppers say they're finding ways to get around the price rise - from coupons to sharing - and keep the cherished tradition.
Looking for Frosty, Rudolph, the Grinch and other classic holiday shows? Find them here.
Amy McCready, author and founder of Positive Parenting Solutions, shows how busy families can stay organized and positive during the holidays.
With Thanksgiving just over two weeks away, celebrity chef Bobby Flay drops by to talk about different ways to prepare turkey and what to do with all those leftovers.
We're collecting New Year's resolutions from our visitors. We'll analyze the submissions and give you a graphical representation of the top resolutions.
A 1,200-pound steel-and-copper acorn dropped twice on Friday in the City Plaza - once at 7 p.m. for the children's early countdown and at midnight.
In North Carolina, nothing says "Happy New Year" like a giant pickle. Except maybe a giant flea.
Ann Smith, who is considered the visionary behind Raleigh's New Year's Eve bash, remembers the first time the city hosted First Night.
Music, dancing and a giant Lite Brite will highlight this year's First Night celebration in Raleigh.
Rebecca Rolfe, operations assistant for First Night Raleigh, says the annual event in downtown will have something for everyone Friday night.
The Cumberland County town of Eastover is starting a tradition this New Year's Eve by dropping a 30-pound flea.
Seven members of the First Philadelphia Christian Center in Garner spent their Christmas in Moore Square giving out food, clothes, and coats.
Pope Benedict XVI presides over Midnight Mass in St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City on Dec. 24, 2010.
Through some luck and Christmas magic, Specialist Benjamin Bell's 15-day R&R corresponds with Christmas, New Year's, his son's birthday and his wedding anniversary.
About 80 people volunteered work with the Gobbles to Go program to serve 730 turkey dinners to those in need.
For the 20th straight year, Moses Mathis is playing Santa Claus to hundreds of Fayetteville-area children.
Area residents deluged the Durham County Department of Social Services with gifts Wednesday after hearing that the agency wouldn't be able to provide gifts for hundreds of families.
Durham County Social Services is scrambling to provide gifts for hundreds of families after a church failed to follow through on Christmas sponsorship.
Tar Heel Traveler takes us to Johnston County where a Four Oaks couple shows off their miniature Christmas village.
All Melinda Pfeiffer wants for Christmas is a job. Looking under her Christmas tree at the smaller pile of presents she was able to afford for her three children this year, she hopes they won't notice.
Debbie Bailey decorates the 27 trees in her home near Princeton with different themes.
More and more people are opting out of sending Christmas cards in recent years, as the need to get in touch with far-flung loved ones at the holidays is diminished by social media.
Christmas music and lights - synchronized as one. The Tar Heel Traveler goes to Wendell for a dazzling display at Lake Myra.
Clarky Davis, the "Debt Diva," discusses some last-minute gift ideas that won't break the bank.
Homeowner Janet Lambert goes all out decorating for Christmas at her Spring Hope home.
The Salvation Army distributes toys, money, clothing and food to ease financial stress on families, but this year, the organization has been forced to turn people away.
Shoppers looking for locally handcrafted gifts this holiday season turned out to a special event at the South Estes Farmers' Market in Chapel Hill Saturday.
When it comes to holiday lights, the twinkling display on the 401 Par Golf in Raleigh is a wonderland of lights.
Kathryn LaMattina is a little girl with a big message this season. The 7-year-old Cary girl is using her love of art to help The Carying Place, an organization that helps Wake County families get adequate housing.
Gov. Bev Perdue participates in the annual Christmas Tree lighting at state Capitol grounds.
Old Saint Nick appeared on the WRAL Morning News before heading over to the State Capitol for annual Christmas tree lighting.
The Christmas spirit will be glowing on the grounds of North Carolina's state capitol.
Party planner David Tutera gives tips on throwing a stylish holiday party.
A Christmas tree going up at the state Capitol isn't a festive sign of the holiday season but a somber reminder of tragedy.
A Hatteras Island house made famous in "The Nights of Rodanthe" movie is taking its place as a North Carolina Christmas landmark. Its owners, though, say its importance lies in the way the house being used to help others.
The Clayton High School marching band escorted Santa down Main Street to the town square during the event.
Tis the season for tipping! But figuring out WHO to tip and how much to give can often be a bit of a challenge! Some factors to consider when deciding how much: how long you've used the service, your relationship with the provider, as well as the quality and frequency of the service you receive.
The National Retail Federation estimates that the average shopper will spend nearly $700 this holiday season, so Clarky Davis, the "Debt Diva," provides some tips on how much to spend on small gifts.
The annual event transforms the WRAL transmission tower into a 300-foot Christmas tree wrapped in more than 2,800 multi-colored lights. Three 5-foot stars adorn the top of the tower, which will glow nightly through New Year's Day.
Wellness and lifestyle expert Terra Wellington says that a little bit of planning and scheduling can reduce holiday stress.
Holiday traffic and fender benders made for slow going Sunday afternoon though North Carolina, the state Highway Patrol said.
Shoppers flooded the Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. The Macy's store there opened at 4 a.m. and managers said traffic has remained steady since then.
Among those working on the holiday were state troopers who kept busy writing tickets and making arrests for traffic violations including speeding, driving with a revoked license and drunk driving.
Volunteers served a Thanksgiving feast for 1,500 at the Durham Rescue Mission on Thursday.
A half-dozen dancers from Clinton, N.C., were among the first to march through Herald Square Thursday morning in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The young women from Lori's School of Dance were a part of the Spirit of America dance performance that kicked off the holiday parade which drew up to a million bystanders on a chilly, overcast morning.
Paula Deen talks about Thanksgiving, her favorite foods and fond memories.
Men's Health Magazine picks its top tech toys, including a guitar, 3-D glasses, a fitness game ... and a vacuum cleaner?
Saturday morning marks the 66th time the WRAL-TV Raleigh Christmas Parade has signaled the beginning of the holiday season in the Triangle.
The Salvation Army and Inter-Faith Food Shuttle are increasingly busy as the holidays approach.
In a trip to a Durham toy store, Santa familiarizes himself with the items on many wishlists.
With Thanksgiving only one week away, it’s time to plan your meal, buy the turkey and make the decorations. Although Thanksgiving doesn’t involve lots of expensive gift giving, it is still easy to overspend when hosting your holiday dinner. Here are some tips you and your wallet will be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
Get in the holiday spirit with some Christmas music from the Sandbox Band! The Triangle-based band that caters to families has a new holiday CD featuring classic Christmas tunes and a couple of originals.
Buy a New Car & Be Eligible to Win Free iPad Mini!
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No Admission Just Good Food & Live Music @Crabtree