Hampton Parks and Recreation Director Dyana Martin has announced the winners of the town's annual lighting display contest, as judged by the Rec Advisory Council. The winners are as follows: Brightest Design: Gail and Bill Bowley, of Winnacunnet Road. Best Overall: Cheryl Silver (the wife of Fire Chief Chris Silver), of Reddington Landing. Best Business Display: The 401 Tavern. The winning entries are highlighted in the above image gallery. Each of the winners was honored during Monday's selectmen's meeting and received a plaque featuring a photo of their work. An identical plaque will be on …

Happy New Year, Hampton and North Hampton! I hope you all had fun celebrating (safely) last night, as there was plenty to do in the area. What did you do? Show us by posting your pictures in the above image gallery. Just click "Submit Your Photos and Videos" above the gallery to add yours!

Firefighters are trained to drop whatever they're doing, no matter time or convenience, to help others in dire need. From blazing fires to heartbreaking medical emergencies, firefighters and EMTs are there in mere moments. While that dedicated response often extends to not-so-happy moments, crews occasionally get a chance to play the lead role in a situation with guaranteed happy ending. Hampton and North Hampton firefighters recently got that chance, as they were dispatched to Manchester over the weekend to help make Christmas a reality for more than 40 needy families. Cassie Leavitt, a …

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and (soon to be) Happy Kwanzaa to all of you Hampton and North Hampton residents out there! We here at Patch hope you're enjoying your holidays so far, and hope everything goes safely and well for you this year. To help give Patch a bigger dash of the holiday spirit, we'd also love it if you could post your holiday photos in the above image gallery! We know you all love holiday photos, as we received 323 images in our Christmas Parade image gallery as well as tons of hits for that story. Please keep the holiday tradition going and share your holiday images and…

Their wish lists have been made, their photos have been taken with the big guy, and cookies and carrots are at the ready for Santa and his reindeer, but do your children ever ask: Where does Santa go on Christmas Eve? How does he travel to everyone's house? Now, you can show them, as the folks at NORAD annually chart Santa's course as he visits families all over the world. The above widget allows you to follow his sleigh's progress as he dashes across the night sky to deliver gifts to good boys and girls. As you're waiting for Santa to make it to your house, there are plenty of games and …

There is only a few days left to enter Deck the House, Patch's nationwide contest to find the best dressed home in its Patch communities, in which the winner’s school district will receive $100,000, no strings attached.Here’s how the contest works: Beginning on Dec. 8 and continuing through Dec. 26, you can nominate your home by uploading a photo to the contest entry form on the site. During that same time period you and your neighbors will also be able to vote for your favorite festive home. The winning entry will be forwarded to a national Patch judge that will select 24 finalists. Each …

Go big or go home. The cliché applies to plenty of things on the Seacoast area, including the competition-laced holiday light displays that illuminate Hampton's streets during the month of December. One such display is that of Jack Derba, who lives on Belmont Circle. The above video showcases Derba's home, which is at the heart of a three-house light display synchronized to a variety of holiday songs, including Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizards in Winter." Derba's display was one of several showcased during Hampton Parks and Recreation's annual lighting contest tour, which took residents on…

Here's a list of some of the government, school, office and other closures this weekend and next week, organized by location:   Hampton town offices: All offices within Town Hall, as well as municipal buildings like the Department of Public Works, will be closed Monday, Dec. 26, and Monday, Jan. 2. There are no municipal meetings scheduled for either of those days. Selectmen have scheduled a meeting for Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 7 p.m., though. North Hampton town offices: The Town Offices and Town Clerk's Office buildings, as well as Town Hall and other municipal buildings, will be closed Monday…

Roughly 20 Hampton firefighters and volunteers spent a few hours Tuesday night organizing and bagging over 1,000 gifts for roughly 85 area families and 230 needy children. The wrapping party was a part of the annual Hampton Firefighters Toy Bank, a nonprofit effort geared toward raising funds and toy donations so local children have something to unwrap each holiday. The above video features some of the activity at Tuesday night's wrapping party, which was held at the beach fire station and didn't actually include wrapping the gifts, that way parents can see the gifts their children are …

One of the best part of the holidays is always the food, and Hampton-North Hampton Patch reader Mike Castaldo wanted to submit his family's potato latke recipe to help make your Hanukkah celebrations a little richer and tastier. The recipe is a two-part process, starting first with creating the schmaltz that Castaldo said is key to acheiving the perfect traditional potato pancake.   Schmaltz Preparation time: One hour Ingredients: 1/4 cup water 1 medium onion sliced 1 small apple peeled, cored and sliced chicken or goose skin in 1" squares (optional) 1 lb chicken or goose fat, roughly cut …

Hanukkah, Judaism's eight-day Festival of Lights commemorating the Maccabees' victory over a larger Syrian army in 165 B.C., begins at sundown Tuesday. There are plenty of Seacoast festivities planned to celebrate the holiday, including a candle lighting service, sculpture dedication and music at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Temple Israel in Portsmouth. This ceremony is the closest mass gathering to the Hampton area, and the temple's website has a full schedule of events. There are plenty of other ways to celebrate the eight days and eight nights of Hanukkah, which is the only ancient Jewish holiday …

1. Bead Creative: If you're looking to break the jewelry stereotype this year, you could always use some of the supplies and kits at Bead Creative in Hampton to create a unique accessory for your loved one, or give her the means to creative one herself. 2. Cohen's Jewelers: There's nothing wrong with premade jewelry, though, and there are plenty of local shops filled with glimmering stones, pendants and bands, including Cohen's Jewelers in Hampton. 3. Drake Farm Books, Antiques and Art Gallery: From locally-made collectibles, art and a slew of antiques, Drake Farm in North Hampton should have…

1. Cinnamon Rainbows: Whether it's to indulge the surfing enthusiast on your list or choose from a great selection of sunglasses, sandals and clothing, Cinnamon Rainbows on North Beach in Hampton could be a great stop to find holiday gifts or purchase gift cards. 2. Gamestop: Video games are a safe bet for many boys (and boys at heart), and the North Hampton Gamestop has a variety of new and used systems and games to help your loved one plug into one of his pastimes. 3. Sea Port Model Works: A great local stop for hobbyists on your list could be Sea Port Model Works, a Hampton shop that …

Many area houses have gone all out to publicly showcase their holiday spirit, and Hampton Parks and Recreation wants to help you enjoy those efforts. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the department is sponsoring a free nighttime bus tour around some of the most festive parts of town. The rides begin at 6 and 7:15 p.m. in the old town hall parking lot at 136 Winnacunnet Road, and space is limited so the department is requesting that individuals call 926-3932 in advance in order to reserve a spot. The tours, which include holiday music, are a part of the annual decorating contest, which will be judged…

The Seacoast Education Association is holding Season's Readings, a holiday book drive, to benefit the children in the local communities.   SEA President Andy Gushee said the goal of Season’s Readings is to collect enough books to give each kindergartener in School Administrative Units 21 and 90 a book for the holidays.   “We thought there was no better gift for the children of our district than the gift of reading,” said Gushee.  SEA will be collecting new or gently used books until Monday, Dec. 19. Anyone wishing to help bring the gift of reading to our children can drop off books at any SAU…

After over two years of construction, the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation is proud to announce the opening of the Oceanfront Pavilion at Hampton Beach State Park.   To celebrate the occasion, a New Year’s Eve Gala will be held on Dec. 31 at the property.  The event will include music, dancing and fireworks as well as a light-fare menu and drinks. “We are proud of the finished product. The Oceanfront Pavilion is beautiful and a great location for special events," said Phil Bryce, director of the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation. “New Year’s Eve is about new …

We've already given you five ideas for things to do this weekend, although one of the likely items on your agenda this weekend could be finding a Christmas tree. Hampton and North Hampton are becoming more festive every day, and while a quick drive through the area shows there are plenty of good trees left, time is running out to get the cream of the chop. The above interactive map shows a few of the tree sellers around the area. Have one you think should be added? Post it in the comments and we'll put it on the map (so to speak)!

Even though the temperatures may not feel like it lately, winter and the holiday season are well on their way. Each year, many local fire departments coordinate toy banks for needy children, and the bulk of these operations rely on residents dropping off new and unopened presents at designated spots throughout the community. To make your holiday giving a little less frantic this year, we've made this interactive map of drop-off locations for the Hampton Firefighters Toy Bank. To use the map, simply hover over one of the 24 little "present" pins for details about each location. A larger …

Phil Pritchard has had the Stanley Cup in his hands more times than any other person in history, although he's never once lifted it over his head. That's because Pritchard is the curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and is most famously known as the "Keeper of the Cup." Part of Pritchard's job is to travel with sport's most storied trophy to various events, parties, and of course, to present it annually to the National Hockey League's championship team. The right to lift the silver trophy overhead is something for which players pray, bleed and sweat their entire …

(Story originally posted at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3.)  The 2011 Hampton Christmas Parade had something for everyone: colorful displays, festive floats, police and fire departments, music, local sports teams and clubs, local and state politicians, and Santa. Oh, and the Stanley Cup. Thousands of people packed Lafayette Road Saturday afternoon for the annual parade through downtown Hampton, many of whom said they came to get a glimpse of the Stanley Cup and the four Boston Bruins legends helping escort it. Christine Joyce, of Hampton, said the trip downtown for the parade is an annual …