Even though socializing tends to be the primary focus, good food makes a get-together better. Sharing the names of favorite caterers is as much a holiday tradition as eggnog, but some of the best  

Want to bring something for those nice folks hosting the neighborhood holiday gathering? Well, they don't want a poinsettia. Give them something they'll really enjoy: sparkling wine. Nothing's  

· Ready to start your holiday fun? How about a tree? The Civic Garden Center hosts a homey CHRISTMAS TREE SALE weekends through Dec. 10. A firepot, hot chocolate and cookies will make your qu  

Here in the Midwest, it doesn't take fancy meteorological terms to describe the winter climate. "Sucks" sums it up neatly for most people. We awake to gray mornings and abhor the bald trees, t  

· For your aspiring DJ nephew who needs some better source material, give WHAT IT IS!: FUNKY SOUL AND RARE GROOVES (Rhino). The "rare groove" phenomenon among crate-diggers and general old  

Three ghosts, Scrooge, Christmas Eve. You've heard the story so many times, you're sick of it, right? Well, you'll have plenty of chances to renew your acquaintance with the old tightwad this h  

If you're looking for a distinctive gift for that person who has everything or if you just want to avoid the crush of mall shoppers, stop in to some of the city's art haunts for truly one-of-a-  

· For your Dad, who still talks about Ursula Andress' bikini in Dr. No, give JAMES BOND ULTIMATE EDITIONS VOL. 1, 2, 3, 4. All 20 Bond films are spread across four editions, each featuring  

Families aren't what they used to be, thank goodness. When "family" meant only a husband, a wife and their kids, family values meant male dominance, female submission and children who did what   

A married couple -- a him and a her -- with 2.7 children and 1.5 pets, living in a 2.5-bedroom residence. Throw in a Chevrolet out front and an apple pie on the kitchen counter, and you've got th  

In the women's locker room at the YWCA downtown, a daughter complains to her mother that the school isn't allowed to just cancel her classes and demand that her parents pick her up without any a  

When my first child was born a couple of years ago, I was in charge of getting the supplies together for the hospital. Hot water bottle, stress ball, pillows ... and a CD wallet full of music. I w  

When Andi Adkins and her partner decided to expand their family several years ago, the senior financial analyst for Procter & Gamble knew that, along with children, come not only increased respons  

It has been suggested, in the outcome of the most recent elections and based on a remarkable number of offices secured by more temperate members of the Democratic Party, that although Republicans   

One of the most heartwarming and vindicating moments of this year's Cincinnati Entertainment Awards ceremony will come when local Soul/Funk legend Kenny Smith takes the Taft Theater stage to accept his long overdue Lifetime Achievement Award. If he accepts, that is. "Can I turn it down?" Smith says with a hearty, self-deprecating laugh from his independent insurance sales office.