Christmas Eve

Great white hope fades By ANDREW SCHOTZ / Staff Writer Christmas in the Tri-State region will be cold, but not white. The National Weather Service is predicting mostly sunny skies on Monday. "It looks like it's going to be dry," meteorologist Dewey Walston said. The high temperature will be between 30 and 35 and the low will be between 15 and 20, he said. The forecast applies to Hagerstown and Martinsburg, W.Va. Walston said conditions will be similar in Chambersburg, Pa., but it may get a little colder there than the other two places.

Editor's note: This is one in a series of stories running on the 12 days before Christmas to recognize people who make the holidays better for others. While others celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family and friends, Linn Davison Jr. will be at the REACH Cold Weather Shelter as one of a number of volunteers trying to help make the holidays a little brighter for the lonely and the homeless. "It's difficult but rewarding," Davison said. "We here at Grace United Methodist Church feel that it is a biblical requirement.

Five things to do this week Go to the movies Lots to see in theaters this week end. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel," pictured, is in theaters now. "It's Complicated," a rom-com starring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin, opens Christmas Day, as does "Sherlock Holmes. " When the parents are away ... Kevin McCalister will play. Christmas classic "Home Alone," starring McCauley Caulkin as Kevin McCallister, will be shown Wednesday, Dec. 30, at The Capitol Theatre in downtown Chambersburg, Pa. See page B3. I heard the bells on Christmas Eve Carilloneur Julia Littleton will perform seasonal music at midnight Christmas Eve on the carillon at Mercersburg Academy's chapel, 300 E. Seminary St. Go to www.mercersburg.

HAGERSTOWN -- Icy road conditions caused 47 traffic accidents in the City of Hagerstown between midnight and 8 a.m. Wednesday, Police Chief Arthur Smith said. Salt wasn't spread on the streets immediately because only a partial crew was on duty, according to a city official. Smith said one of the accidents was a seven-vehicle pileup that involved a fire truck in the 400 block of Jefferson Boulevard. Only one person suffered a minor injury throughout the course of the night, he said.

andrews@herald-mail.com BOONSBORO - Dates and names are getting harder for Martha Rice to remember now that she's 102 years old. But hymns, though, she sings - and remembers - sharply. "What a friend we have in Jesus," Rice sings, after some prompting. "All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!" The most important advice for a long, healthy life, she said, is "try to serve the Lord, for He's our boss. " Rice turned 102 Wednesday - Christmas Day. The staff and residents at Reeders Memorial Home in Boonsboro, where she has lived for the last two years, threw her a party on Christmas Eve. Rice was born in Wolfsville in Frederick County, Md., and fondly cherishes the years she attended Salem United Methodist Church.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - Santa's station in the center of Valley Mall shut down after Christmas Eve, but the holiday shopping season isn't over. Shoppers flooded the mall Tuesday to return Christmas presents, browse sales and cash in their gift cards. Mary Miller had returns to make Tuesday. She stood in a long line at one of the service centers in Bon-Ton waiting to return a pair of jeans she bought her husband for Christmas. The size was wrong, she said. Miller started her day at Kmart, she said.

Santa's station in the center of Valley Mall shut down after Christmas Eve, but the holiday shopping season isn't over. Shoppers flooded the mall Tuesday to return Christmas presents, browse sales and cash in their gift cards. Mary Miller had returns to make Tuesday. She stood in a long line at one of the service centers in Bon-Ton waiting to return a pair of jeans she bought her husband for Christmas. The size was wrong, she said. Miller started her day at Kmart, she said.

This is the holiday gift guide for the other kind of last-minute shopper — the kind with people to shop for and only $20 to spend on them. Oh, and it's late Christmas Eve. Really late. Most people have bought at least one gift by now — 96 percent of consumers, according to the National Retail Federation. The remaining 4 percent are gift-buyers who the NRF says just got around to buying Christmas gifts this week. But then there’s a second kind of shopper. After the denouement of spending season, the final mall gate has closed, the last call for toys has passed and the window for cyber shopping has shut, the only thing open is the gas station convenience store — hence our "convenient" Christmas gift guide.

Smithsburg Senior Site 29 Blue Mountain Estates Smithsburg 301-824-2183 Bingo - Thursdays, Dec. 8 and 22, 10 a.m. Exercise - Fridays, Dec. 9 and 16, Mondays, Dec. 12 and 19, 10 a.m. Uno or dominoes - Friday, Dec. 16, Monday, Dec. 19, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 10 a.m. Movie and popcorn "Santa Claus II" - Wednesday, Dec. 7, Part 1; and Friday, Dec. 9, Part 2, 10 a.m. "Christmas Memories" - Monday, Dec. 12, 10:30 a.m....

Every family has its own holiday traditions. Here, teen writers with The Herald-Mail's Next section share some of theirs. Stockings unstuffed By Nell Barber My brother and I get up and go to my parents' room with our stockings and open them on their bed. Then we have breakfast and then take turns opening presents. Card making By Fedora Copley My dad and I make Christmas cards and sell them at the Farmers Market in Hagerstown on Saturdays.