HOLIDAY

Claytor Lake State Park officials are providing some safety tips for the water ahead of the holiday weekend.

Jrue Holiday scored a season-high 40 points and made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 25.2 seconds left in overtime as the Milwaukee Bucks edged the short-handed Boston Celtics 131-125 on Tuesday for their 11th consecutive victory.

Safety expert Chris Ragone sits down with Virginia Today on the weekend to make sure people know what to do to make sure they are safe for the holidays.

Inflation is not putting a damper on Christmas shopping in America. Experts predict more seasonal spending than last year.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, Jrue Holiday scored 29 points and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-102 to improve to 8-0, the best start to a season in franchise history.

If you’re planning on doing some last-minute shopping on Thanksgiving Day, you might want to check ahead and ensure your go-to store is open.

Bobby Portis made a putback off Giannis Antetokounmpo’s missed free throw with 15 seconds left, Jrue Holiday snuffed Marcus Smart on Boston’s final two possessions and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Celtics 110-107 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 series lead.

Grayson Allen set playoff career highs with 27 points and six 3-pointers, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 17 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 119-95 to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round series.

Santa Claus traded out the sleigh for a cruiser and his helpers for Hill City deputies.

Do you have a holiday tradition you’re looking forward to?

It’s no secret: Traveling by vehicle has gotten pricier this year.

Christmas is almost here, which means holiday festivities are underway.

Fashions for Evergreens returns to The Inn at Virginia Tech for the 16th year.

We dive into the results from Cotton Incorporated’s Lifestyle Monitor Survey to learn how buyers plan to tackle their gift giving this year.

We pop by Mike’s Country Market to see how they craft their wreaths and see what other kinds of fresh greenery they have to offer.

Wednesday marks one of the most dangerous days of the year to drive on Virginia roads.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, you’ve likely either made a detailed grocery list, or you’ve thought a lot about what you will serve at the table.

Mary Rapoport shows us how we can make a pumpkin pecan pie, perfect for the upcoming holiday.

If you need last-minute Thanksgiving recipe ingredients, or if you’re just looking for Black Friday sales, these stores have you covered.

It’s no secret: Traveling by vehicle has gotten pricier this year.

To honor the tribal lands Virginia Tech sits on, the university hosts a celebration to honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Jrue Holiday has already had gold in his grasp.

Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton flew together to Tokyo, just three nights after they had played in the hard-fought NBA Finals.

The U.S. had five attempts on the pivotal possession of its latest basketball failure and came up empty on all of them.

The happiest basketball coach in the world right now should be Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer.

Jrue Holiday’s steal and alley-oop pass to Giannis Antetounmpo for a dunk sealed a wild Game 5 and gave the Milwaukee Bucks a 123-119 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Khris Middleton ordinarily wouldn’t be thinking about anything right now other than what the Milwaukee Bucks are trying to accomplish in the NBA playoffs.

Jrue Holiday reportedly has committed to Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics.

Kelly Oubre Jr. converted a pair of free throws with 7.7 seconds left to give Golden State the lead and Milwaukee missed at the end as the Warriors held off the Bucks 122-121.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday has agreed to a four-year contract extension that will be worth at least $134 million and possibly much more with incentives.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls wear costumes to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim in Jerusalem, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. The Jewish holiday of Purim commemorates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the biblical Book of Esther. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)JERUSALEM – Mass gatherings took place in Jerusalem on Sunday as Israelis celebrated the Jewish holiday of Purim in violation of coronavirus restrictions. Authorities had been concerned about a repeat of last year, when Purim celebrations helped fuel an initial wave of the coronavirus in the earliest days of the global pandemic. Purim marks the victory of Jews over a tyrant in ancient Persia and is celebrated with costumes, drinking and parties.

DANVILLE, Va. – Most wreaths bring joy; however, this one in Danville is reminding people about fire safety. The wreath with red lights hangs outside of the main Danville fire station on Lynn Street. For every structure fire that crews extinguished this December, a red light was removed and a white light was added. As of Thursday morning, four white lights were on the wreath. “Next year we are already in the works for trying to get this at a different location,” said Danville Fire Department Acting Fire Marshall Richard Guill.

Area small businesses are also feeling the pressure because while ordering from their websites is as easy as Amazon, they don’t have thousands of people working with dedicated shipping channels like national retailers do. “They’re going back to check their tracking. They want their package and it literally still says that it’s sitting at my house and it’s not,” Vaughn said. Vaughn has been accused of fraud, threatened with bad reviews, and plagued with customers who say their packages never showed. Vaughn insures her packages, but said customers don’t want to deal with the post office, they expect her to fix it.

Gourmet Pantry in Blacksburg sells a variety of kitchenware and food, some of which are locally made. Gharavi recommended using gadgets, other kitchenware, or even simple ingredients as your main gift or even stocking stuffers for the home-cook at any level. Gourmet Pantry also creates themed gift baskets. For example, a tea basket includes local honey, a teapot, gourmet tea and cookies. Winter farro salad and dressing recipe by Gourmet Pantry.

Sarah Ross Geisen and her mother, Beth, outside the White House (Sarah Ross Geisen)Sarah Ross Geisen and her mother, Beth, were recently chosen to help out. Out of all the Christmas trees at the White House, there’s one that holds special meaning for her. The 2020 Gold Star Family Tree at the White House pays tribute to American heroes and their families who walk beside them in service. Hanging on the Gold Star Family Tree is the name of her late brother, Army Capt. As they worked alongside other Gold Star families hanging ornaments, there was an understanding of the joy and pain in this opportunity to decorate.

ROANOKE, Va. – This time of year is all about giving and a local toy drive is helping make sure children in foster care aren’t forgotten. Multiple organizations are teaming up for the Fostering Joy for Christmas Toy Drive. “We just feel like we can join together and make this thing as big as possible,” said Freddie Johnson the man behind Freddie’s Annual Toy Drive. This comes on the heels of a suitcase drive Spirit of Unity Baptist Church organized for children in foster care. If you would like to learn more about the Foster Joy toy drive, click here.

ROANOKE, Va. – Downtown Roanoke businesses are not just helping you complete your Christmas shopping. They are also providing the community with some traditional sights of the holiday season as several stores around Market Square have decorated their window fronts. The idea behind some of the extravagant displays is to encourage people to shop local this holiday season. “It’s been wonderful even when we were decorating the windows and just putting them up, the people stopping on the street just to say how excited they were to see some beautiful Christmas windows downtown again and to see them in the Heironimus building again,” said Olivia King, a manager at Mast General Store. This is the first Christmas Mast General Store has been open in Roanoke.

WASHINGTON – We can’t say “watch live” because Thursday evening’s broadcast won’t actually be a live lighting of the tree. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump actually lit the National Christmas Tree outside the White House on Monday; however, due to coronavirus restrictions, there was no live audience for this year’s lighting. Instead, beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday, you’ll be able to watch the debut of the virtual 98th National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, which includes a variety of performances and of course, the lighting of the 30-foot Colorado blue spruce that currently serves as the National Christmas Tree. This year, rather than in-person performances, several artists will be performing virtually:

The Architect of the Capitol hosted a ceremony to light the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree on Wednesday. The tree was harvested on Nov. 6 from the Uncompahgre National Forest in Colorado and decorated with thousands of handcrafted ornaments from children in Colorado. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chief of the U.S. Forest Service Vicki Christiansen participated in the ceremony.

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – One New River Valley town is asking homeowners to channel their inner Clark Griswold this month. Christiansburg is hosting its first-ever Light up your Home for the Holidays contest. The idea is to give families an opportunity to drive around and check out different lights in yards across the town. Once all the entries are in, you will be able to vote, starting Dec. 18, for your favorite light display. The town plans to compile a list and map of the entries, so families can do a tour of lights on their own time.

The Hallmark Channel is known for its cheesy but heartwarming Christmas movies. This year, the channel decided to diversify its casts by featuring its first openly gay lead couple. “I’m proud of everyone at Hallmark Channel for making the holiday table bigger and more welcoming and warmer this year,” Bennett told NBC News. The Hallmark Channel vowed in July to put more LGBTQ representation in its content following criticism that the movies lacked diversity. Back in August, the channel showed its first same-sex wedding in the movie “Wedding Every Weekend.”“The Christmas House” premiered on Nov. 22.

DUBLIN, Va – One of the most famous light shows in the New River Valley is set to kick off Friday night. DAK Lights started its light and music show a decade ago in hopes of bringing Christmas cheer to people across Southwest Virginia. Since then the show has grown and expanded to include other holidays like Halloween. The event is starting a little early this year in hopes of bringing some more joy after a long year. The show will run every night from 5:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. at Randolph Park in Dublin through New Year’s Eve.

Santa Claus is coming to town and the only thing he’s spreading is lots of Christmas cheer. According to the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Man in Red is COVID-19 free. Fauci wants to assure those kids that Santa isn’t going to be spreading the infection to anyone. So, get the milk and cookies ready, kids! COVID-19 isn’t stopping Santa from visiting your home this Christmas.

Santa at River Ridge Mall in LynchburgDates and Times: Nov. 21 - Dec. 24 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Bring the family to Explore Park to see all the twinkling holiday lights displays Roanoke County Parks has to offer. Watch holiday lights choreographed to the festive sounds of the season from the comfort of your car. Santa’s Winter Wonderland in RoanokeDates: Dec. 4 - Dec. 24In this drive-thru experience, kids can listen to Santa speak to them via a specific radio station. Annual Christmas Tree Lighting in SalemDate and Time: Dec. 5 at 5 p.m.Join the City of Salem at the Farmers Market Christmas Tree to ring in the season.

The Pelicans are getting Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and a package of future first-round draft picks from the Bucks, the person told The Associated Press. The Pelicans are getting Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and a package of future first-round draft picks from the Bucks, the person told The Associated Press. The trade of Holiday was the second blockbuster involving a point guard since the league allowed transactions to begin again Monday. Holiday is due to earn $25.4 million this season and holds a $26.3 million player option for next season. And it’s now almost certain that the Bucks will have to fill out their roster for this season with several minimum-salary players, since they’ll owe about $86 million to just Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Holiday this season.

Despite an uptick in coronavirus cases nationwide, people are still planning to travel to celebrate the upcoming holidays. “80 percent of all trips for this fall are going to be road trips, and that’s because the cars offer so much security to people,” says AAA’s Jeanette McGee. “You know who’s going to be with you.”If you are planning on traveling, experts say be prepared for crowds and be patient. “Days like Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, Sunday on the return, are going to be the busier days, both at the airports and on the roads,” warns travel expert Jeanenne Tornatore. Regardless of if, where and how you are traveling this holiday season, experts say to follow the three W’s: wear a mask, wait six feet apart and wash your hands.

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – Illuminights is returning to Explore Park for its second season and WSLS 10 is once again a proud sponsor of the Winter Walk of Lights. Crews are hard at work setting up holiday light displays that are sure to dazzle once again this year. More than 500,000 lights will be shining bright with some of last year’s favorites and some new sparklers too. The Winter Walk of Lights will also look much different because of the coronavirus pandemic. Illuminights will also be 15 days longer this year for a 41-night event from Nov. 20 through Jan. 2.

Retailers preparing for the holiday season have more to think about than what’s going to be on sale. “It is making this holiday season incredibly uncertain.”What is certain is that stores will be pushing everything from electronics to toys to fulfill those wishlists. Online shopping is up 100 percent year-over-year and experts say e-commerce will be king. Industry experts say some may go digital. “It’s going to be other retailers that look at where their customers are and adjust their hiring levels.”

And Monday marks Memorial Day, the federal holiday in the U.S. for honoring and mourning the military personnel who’ve died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It’s a great way to show your followers that this day means more to you than just a barbecue or the day off work. Another neat way to honor the ultimate sacrifice is to create an online memorial for a loved one with the Veterans Legacy Memorial Website. If you really want to show your support, hang up an American flag outside your home or perhaps honor the day with a sign or sidewalk chalk in your front yard. That’s likely the easiest way to honor the day while still socially distancing and following CDC guidelines.

ROANOKE, Va. – The Carilion Clinic hosted a public skating session at the Berglund Center on Sunday. The event was held to take in donations of toys for psych and behavioral patients in Roanoke. The cost of skating also was donated to the cause. Organizers said the donations helped to give patients a better Christmas. “We’ve had patients ask for a pack of gum, a pair of socks, so they are really and truly in need of something to pep up their Christmas,” said Carilion Clinic organizer, Betty Parkins.

If you’ve ever been to a holiday cookie swap then you know just how intense and daunting they can be.