Show Us How You Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Northern Virginia

Show us your best Cinco de Mayo party pictures.

Cinco de Mayo is Sunday, and many Northern Virginians are stocking up on tacos, tequila, and Coronas. Why do we drink all these margaritas, anyway? Cinco de Mayo is a holiday commemorating the Mexican army's victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War in 1862. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Mexican-American culture, complete with parades and parties. How will you be celebrating Cinco de Mayo this weekend? Share your party ideas and events in the comments below, and be sure to upload your best Cinco de Mayo party photos to our gallery by clicking "Upload Photos and Video" above.

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Enter Patch's “Deck the House” Contest for a Chance to Win $100,000

Did you decorate your house for the holidays this year? Enter our "Deck the House" contest and you could win $100,000 for your local school district and $500 to pay your electric bills!

We’re launching our annual Deck the House Contest to find the most over-the-top holiday decorations in America — the best “decked” house in the country —the one home so spectacularly decorated that everyone in town jokes your holiday decorations could rival Rockefeller Center’s. If this sounds like your house, upload a photo or video of your home to our Fairfax City contest page from Nov. 26 to Dec. 16. Only residents of Patch towns are eligible to enter. We’ll select 24 regional finalists, and from them, pick one grand prize winner. Patch will pay up to $500 of the utility bill for each finalist, while our national winner will have $100,000 donated to his or her local school district. Our contest is right around the corner, so now’s the …

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Your Guide to Fairfax City's Festival of Lights and Carols

'Tis the season in Fairfax City this Saturday.

Old Town Fairfax will officially kick off the holiday season Saturday with the Festival of Lights and Carols. "This year’s festival features many exciting events, including music, crafts, singing and the illumination of the Kitty Pozer Garden," the city said in a press release. The Kitty Pozer Garden is already shining. The display, sponsored by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority and Bull Run Festival of Lights, lights up each night starting at 5 p.m. until Jan. 6.  Find a guide to the other festival activities happening this weekend below. All events are free unless otherwise noted. For more information, visit www.fairfaxva.gov or call 703-385-7858. 

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Giving Tuesday: Donate During Holiday Season

After Cyber Monday, City of Fairfax Band Association, Fairfax Library Foundation, Volunteer Fairfax among nonprofits encouraging people to pause their shopping, find a way to help others.

Will donating to charity ever be as popular as shopping during the holiday season? A partnership of nonprofits hopes so. As a follow-up to Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, national and local organizations are asking residents to give back on Tuesday. Several Northern Virginia nonprofits are among those using their websites and social media to kick off the first ever Giving Tuesday. See the full list of participating nonprofits in Fairfax City, Fairfax County and Virginia here. The Giving Tuesday website says the effort, coming on the heels of several days devoted to consumerism, is designed "to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable …

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The 2012 Holiday Book List

Books make great holiday gifts. Give your loved ones these books as stocking stuffers this holiday season.

When you give a child or a teen a book, you are creating a memory that will last a lifetime. What’s more, reading offers so many options. Are you trying to find a book for an early reader? Choose a picture book or a Great Beginner Read from the list below. Does your grandchild love nonfiction? Take a look at the Great Family Reads section. Has your niece read every book known to man? There are some brand new books on this list that she may not have seen yet. Do you struggle to find just the right book to entice your child to read? These selections are sure kid-pleasers that will meet any interest. The ReadKiddoRead holiday gift list has something for everyone: realistic fiction, science fiction, and nonfiction; animal stories, mythology …

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Extreme Thanksgiving Makeover: How to Make Your Leftovers Amazing

Eight recipes to make Turkey Day leftovers into something special!

I love Thanksgiving, the reminder to stop and give thanks, the gathering of friends and family, the changing seasons and fall foliage, but mainly, the food. I love Thanksgiving so much that occasionally, come March or April, I have to bust out some of my favorite Turkey Day recipes, just to get my fix halfway through the year. While I don't intend to eat my Thanksgiving leftovers for days after, I do like to both find new ways to experience my favorite flavors, and use up all the leftovers I have from the big day. Here are some great recipes using Thanksgiving ingredients that will tantalize your taste buds, and make you a leftover genius! "The Bobbie"—I never thought that the old fashioned sub shop that I worked at as a teen in Wilmington…

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Mutts Matter Rescue

Make A Difference This Holiday Season: Help A Pup In Need

Do you love dogs and want to make a difference? Consider becoming a foster family for a rescue dog during the holidays.

I’ve written a few articles over the past two years about fostering dogs, and multiple readers from the Patch community have stepped up to become foster families. It’s great to see more and more people becoming aware of dog rescue, getting involved, and understanding the importance and vital need of fostering. Fostering is the backbone of rescue, and we can only save as many dogs as we have foster families available to welcome them into their homes. It was only a few years ago that I learned about fostering and how it works. Fostering involves opening your heart and home to a pup in need, giving them a safe place to land and some TLC until they’ve found their new home. Some foster pups are easier than others, but all bring great joy and …

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Ladies Night Kicks Off Holiday Season at Garden Center

Merrifield Garden Center will hosts annual event Thursday at all three locations, including Fair Oaks.

There will be wine tastings, appetizers and music for the third annual Merrifield Garden Center’s “Ladies Night,” but the main objective is to kick off the holiday shopping season. From 6 p.m. through 9 p.m. Thursday, women can shop the center’s ornaments, trees and other holiday items. Kevin Warhurst, a manager at the center, said the event will go on simultaneously at their Fair Oaks, Falls Church and Gainesville stores. “It’s been well received and attended,” Warhurst said Monday. “”It’s kind of a fun night. “ The Falls Church store is stocked with bows, ribbons and other must have decorations for the holiday season. Tim Gus, another manager at the garden center, said there have been 4,000 trees ordered for Christmas that will be sold …

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