As we plan, plot, dream and dare ourselves to make and achieve bucket list goals, don’t forget the most important part: people. ...

Almost-painless giving, tips to stay warm, and how to get a free photo of a place you're unable to visit because of poor health. We've got a roundup of all that and more for our readers. ...

We eventually saw a non-pet alligator and about two dozen babies, but not their mother. She was nearby, our guide said, but even he didn’t like being around babies without knowing where their mom was. Too dangerous. ...

Too much food. Too much alcohol. Too much everything. It's resolution time; an opportunity to examine the good, and the bad and the too-much in our lives. If alcohol is in the last category, then you'll want to know about Dry January.  ...

A classic “Saturday Night Live” sketch from the ‘70s featured Dan Aykroyd as a smarmy, fast-talking toy executive defending his company’s “Bag O’ Glass” and “Teddy Chainsaw Bear” holiday offerings. Few of us have given our grandkids anything that dangerous — at least, not on purpose. Yet toys that seem perfect may not be safe. Age matters. ...

It’s taken me nearly 50 years to return to a gym. My husband and I recently joined a fitness center so we wouldn’t spend winter evenings pre-napping in front of the TV before heading to bed. There may be worse reasons for joining a gym, but I haven’t heard them. ...

The cardboard boxes, rumpled cartons and plastic containers have handwritten descriptions of the onetime-treasures inside. Ornaments. Nativity sets. Santas. Volunteers with Donna’s Christmas Trees may know what’s inside the donated boxes, but they’ll never know the memories that were once attached to them by someone at some time. They only know — hope —  those same items can make new memories for families in need this year. The Lake County nonprofit is one of hundreds of small Northeast Ohio organizations that do big things with big hearts and little money. ...

Most of us have too much stuff, and that can complicate holiday gift giving. Where do we put all of those things? That’s not a problem with a gift of food; not only do people like receiving food, they also eat it. Storage issue solved. We’ve rounded up a few locally made foods and beverages that are good for giving, either in pre-packaged gift boxes available on the product website or purchased individually and put together in a DIY basket. ...