How to Request Toys for Tots in Western Pennsylvania in 2021

Toys for Tots Pennsylvania

This is our annual (9+ year) round-up of Toys for Tots programs in Western Pennsylvania for 2021. I’ve done my best to sort through the available information and provide you what you may need to know. PLEASE click through to the applicable link to doublecheck the details. I will update as information becomes available. Some […]

Dear David. Turkey Week Edition, 2020.

David DeAngelo Pittsburgh

Dear David, This used to my favorite week of the year – Thanksgiving week. Shortened school/work week, good food, no worries about gifting, the “bonus” of Friday off and more. It wasn’t so much my specific (lack of) family traditions as the idea of having so much freedom, so much indulgence, and so little knowledge […]

How to Request Toys for Tots in Western Pennsylvania in 2020 – UPDATED

Toys for Tots Pennsylvania

This is our annual (8+ year) round-up of Toys for Tots programs in Western Pennsylvania for 2020. I’ve done my best to sort through the available information and provide you what you may need to know. PLEASE click through to the applicable link to doublecheck the details. I will update as information becomes available. Some […]

E! the Dragnificent: ‘Celtic Woman’ performance with PSO stirs feelings of warmth and the meaning of Christmas

Celtic Woman The Best of Christmas Review Pittsburgh

Our youth (and drag) correspondent, E! the Dragnificent recently covered the Celtic Woman holiday concert at Heinz Hall. She and her father attended the performance. ~ Sue   The Celtic Women’s performance was an amazing night of Christmas tunes with a traditional Celtic sound! There were four women on stage in beautiful red sparkly gowns, […]

Q&A with Creator of ‘Good Luck With The Holidays’ Queer Resilience Zine

Queer Resiliency Zine Pittsburgh

I hope the message of our zine is that safety and joy come first, and that you absolutely deserve both as an LGBTQ person. It’s not always easy to see that when the message you’re getting from your family is that you aren’t allowed to participate in holidays and family unless you censor your queerness to make others comfortable.

Review: A Christmas Carol at Carnegie Stage Gets Dickens Right

Spoiler – this adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic gets everything right about the systemic and institutional issues Dickens addressed without the sentimental Christmas washing we are usually handed. The playwrights here understand, as I like to say, that it wasn’t so much that Scrooge’s change of heart saved Tiny Tim as that fair wages, […]

Happy Holiday Eve! Bring on the Sushi …

Holiday Sushi

Anticipation can be a lovely thrill. Nothing thrills so much as being smack up against a beloved holiday with only ‘one sleep’ between you and satisfaction. Something I learned early in adult life is that the people without children are very far down the list in terms of whose needs are taken into consideration. We […]

My Family History Christmas Edition: Grandma’s Date Nut Pudding Recipe

Date Nut Pudding Handwritten Recipe

For most of my childhood and young adulthood, my paternal grandmother baked these puddings for Thanksgiving and Christmas. She made one per household for her three adult children, one for her own household, and one for the family meal. She may have baked more on occasion as a gift for a friend or hairdresser or […]

Five Bright Spots in My Thanksgiving

Our holiday was perfectly fine. The food was great, the family was all there, etc. But I feel like there was a lackluster veneer between me and everyone else. I’m sure part of that is depression over the menstrual period I’ve been having for two solid months as it sucks all the good out of […]

Holiday Cards for LGBTQ Elders, Youth

Holiday Projects Pittsburgh

We are once again gearing up to help our LGBTQ neighbors during the holiday season. This year we are highlighting several organizations conducting their own holiday drives. Please give what you can to help those who need our support. Of course, financial gifts to any LGBTQ organization are very welcome, but we know that some […]