MBTA Free After 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve

The subway lines will run a modified schedule on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

The MBTA has announced its New Year's Eve schedule. Some highlights include:

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Share Photos and Videos of Your Children Opening Christmas Presents

There's not much better than a child's face when they run to the tree in the morning and start ripping into all the gifts Santa brought them. Share your moments of joy!

There's nothing quite like Christmas morning when you have small children in the house. Let's share those moments here and put a smile on everyone's face with a gallery of Milford kids opening their gifts on Christmas morning. Click the "Upload Photos and Videos" button to add your photo or video to our gallery. Who knows, your kid might go viral like the Nintendo 64 kid (see attached video).

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IMAGE GALLERY: Christmas Pizza Party

Teens and children who attend the Milford Youth Center celebrated with a pizza party Friday at Pizza Chef.

Pizza Chef in Milford invited children, teens and staff from the Milford Youth Center for a pizza party Friday, providing about 20 pizzas for the large, boisterous group. The children opened gifts contributed by donors through the United Way of Tri Counties, including sets of boxing gloves, punching bags, a pogo-stick, teen cosmetics, and other items on their wish lists. Each child submitted a list of three items they hoped to receive, said Jen Ward, program director for the town-run Milford Youth Center, which receives most of its funding from the United Way. In previous years, children sometimes have received just their top choice. This year, the children received all three of their choices, she said. The gifts were distributed quickly, …

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The 12 Best Children's Books of 2012

A list of the best children's books of 2012, from James Patterson's ReadKiddoRead Foundation.

Courtesy of the ReadKiddoRead Foundation Maurice Sendak once said that one of the best things about being a maker of children’s books was that his audience kept being born. It’s true, of course: The great books from years past are brand new to today’s children and teens. But, Milford Patch readers, let’s take a moment at year’s end to recognize the books being published now for our young people. Here’s a quick roundup of a dozen highlights of 2012. (For more, visit ReadKiddoRead.com and check out our reviews.) Great Illustrated Books (Ages 2-5) Llama Llama Time to Share By Anna Dewdney For ages 2-5 When the doorbell rings, Mama Llama welcomes the neighbors – the Gnus. While Mama and Nelly have tea, their two toddlers are left with a boxful…

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5 Things Milford Wants under its Tree for Christmas

What's on Milford's wish list? Here are five. We're sure we missed some, so tell us what we forgot in the comments section.

1. Synchronized lights on Main Street: the lights are new, the sidewalks are new, but the delays and blocked intersections from people running red lights are getting really old. 2. A Taco Bell: Oh, chalupas, how people in Milford miss you. Every time Milford Patch posts a "What should go here?" column, at least three people cry out for a Taco Bell. 3. A new and improved Woodland School: This is a school building that's past its prime. No one is sure what will take its place — a two-story or one-story building, a new addition — but we're optimistic it won't be open concept. 4. Affordable, clean water: More than 300 people can't be wrong. That's how many people showed up last week to tell the state Department of Public Utilities what they …

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UPDATED: Four Houses in Milford are Competing

Four houses in Milford are now competing for the Deck the House award. Will yours join in too?

A little friendly competition never hurts, especially when there’s $100,000 on the line! There are now four Milford entries in the contest. Can you beat them?  If you can't, please vote for one! The contest ends at 8 p.m. Sunday. So if you think your holiday decorations are the best in town, upload a picture of your house and enter our Deck the House Contest. And don’t worry about all those lights racking up the utility bill because if you’re voted a finalist, Patch will give you up to $500 to cover the expense. We know some of you out there may have decorations that aren’t as extravagant as these. That’s OK! We’d still love to have a photo of your house in the gallery so we can show how Milford has awesome holiday spirit. Have fun and …

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Mary MacDonald

11:07 am on Monday, December 17, 2012

Hi Nicole, The finalists will be announced later this week.   more ›

IMAGE GALLERY: Hanukkah is Observed

Hanukkah is being celebrated this week with several events and dinners.

At the Chabad House Jewish Center in Milford, the observance of the second day of Hanukkah began shortly before sundown Sunday. Rabbi Mendy Kivman said a prayer inside, lighting three candles of the Menorah with the symbolic olive oil, before leading everyone outside to light the large Menorah facing Cedar Street. He spoke of the symbolism of candles as a way of fending off darkness. "The way we chase away darkness is by lighting a candle," he said. The eight-day holiday will be observed in Milford this week with a community dinner and events for families. Earlier Sunday, children from Chabad House participated in a "Build a Menorah" worshop at Home Depot in Bellingham. For more information on the events planned, visit www.gotchabad.com/…

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The Week Ahead in Hanukkah Events

Hanukkah begins at sundown Saturday, and continues for eight days. Here are some of the local events planned.

Hanukkah begins at sundown on Saturday, and several area synagogues are planning to hold events beginning this weekend, and throughout the week ahead. Saturday Menorah Lighting at Draper Memorial Park, 6 p.m. Saturday: Temple Beth Shalom in Milford will host a ceremonial lighting of the first candles on the Menorah. The event is open to the public and will include distribution of gold coins and dreidels and other symbols of Hanukkah. Menorah Lighting at Holliston Town Hall, 6:30 p.m. Saturday: The annual lighting of the Holliston Menorah will be followed by a celebration including hot cocoa, Starbucks coffee, Hanukkah treats, and music. The Hanukkah lights are being lit in honor of Rabbi Gabie and Rivky Holtzberg, who were murdered at …

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IMAGE GALLERY: Milford Parade Celebrates Santa

The 25th annual Welcome Santa Parade was on Sunday afternoon.

The 25th annual Welcome Santa Parade thrilled young and old, as always, featuring floats, costumed characters, fire trucks and, of course, Santa Claus. The parade is organized by the Milford firefighters' union and proceeds down East Main and Main streets on the first Sunday of each December.

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