holidays

Toys for Tots, the 80-year-old program run by the U.S. Marines, is seeing toy donations down by almost 20% this year. Staff Sergeant Christian Martinez was once the recipient of one of those toys. Now, as coordinator of the Kansas City chapter of Toys for Tots, he's worried that other little boys won't get the same joy he did.

Nothing beats a handmade gift infused with your love. For those who feel comfortable DIYing, here are six places in Kansas City to make a one-of-a-kind gift.

Every year just before the holidays, Scouting America troops across the country collect food items for local pantries, right off our front porches. It’s an effort started 40 years ago from here in Missouri.

The Country Club Plaza holiday lighting ceremony is a beloved Thanksgiving tradition in Kansas City. But even many lifelong residents don’t know that the lights actually turn on a day earlier, in a 2 a.m. test run that draws its own small crowd of onlookers.

The Kansas City Aviation Department expects nearly 400,000 people through the airport during Thanksgiving week, meaning an increased chance of local infections. One local group is helping travelers take proper precautions.

Scouting for Food became a national Scouting America program in 1988, expanding across the country as thousands of scouts collectively gathered hundreds of thousands of pounds of shelf-stable goods for food insecure residents in their local communities.

On Thanksgiving, families will have plenty to debate: politics, football...and pie? Americans also have strong opinions on whether to enjoy pumpkin or sweet potato pie on Thanksgiving. Plus: Holiday get-togethers are on the way, and if you’re looking for fun things to do, you might consider a new card or board game.

Kansas City small businesses need your support, so this year, head to your talented neighbors and spend your dollars where they matter the most. Here's where you can find handcrafted goods, local art and unique gifts for your loved ones.

Gwen Ottenberg, owner of Imagine That Toys in Wichita, has been selling games for more than 25 years and playing them even longer.

Kansas City's options for dazzling, and free, fireworks shows on July 4 include the Stars and Stripes Picnic at the National World War I Museum and Memorial. But you'll find even more festivities throughout the metro, and across the whole holiday weekend.

Muslims around the world are celebrating the holy month of Ramadan. Three members of Kansas City's diverse Muslim community talk about the ritual of daily fasting, teaching the traditions to their children and the experience of community — all part of Ramadan.

The Crown Center Ice Terrace was recently named one of the top ice skating locations in the country. For 52 years, families, friends and the newly-in-love have taken to the ice at Kansas City’s only public outdoor ice skating rink, which runs all the way into March.