Thanks to the efforts of Galena Park High School students, seven families received a load of holiday food and gifts through the Galena Park/Jacinto City Rotary Club through their annual Christmas Family Drive.

NAM’s Holiday Project reaches over 7,000 people (Cypress Sun)

Northwest Assistance Ministries’ 2008 Holiday Project provided needy families with holiday food at Thanksgiving and in December, as well as gifts for children reaching more than 7,000 people thanks to the support of volunteers, individuals, congregations, organizations and area businesses.

Secret Santa program gives holiday gifts to seniors (Cambridge Chronicle & Cambridge Tab)

Thanks to members of the Cambridge Police Department and the Cambridge Housing Authority, over 100 senior citizens were surprised on Christmas Eve morning with a holiday gift bag or basket filled with holiday treats.

Stores loosen policies to make it easier to return holiday gifts (USA Today)

Stores and their shoppers are viewing after-holiday returns in a whole new light this year. Many retailers recognize that cash-strapped consumers will bring back more gifts than ever and have loosened their return policies.

Study: Online jewelry sales drop 24% this holiday (National Jeweler)

Other categories that showed negative online growth this holiday season include: books and magazines (-1 percent), consumer electronics (-5 percent), flowers, greetings and gifts (-7 percent), toys (-7 percent), computer hardware (-8 percent), home, garden and furniture (-14 percent), event tickets (-18 percent), computer software (-24 percent), office supplies (-30 percent) and music, movies ...