The Volunteers of America Community Resource Center is looking for donations of gift wrap and gift tags to help it provide gifts to more than 600 people this holiday season. Please drop off donations at the CRC at 9041 Greenwood Ave. N. (home of the Greenwood Food Bank). If you have questions, you can call 206-782-6731.

All branches of the Seattle Public Library will be closed on Friday, Nov. 11, in observance of Veterans Day.

The Greenwood Library at 8016 Greenwood Ave. N. is open today from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. After Friday’s closure, it will reopen from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

A group of Phinney Ridge and Greenwood business owners are looking to get together with other businesses and talk about a holiday marketing strategy.

Specifically, they’re wondering if retail businesses would be interested in staying open a little later on Thursdays in December, to draw in more holiday shoppers.

Sheri Hauser of Tasty, Lynn Gallob of Phinney Ridge Cabinet Company and the Phinney Neighborhood Association are organizing the mixer, which is from 6:30-8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18, at In the Red Wine Bar, 6510 Phinney Ave. N.

Luscious Skin Spa and several other retailers around North 65th Street and Phinney Avenue North have all chipped in for a basket of goodies that they’d like to donate to a deserving family for Thanksgiving, and they’re looking for nominations.

Mari Mamikunian, owner of Luscious Skin Spa, tells us the family doesn’t necessarily need to be someone in dire financial straights, but perhaps just someone who supports the community in many ways and should get some kind of recognition for it.

All of the businesses are participating including Rudy’s, Beachcomber Kid’s Cuts, Agora Foods, Luscious Skin Spa, Hip Zephyr, Home Espresso Repair, Frock Shop, Mae’s Cafe, Will’s Espresso and Cassandra Johnson with Sweet Pea housecleaning service. So there’s something for the whole family to enjoy: haircuts for Dad, a facial for mom, haircuts for the kids, breakfast for the whole family, a treat from Agora Foods, Hip Zephyr and the Frock Shop, espressos from Home Espresso Repair and to top it all off a 2 hour house cleaning!

Please send your nominations for a deserving family to Mari at brigitt12@yahoo.com by October 30. You will be notified if your nominated family was selected in mid-November just in time for Thanksgiving. Thank you helping us to select a family!

Seattle Public Utilities is reminding people that all that wrapping paper is recyclable, even if it has some tape on it. You can also recycle clean paper and plastic cups, as well as aluminum foil and foil trays without food residue.

You’ll probably have extra recycling this time around, so put extra in a cardboard box and set it next to your recycling container (don’t put it in plastic bags). Flatten extra cardboard boxes.

And all food leftovers should go in your yard waste bin to be composted, not put in your garbage can. 

Leftover fruitcake isn’t garbage anymore! According to SPU, 30 percent of Seattle’s garbage is made up of food waste. Put your leftover fruitcake, Christmas ham, nutshells, pumpkin pie, paper napkins, pizza boxes and other leftovers in your food and yard waste cart to make compost for local parks and gardens. For tips on storing and carrying scraps from kitchen to cart go to www.seattle.gov/util/foodwaste. Consider donating non-perishable food to your local food bank.

However you choose to celebrate the holiday today, we hope it’s a merry one for you.

Woodland Park Zoo animals will get special holiday treats such as fish- or fruit-trimmed wreaths, evergreen trees with ornamental fruit, or favorite snacks in wrapped boxes during the Winter Celebration on Dec. 20-22 and Dec. 27-29.

Photo by Dennis Dow.

Here’s the animal and treat schedule.

Monday, Dec. 20 and 27:

11 a.m. – Sun bears
12 p.m. – Grizzlies (12/20 only), meerkats (12/27 only)
1:30 p.m. — Pigs
1:30 p.m. — Meerkats (12/20 only), Tree kangaroo (12/27 only)
2 p.m. – Elephants

Tuesday, Dec. 21 and 28:

11 a.m. – Orangutans
12 p.m. – Otters (12/28 only)
1 p.m. – Golden lion tamarins
1:30 p.m. — Tree kangaroo (12/21 only)
2 p.m. — Tigers

Wednesday, December 22, 29

11 a.m. – Snow leopards
1 p.m. – Gorillas
1:30 p.m. – Penguins
2 p.m. – Australasia keas and Willawong Station

The Zoo is closed Christmas Day.

The Greenwood Senior Center, 525 N. 85th St., is hosting a free Christmas dinner for everyone at 2 p.m. Dec. 25. If you’re able to pay, the suggested donation is $5 for GSC members, $7 for non-members. Please RSVP by Wed., Dec. 22nd: 206-297-0875.

If you’re still looking for holiday gifts, stop by the Eco-Chic Holiday Expo at the Phinney Neighborhood Center on Saturday. The expo is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 6532 Phinney Ave. N. and features more than 20 local, eco-friendly companies. Food will be available from Street Treats and Got Soup?

We’re thrilled to report that local kids décor designer MyOctopotamus will be on hand at the Eco-Chic Holiday Expo to help kids create their own eco-friendly Mini Felt Wreaths! Kiddos will enjoy a cozy craft area with music while they use eco-felt scraps to create a mini wreath. Felt wreaths make great gifts, decoration and trimming for wrapped gifts. They’re tres eco-chic as they double as bracelets!

The Giving Trees for the needy at the Phinney Neighborhood Center and Greenwood Senior Center still have plenty of tags left with wish lists for Christmas. This year the PNA is looking for gifts for more than 400 people. And they tell us that because of the winter storm before Thanksgiving, they were late in getting the trees up, so lots of gift tags are left.

You can help by picking up a tag from the Giving Tree at either the Phinney Neighborhood Center at 6532 Phinney Ave. N., or the Greenwood Senior Center at 525 N. 85th St. Record your tag in the book, and return your wrapped gift with the tag attached to the Phinney Center by Monday, Dec. 10.

Gifts are being collected for the following organizations: Dorothy Day House, FamilyWorks food bank, Broadview Emergency Shelter, Childhaven Therapeutic Childcare Program, and Whitman Middle School.

St. John’s Catholic Church’s Christmas tree sale this weekend will benefit Noel House and its overnight shelter at St. John’s. The sale is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, and runs Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. John’s school playground, 121 N. 79th St.

Available trees will include 6 to 7-feet tall Noble ($56) and Douglas Firs ($34). Nobles from 8-10 feet tall start at $65.

The first day of the Phinney Neighborhood Association’s annual Winter Festival and Crafts Fair brought out the crowds to look for holiday gifts today.

The 30th annual fair featuring 120 juried craft booths is open again Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There’s also a bake sale, quilt raffle, live entertainment, and lunch for sale. Admission is $2 for PNA members, $4 for the general public, plus a can of food for the Greenwood Food Bank. Children 12 and under are admitted free.

Here’s a look at the giant quilt.

And here are some additional pictures.