— Photos by Bobbie Toner

Union Square Main Streets and El Potro Mexican Bar & Grill presented the 9th annual Holiday Stroll on Saturday, December 2, in Union Square. The annual neighborhood tradition featured the Elfie Selfie and Stroll the Square Challenges, as well as the splendid Storefront Decoration Contest and with the incredible inflatables on the Festivus Trail.

A Latinx Arts and Crafts Sale will take place at ROOTED Armory Café on this coming Sunday.

For the first time in Somerville, Nelson Salazar is hosting and producing a Latinx Arts and Crafts Sale at ROOTED Armory Café on Sunday, December 10, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Now that another Christmas is upon us, I thought it would be fun to ask Somerville what their favorite toy ever was. My best gifts were a race car set and a Beatles and an Elton John album. Here are the comments from our friends in the Ville. Here come the comments:

The School Building Facilities and Maintenance Committee met online recently to discuss several items of concern regarding Somerville’s public schools.

By Jennifer Purcell

On Wednesday, November 29, Somerville’s School Building Facilities and Maintenance Committee met via Zoom to discuss several potential changes and improvements to the city’s schools.

By Mandile Mpofu

1. Attend a holiday tree or Menorah lighting

Ring in the festive seasons at this year’s holiday tree and Menorah lighting events where Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Arts Council will light up City Hall concourse. The holiday celebration will include refreshments and entertainment.

By Jason Gutierrez

Sticky, sweet, raw. The Urban Bee Lab’s inaugural Urban Waggle fundraiser hosted Boston’s brightest performers for an evening of honey-saturated stories at Somerville’s Arts at the Armory. The event’s namesake “waggle” dance performed by honey bees to signal nearby food, water, and safety. To the hive, the figure eight motion symbolizes hope, excitement and life.

Kick off the holiday season with the City of Somerville on Thursday, December 7, at 5:00 p.m. at the Holiday Lighting on the City Hall Concourse. Enjoy live entertainment, a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus in the Somerville High School Cafeteria, and light refreshments. All children who attend will receive a special gift from Santa. Santa Claus will be escorted by the Somerville Fire and Police Departments making his grand entrance atop a shiny red fire truck.

On Saturday, December 2, DLJ Developers at Boynton Yards held a family day for the Holiday Stroll in Union Sq. Special thanks to the DPW, Fire Department and the Police Department for bringing their trucks, rigs and motorcycles to the event.

As we get into the snowy months of winter it’s good for all of us to make sure we understand what the odd-even rules are and where we stand this season.

Here is a reminder of what the city’s snow parking rules and guidelines are for the 23/24 winter season:

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These are not your traditional Italian chocolate spice cookies made for the Christmas season, but make a great tradition nonetheless. Over the years this recipe has been adjusted many times and this year’s batch is the best one yet! These light and airy cookies are not too sweet and pack a concentrated dark chocolate flavor. The secret? Espresso.