Holiday

The Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra performs holiday music 3 p.m. Saturday at the Annapolis Area Christian School, 109 Burns Crossing Road in Severn. Admission is free. Call 443-758-3157 for more information.

Consumers plan to spend the same or more than last year on holiday shopping, new consumer research shows. A holiday spending survey by market research firm The NPD Group shows that 10 percent of consumers expect to spend more than last year, while 67 percent plan to spend about the same amount. The percentage of consumers who plan to maintain or boost spending  has grown slightly from NPD's 2011 holiday spending survey. Meanwhile, the share of consumers who will spend less than they did last year is decreasing.

H oliday pictures, with the kids decked out in their red and green finest, might be one of the first things to go by the wayside as parents attempt to care for a critically ill child. But a trio of photographers brought the photo studio to the children Saturday at Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital, where nurses and moms primped and fussed over the children, hiding breathing tubes and the wires from heart monitors in order to get that perfect holiday portrait. And, thanks to the generosity of a program called Help Portrait, the finished pictures will be free.

Baltimore County will offer free metered parking over the holidays, officials said Friday. People can get two hours of free parking every day from Nov. 25 through 27, and the week before Christmas, from Dec. 18 through 24. The move is meant to encourage people to shop locally for the holidays and patronize Baltimore County's restaurants. alisonk@baltsun.com twitter.com/aliknez

I love this idea. Joe Squared at the Power Plant is throwing a 'shared holiday party' on Dec. 10, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. So, let's say you have an office group that wants to get together for the holidays -- but no one wants to do the planning. Or, maybe your company isn't kicking up the cash for a big party. Either way, this would be just the thing. And if you don't like each other all that much, there will be other groups of potentially cooler people to interact with. You can come with friends, family or whomever you want.

The Memorial Day weekend is a great time to pick up a book about the men and women who have helped preserve America's freedoms, and have fought for our country around the world. There are lots of great books on the topic, and some more personal readings such as diaries. For me, the one that resonates is a yellowed map and journal called "The Thunderbolt across Europe," which describes the route my dad's division, the 83rd Infantry, took in World War II. It led from the beaches of Normandy, across France, into Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, and into Germany.

Mall info.: Arundel Mills Mall , 7000 Arundel Mills Circle, Hanover, 410-540-5110 Holiday hours: Nov. 22: Closed Nov. 23: 12 a.m.-10 p.m. Nov. 24: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Nov. 25: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 26-29: 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Nov. 30: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Dec. 1: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Dec. 2: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 3-6: 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Dec. 7: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Dec. 8: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Dec. 9: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 10-15: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. ...

Michael Voltaggio is letting his fans pretend that one of his recipes is their own. Priceless, right? Through a promotion with AT&T called "Gifts That Money Can't Buy," the celebrity chef and "Top Chef" champ, raised in Frederick, has agreed to let people send an e-card featuring one of his recipes. The Voltaggio recipe is just one option people can choose from. There's a joke from comedian Richard Lewis, a fashion top from Joan Rivers, a guitar solo from Richie Sambora and a longing look from Luke Perry.

Motorists crawled along the I-95 corridor Saturday as a smattering of accidents slowed already sluggish holiday traffic, authorities said. Troopers from Prince George's County to Cecil County reported roadways more crowded than normal as the end-of-year travel season got underway. "It's been backed up really heavy all day," said Cpl. Kevin Watkins of the Maryland State Police's John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway barracks in Perryville. Traffic was stop-and-go and averaging only 25 miles an hour most of the day, Watkins said, adding that an accident "makes it even worse.

Baltimore City has rescheduled trash collection day today for residents whose regularly scheduled pickup is Friday, which was a holiday. No bulk trash collection will occur, and all drop-off centers will be closed. Parking meters need to be fed. - Baltimore Sun staff