Holiday Guide It might not look the same as years past, but this holiday season still has plenty of fun ways to celebrate, from in-person tree lightings and festive dinners to livestreamed concerts and drive-thru visits with Santa Claus.
Also on the cover, whether you want a festive cocktail or a glass of wine (or both) on Thanksgiving Day, our drinks experts have suggestions, p. 30 & 31. If you’re looking to get out of the house, there’s still live music to be found, p. 40. And if you’d rather stay in, we have plenty of extra puzzles to keep you entertained, starting on p. 43.
Covid-19 updateAs of November 16As of November 22Total cases statewide15,02917,598Total current infections statewide3,3444,199Total deaths statewide500512New cases2,330 (Nov. 10 to Nov ...
Sure, this is a short, but I’m still counting this eight-minute movie about Olaf of the Frozen universe as fair movie game. Here, we see the little journey Olaf (voice of Gad) went on between the time that Elsa, mid- “Let It Go,” conjured him and when he met up with Anna and Kristoff. Maybe you remember, back a million years ago in 2013, how some complained that early trailers had set Frozen up as a slapsticky adventure with a snowman but then the movie wasn’t really that (ha, to have such concerns; were we ever so young?). Well, here’s your slapsticky snowman movie, which gives us Olaf’s proto-nose and explains where the wolves in Frozen came from. It also cracked my slapstick-loving kid up with a “where’s my butt” joke. This is a sweet, probably all-ages-friendly new bit of Frozen-ness. B+Available on Disney+.
*Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe (TV-G)
Voices of Ashley Tisdale, Ali Wong.
While I was aware of the existence of Phineas and Ferb, neither I nor my children had seen an episode of the Disney series before we watched the movie, which I think all of us enjoyed. Maybe me the most. This visual- and verbal-joke-dense world features young teen Candace (voice of Tisdale) and her younger brothers Phineas (voice of Vincent Martella) and Ferb (voice of David Errigo Jr.) in that age-old sibling battle between the kids always doing crazy stuff (Phineas and Ferb) and the kid (Candace) who can’t convince anybody that they are really the ones causing trouble and mess. There’s also a secret agent platypus and a mad scientist and his too-cool daughter (Vanessa, voiced by Olivia Olsen, Candace’s chill friend) and a bunch of Phineas and Ferb’s friends, all with their own weird quirks. But in this adventure, Candace is central to the action; she is kidnapped by a spaceship and taken to a planet where she is told by leader Super Super Big Doctor (voice of Wong) that she is the Chosen One, and what put-upon older sister doesn’t like that? Meanwhile, Phineas and Ferb and their friends try to save her — and convince her that she needs saving. There are also songs, all of which are great.
My younger kids loved the pratfall humor, my older kid liked some of the “little brothers, ugh” bits and I liked the classic The Simpsons mix of pop culture references, smart use of cartoonery and general smart alecky-ness. And, the message is ultimately that families love each other and should stick together, but said with way less sappiness and plenty of kid appeal. A Available on Disney+.
Secret Society of Second Born Royals (TV-PG)
Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Elodie Yung.
And Skylar Austin, of Pitch Perfect fame, who is 33 and playing, essentially, the professorial Giles-from-Buffy-like mentor to the kids in this movie, which is one of many things about this cute adventure movie that will make parents feel old. Lee plays Sam, a second-born royal whose older sister Eleanor (Ashley Liao) is about to become queen of Illyria, their tiny European country. Sam is all about her band with her best friend Mike (Noah Lomax) and being all “the monarchy and rules are lame,” behavior that she thinks is the reason she’s sent to summer school. Really it’s because she, like fellow royals Tuma (Niles Fitch), January (Isabella Blake-Thomas), Matteo (Faly Rakotohavana) and Roxana (Olivia Deeble) (and, it’s suggested, the late Princess Margaret and Prince Harry — ooo, does America have a new superhero?), are second-borns gifted with special abilities that will help them protect and serve their countries. If they pass rigorous training, they will join a secret society of second-borns — and their skills may be even more important now that a dangerous prisoner (Greg Bryk) has escaped an Illyrian prison. Who is this baddie and what does he want? Will the second-borns figure out how to use their powers? Will Sam’s mom (Yung) get off her back about being perfect? This teen superhero movie makes up for what it lacks in story innovation and special effects (there is one special effect in particular that is pretty “yikes”) with likeable characters and pacing that mostly moves the action along (even if my eight-year-old did get bored by some of the emotional drama stuff). BAvailable on Disney+.
All of New Hampshire is now in a “drought disaster,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week. According to a Nov. 20 report from NHPR, the drought has gotten worse, particularly in southeastern New Hampshire, with about 30 percent of the state now in severe or extreme drought, compared to 23 percent in the previous few weeks. The rest of the state is in moderate drought, according to the release, and the conditions could last until the beginning of 2021.
Score: -2
Comment:At least the declaration from the USDA will make emergency funding available to farmers who have lost crops due to the drought, according to the report.
Happy(ish) holidays
Not being able to celebrate the holidays in our own traditional ways is going to be hard for many of us. Sure, we can appreciate the fact that maybe we don’t need to stress about making a big holiday meal, or eating Aunt Sally’s lumpy mashed potatoes or listening to debates about the recent polarizing election results. But many of us are missing out on the good stuff too: the chance to meet a new member of the family (QOL has yet to meet a nephew who was born in August), the taste of Mom’s amazing green bean casserole and the chance to catch up with friends and family we haven’t seen in months other than, perhaps, via a frustratingly glitchy Zoom session.
Score: -2
Comment:QOL agrees with taking any and all safety precautions during these holidays (check out some hints in our Q&A on p. 6), but there’s no denying that it’s kind of a bummer.
Transforming lives
As part of the launch of its annual fundraiser, the Front Door Agency in Nashua is sharing one of its success stories. Through its Transformational Housing Program for single mothers and their children, single mother Danielle and her young daughter now live in one of Front Door Agency’s affordable apartments, and she has used the program’s supportive services to improve her finances and earning potential, according to a press release. She has also earned her associate’s and bachelor’s degrees and is starting to take classes to earn her master’s. “This is not a place where things get handed to you,” Danielle said in the release. “But, if you’re motivated and truly focused on doing better for yourself and your children, you can do it.”
Score: +1
Comment:Eighty-five percent of the single mothers in Transformational Housing have participated in or graduated from an educational program, and 70 percent saw increases in benefits and income, according to the release. “We hope Danielle’s story inspires individuals, businesses and other organizations to give back in a meaningful way,” Agency CEO Maryse Wirbal said in the release.
No. 1 for economic freedom
Last week, the Fraser Institute (an independent nonpartisan research and educational organization based in Canada, according to its website) released its 2020 Economic Freedom Report, ranking New Hampshire as the No. 1 state for economic freedom, according to a press release from the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy. This is the second year in a row that the Granite State has earned that designation. The Fraser Institute’s report measures “the extent to which … the policies of individual provinces and states were supportive of economic freedom…,” according to the release. “This study reaffirms that New Hampshire remains the best state in the nation to live, work, and raise a family — and we’re just getting started,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement.
Score:+1
Comment: Our New England neighbors ranked as follows: Massachusetts (18), Connecticut (25), Maine (37), Rhode Island (43) and Vermont (46).
QOL score: 67
Net change: -2
QOL this week: 65
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Covid-19 news
On Nov. 19, Gov. Chris Sununu issued Emergency Order No. 74, a statewide mask mandate effective Nov. 20 for everyone over the age of 5 in both indoor and outdoor public spaces where social distancing is not possible. The order came on the same day that 529 people in New Hampshire tested positive for Covid-19, the highest single-day total to date. “[This was] obviously a decision that did not come lightly,” Sununu said in a press conference announcing the order. “Many factors were clearly taken into consideration with regards to the data and the impact, and the effect on our citizens and businesses.” The mandate, which will remain in effect through Jan. 15, has a few exceptions, including anyone with a medical condition or disability preventing them from wearing a mask, anyone engaged in strenuous physical activity, or anyone asked to remove a mask or face-covering to verify his or her identity for lawful purposes. Public spaces where masks are required, as recognized by the mandate, include lobbies, waiting areas, outside plazas or patios, restaurants, retail stores, streets, sidewalks, parks, beaches, elevators, restrooms, stairways and parking garages. According to the Associated Press, at least 100 people protested the mask mandate outside Sununu’s home in Newfields on Nov. 23.
On Nov. 20, Sununu issued Executive Order 2020-23, extending the state of emergency in New Hampshire due to the pandemic for another three weeks through at least Dec. 11. It’s the 12th extension he has issued since originally declaring a state of emergency on March 13.
Details of all of Sununu’s Executive Orders, Emergency Orders and other announcements can be found at governor.nh.gov.
The New Hampshire Hospital Association, the New Hampshire Medical Society and the New Hampshire Nurses Association issued a joint statement Nov. 23 in anticipation of the holiday season, asking residents to continue following the public health guidance. “The Governor’s most recent Executive Order requiring Granite State residents to wear a mask when they are unable to maintain social distance is very important and a signal of just how serious this situation is as we seek to slow the spread of Covid-19 and prevent our health care system from being overwhelmed,” the statement read.
Many hospitals have also tightened up their visitor restrictions as case numbers have increased. Catholic Medical Center, for example, announced that as of last week no visitors will be allowed, with the exception of some caregivers in certain circumstances, and it has also put stronger mask requirements in place.
Homeless encampment
On Nov. 20, the state Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice and Safety issued a joint statement regarding the homeless encampment located on state property at the Hillsborough County North Courthouse in Manchester. Signs were posted at the encampment earlier this month ordering everyone to leave by Nov. 16, or they would face penalties. According to the statement, the state had received multiple requests in the past few months from the City, the court system, businesses, legislators and the County Attorney’s Office to remove the encampment. Since then, the statement said, the state has “repeatedly” offered alternative housing and other supportive services to each person living there, including for several days beyond the Nov. 16 deadline. “On Nov. 19, officials from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and local providers approached each one of individuals in the encampment and [offered] housing with accompanying transportation offered by several providers across the state, transportation to stay with family or friends, or relocation to another encampment [as well as] mental health and substance use disorder services,” the statement said. On that day, 27 individuals accepted services and left the encampment; on Nov. 20, individuals were again offered services and were told that if they did not accept, they could either leave the property or would be removed, according to the statement. Six more people accepted services, while three people who chose not to leave were issued summonses for illegal camping. One then left the property while the other two were arrested and charged with criminal trespass, according to the statement. The property has since been cleared and a fence will be put up.
Following these actions, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig issued a statement saying that she had contacted local services, including the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, Families in Transition – New Horizons and the City Welfare Department. “As a result, Families in Transition – New Horizons already filled all of their available beds with people being forcibly removed from the courthouse lawn, and we’re working to find any other options available,” she said in her statement. She said the eviction will disconnect individuals from the services they’ve been receiving for months and noted that “this action from the State is inhumane, causing trauma to individuals with nowhere else to go.”
According to the statement from the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice and Safety, the services offered to people at the encampment on Nov. 19 “were provided by the State of New Hampshire and not the City of Manchester, despite it being the City’s legal obligation under RSA chapter 165 to provide welfare services for those within the City.”
Previously, on Nov. 18, Gov. Chris Sununu sent a letter to New Hampshire’s mayors detailing steps the State has taken to combat homelessness; he also signed an Executive Order to expand the scope and membership of the State’s Interagency Council on Homelessness and renamed it to the Council on Housing Stability, which will update the state’s homelessness plan, with a preliminary report that includes legislative recommendations for the 2021 legislative session due by Dec. 14. “Our focus on homelessness is not new and our philosophy is consistent: housing is not an optional lifestyle commodity, but rather, is an irreplaceable requirement for any form of humane human condition,” Sununu wrote in the letter.
Benefits paybacks
Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes (D-Concord) issued a statement last week after a Union Leader article reported that the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security is seeking to reclaim nearly $25 million from 10,773 people who received unemployment benefits during the pandemic because it says they were overpaid by the state. Feltes said in his statement that the Senate had tried back in March to create legislation to “prevent the clawing back of benefits paid under the emergency orders,” but that legislation was vetoed. “If they are not at fault in causing the overpayment, then they will not be required to repay the benefits,” Rich Lavers, deputy commissioner at Employment Security, told the Union Leader. “However, if they misstated the circumstances of their separation to make themselves eligible or overstated their earnings from self-employment and were paid at a higher benefit amount than is supported by the information in their federal tax return, then they will and should be expected to repay those benefits.”
Mobile classroom
As part of its campaign to promote career and technical education, the New Hampshire Department of Education will be bringing its 35-foot RV, named MAPs (Mobile Access to Possibilities), to the Tanger Outlet in Tilton on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. According to a press release, the mobile classroom will be making stops at shopping areas around the state during the holiday season, offering information about CTE offerings at local high schools and community colleges.
More than a dozen nonprofit organizations in Concord and its surrounding communities received more than 3.5 tons of nonperishable food items from the Capital Region Food Program. According to a press release, the distribution last week included the traditional Year Round Distribution Project foods, plus chickens and turkeys for Thanksgiving.
Manchester’s overnight winter parking ban will go into effect Dec. 1 at 1 a.m., according to a press release. Between 1 and 6 a.m., parking will be allowed only on the odd-numbered side of a street on odd-numbered calendar months and only on the even-numbered side of a street on even-numbered calendar months. There is no on-street parking during snow emergencies; you can be notified of snow emergencies by signing up at manchesternh.gov/snow for automatic email or text.
To kick off the bell-ringing season, a $20,000 donation was made on Nov. 19 to the Salvation Army Holiday Kettle outside the New Hampshire State Liquor & Wine Outlet in Bedford. According to a press release, the check was presented by the Great NH Restaurants charitable trust FEEDNH.org, in partnership with Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
Greater Nashua Mental Health is now home to the Nashua area Mobile Crisis Response Team, according to a press release. The MCRT will provide 24/7 emergency services, including going directly to people in need.
Give thanks and relax It won’t be a typical Thanksgiving this year for most people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy all of the traditional sweet and savory flavors. Local chefs share their tips and recipes for an easier, more relaxed meal to celebrate the holiday.
Also on the cover, a local comics artist tells stories of migrant farmworkers, p. 10. Beer columnist Jeff Mucciarone has some suggestions for the best beers to go with your relaxing Thanksgiving meal, p. 22. And if you’re looking for live, in-person music, check out our Music This Week listings starting on p. 28.
Covid-19 updateAs of November 9As of November 16Total cases statewide12,69915,029Total current infections statewide2,0573,344Total deaths statewide489500New cases1,379 (Nov. 3 to Nov ...
A congressional aide eager to impress and an Air Force captain laser focused (like, possibly to a degree that should warrant some personal examination on his part) on spreading Christmas cheer clash, but flirtily (at least I think that’s what they’re doing) in this Netflix Christmas romance. I think it is also technically a comedy but I don’t specifically recall anything funny happening or being said.
Erica (Graham) is sent to Guam to observe the annual Operation Christmas Drop (a real thing that would probably make for a fun holiday documentary), wherein supplies are brought by air drop by the U.S. Air Force (and allies) to the people living on islands around Micronesia. Her boss, Congresswoman Sourface (Virginia Madsen, who looked like she was given a shot of lemon juice before every scene; also, no, that’s not really her character name), wants Erica to go and write a report that says the whole thing is wasteful and the military base should be closed — which would allow Sourface to keep the base in her district. Pilot Andrew (Ludwig) is picked by his boss to show Erica around, answer questions and make a good argument for the base’s continued existence Because It’s Christmas (there’s also some talk about Guam’s strategic importance but honestly it’s very secondary to the Christmas thing). Because it is required by law, there is immediate friction between the two — he’s surfing, she’s in a suit! — but slowly they bond over the fact that they are both attractive and that It’s Christmas.
This is the kind of movie where the main female character starts off with hair neatly up and ends up with wavy hair even in circumstances where down, wavy hair doesn’t seem like a great idea, like while pushing stuff out of a plane. I feel like even for that kind of movie, though, Operation Christmas Drop could be better. Ludwig and Graham are both attractive people but they have no chemistry with each other nor does the bland “banter” generate any. They also have no general chemistry with the movie; I suspect they’re not given enough to do to really commit and create emotional weight of any kind. C-Available on Netflix.
Holidate (TV-MA)
Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey.
It feels shallow to be all “this one had swearing, sex and sarcasm and I liked it better” but, well, this holiday movie from Netflix had swearing, sex and sarcasm and I liked it a lot better than Operation Christmas Drop. Sloane (Roberts) is knocking on the door of 30 (ha!) and feels like the most pitied member of her family because she doesn’t have a date to bring home with her to family celebrations. Jackson (Bracey) regularly finds himself on holiday dates where the importance of the day has outpaced the seriousness of the relationship. They meet cute at the mall while trying to return underwhelming Christmas gifts and discuss the idea, introduced by Sloane’s aunt (a “having big fun” Kristin Chenoweth), of a standing “holidate” — someone who can attend Easter outings and St. Patrick’s pub crawls but won’t expect any long-term commitment. Naturally, Sloane and Jackson decide to become each other’s holidates and run through the year’s holidays — New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, Cinco de Mayo — while having what they claim is no-strings-attached fun together.
Does this movie write itself? Kinda. But that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable in a satisfying “fun thing on in the background” way, particularly if it is the entertainment to accompany pairing up a pile of winter gloves or cleaning out your purse or some other task. Roberts and Bracey have decent chemistry and seem like a good fit for the mildly zany material. B-Available on Netflix.
A New York Christmas Wedding (TV-MA)
Nia Fairweather, Adriana DeMeo.
In the tradition of It’s a Wonderful Life-type holiday movies, this one finds Jennifer (Fairweather) planning a wedding with David (Otoja Abit, the movie’s writer and director) — or rather, listening to his mother’s over-the-top plans for their wedding to take place on Christmas Eve. Jennifer has a tough relationship with Christmas — years ago she had a big fight with her best friend near Christmas, and both of her parents passed away when she was relatively young. Out on a jog to get away from David and his overbearing mother, she meets Azrael (Cooper Koch), who —if the name didn’t give it away the white outfit and the imperviousness to being hit by a car should — is an angel. Thus, when she wakes up the next morning, Jennifer finds herself in bed not with David but with Gabby (DeMeo), her best friend all grown up and now her fiancee.
I feel like I should say something like “Jennifer has to decide if this is the true path her life should have taken” but there really isn’t much to decide; Jennifer and Gabby are clearly deeply in love and meant to be together.
Much like one of those cakes with wonky fondant and oozy jam on Great British Baking Show, this movie isn’t quite patisserie-window-ready; you can see the lumpy bits and rough patches in the basics of this movie’s construction and in some of the writing. Chris Noth shows up as a priest wrestling with the church’s position on same-sex marriage and his whole plot is both very heartfelt and not quite as well folded into the overall story as it could have been with a few tweaks. There is genuine emotion and sweetness all over this movie even if there are also flaws that a slicker production could have fixed. I’m not sure if the heart totally makes up for all the rough moments, but I feel like if the heart is your focus, this could work for you. B-
