The Town Beautification Committee held a Holiday Decorating Contest for borough residences in December. The winners were the Herwig and Squire residences. Pictures of the winning homes can be seen on the Macungie website www. macungie.pa.us.

There will be a Family Fun Day 1 to 3 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Macungie Institute. For more information, call 610-966-7830.

There will be a Listen Live Music Open Mic Night 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Macungie Institute.

There will be a Listen Live Music Songwriter in the Round 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26. For more information on either event, call 610-966-6419 or email info@listelivemusic.org.

Grace Lutheran Church will be collecting new and gently used teddy bear stuffed animals through Ash Wednesday. They will be distributed during visits to local nursing homes.

Concordia Lutheran Church will be hosting a chili cook-off 2 p.m. Jan. 27. Cooks and tasters to judge the chili are needed. There will be a talent show during the tasting. If you are interested in submitting chili or participating in the talent show, call the church at 610-965-3265 for further information.

Concordia Lutheran Preschool will have a spaghetti dinner Feb. 2. The preschool and church are located on Brookside Road. Call the preschool at 610-965-3265 for reservations.

There will be a Listen Live Music Open Mic Night 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Macungie Institute.

The Lower Lehigh Lions will meet 6:30 p.m. Jan. 8 and 22 at the Macungie Fire Company.

The Lower Lehigh Lioness Club meets at 12:30 p.m. in Kalmbach Park Jan. 8.

Macungie Fire Company meets at 7 p.m. Jan. 9 at social quarters.

The Macungie Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary meets 7 p.m. Feb. 5 at the fire company.

Macungie VFW Post 9264 meets 7 p.m. Jan. 7 at the post home on Lehigh Street. Note the change in time.

The Ladies Auxiliary of Macungie VFW Post 9264 meets 1 p.m. Jan. 17 at the post home.

Macungie Rod and Gun Club Board meets 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at the club.

Borough Council meets 7:30 p.m. Jan. 7 and 21 at the Macungie Institute.

Macungie Veterans Association meets 8 p.m. Jan. 21 at the post home.

The Macungie Business Revitalization Steering Committee meets 7 p.m. at the Macungie Institute. Call 610-966-2503 for the meeting date.

Macungie Park Association meets 7 p.m. Jan. 22 downstairs in the Main Park Building.

Macungie Senior Citizens meet 1 p.m. Jan. 2 and 16 at the Macungie Fire Company.

Bingo is held weekly on Saturday evenings at Macungie Memorial Park. Doors open at 5 p.m. and games begin at 6:45 p.m. For more information, call 610-966-4289.

Benjamin has renamed "Feliz Navidad" to "Fleece Mommy Duck."

Benjamin's video game time is tightly monitored and he usually has to read and do his jobs before he can play. One day, we were trying to get something done and Matt told Ben he could play games on the computer for 10 minutes. He replied, "But I haven't read yet." Matt said, "That's okay." Benjamin still looked confused. I said, "It's a freebie. You can play." He still looked confused and walked to computer, scratching his head.

The next column will be published Wednesday, Feb. 6; copy deadline is Thursday, Jan. 31.