What's Going on in Needham and Wellesley: Iraq Vet's Return, Holiday Recipes

Here are just a few of the announcements Needham and Wellesley Patch readers shared this week on Patch: 

Six healthy holiday party foods and recipes - Six healthy holiday party foods and recipes. An expert from Dana-Farber offers you some easy and good-for-you ways to entertain--and stay healthy.

Triple-Impact Competitor Scholarship Finalists - On December 15th, Matthew Bejian and Alyssa Raskind of Needham High School will be recognized as finalists of the Positive Coaching Alliance’s Triple-Impact Competitor Scholarship. The awards are based on essays written by the students explaining how they represent the ideal of the Triple Impact Competitor.

Student Profile: Iraq War Veteran Returns to MassBay - Growing up in North Brookfield, Mass., Kelly Ratcliffe was told by her teachers and guidance counselor that she wasn’t smart enough to go to college. In 2001, she deployed to Camp Page in South Korea, which is where she was stationed when the twin towers in New York City were attacked on 9/11.  She’s now pursuing her Associate’s in Business Administration.

Beat Holiday Over-Consumption Without Going Grinch - When people think of holiday consumption, overeating and overspending are often the two major culprits that come to mind. But there is at least one more, less obvious culprit that many well-intentioned Americans commit: energy overconsumption.