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If you're looking for branded goods then Home Bargains and Amazon both have you covered, and both regularly sell big-name products far below the RRP. We went and filled a basket with branded goods in Home bargains, and then did the same on Amazon. This was the price difference. Pedigree Dog Christmas stocking, 367g A selection of Dentastix, Tasty Minis, Rodeos and a Jumbone £3.49 £7.70, or £7.31 with Subscribe and Save (through third-party sellers) This is a clear win for Home Bargains. This may be down to the only Amazon sellers bringing third-party, and not being as competitive as the main company. Either way, Rover will be glad you went to Home Bargains (maybe get him or her two to celebrate). Pedigree Dog Food, Chunks in Jelly, 385g : £5.99 for a pack of six tins (£1 a tin) £20 for four six packs of tins, or £17 with Subscribe and Save (that's 24 tins, so 83p each, or by subscribing it's 70p) This one is a win for Amazon - if you don't mind buying in bulk. I also spotted an extra voucher on offer, for an additional 10% odd the first Subscribe and Save order on this, and that would bring the price down to 63p on that first order. These vouchers are 'stackable' so you get the discounts combined. Cadbury's Wispa, 4 pack of bars, 102g £1.65 £3.96 (based on equivalent values) The verdict: Another clear win for Home Bargains. This was only available in a bundle of three packs of four, so 12 bars in total, for £11.90 regular price, or £11.30 for Subscribe and Savers, again sold by a third party but dispatched by Amazon. The price difference per bar is 99p vs 55p. Heinz Beans, 415g, six can multipack Home Bargains: £4.75 or two for £8 Amazon: £4.75, or £4.04 with Subscribe and Save The verdict: Prices are tied here for regular shoppers, but if you eat a lot of beans, it pays to either select Subscribe and Save or for the best deal of all, buy two packs from Home Bargains, working out at £4 each. Domestos Bleach spray, 700ml £1.89 1.95, or £1.66 Subscribe and Save Again, this is a very close call, but Subscribe and Save is the way to buy this yet again if you want a bargain. Fairy Non-Bio washing liquid capsules 58 pods for £12.49 (21p each) 108 pods for £23, or £19.55 Subscribe and Save (21p and 18p each) This is a close call when you look at equivalent values, but for many shoppers, £23, or £19.55, is a big outlay all at once, and they may not have space to store a bulk pack of pods. Surf laundry powder, Tropical Lily, 1.15kg £3.49 £3.50 This works out as a penny difference, with both coming in at around £3.04 per kilo. Amazon does have a better value option, but it's for a huge 6.5kg box, which comes in at £14.53 (£2.24/kg) or 12.35 for Subscribe and Save (£1.90/kg). This means you'd need a big, dry storage space. On the upside, it's delivered free so there's no issue with carrying it back from the shops. Yorkshire Tea £5.49 for 210 bags (2.6p a bag) £18 for 600 bags, or £15.30 Subscribe and Save for 600 (3p or 2.5p a bag) This is another one where they don't sell the exact same sizes. Also, think about the initial outlay - do you have a spare £15 for tea, and where would you keep 600 tea bags? Also, would cup number 599 taste as good as the first one? Overall verdict There are winners and losers in both camps here, but it's worth considering bulk deals for both - whether that's buying two multipacks of beans or looking at Subscribe and Save. The best bargains are to be had on volume purchases. Saying that think about where you'd store it all and if you'd get through it before it goes off - it's only a bargain if you use it all. Similarly, it can be a big outlay, and it's not worth getting into debt when you're trying to find a good deal. Also think about your own brands - lots of the supermarket and shops' value ranges are just as good, so try switching brands and see if you notice a difference. Mostly it's horses for courses - head to Home Bargains for pet products, smaller volumes and chocolate, and look at Amazon for big, bulk purchases. Best of all, check out your local independents too, they can offer the best deals of all, and you know more money stays in your local community.ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Maddie Zimmer and Ilse Tromp both had two goals and an assist in the first half and Northwestern beat Saint Joseph's 5-0 in the championship match of the NCAA Division-I women's field hockey tournament at Phyllis Ocker Field on Sunday. It was the second championship for the second-seeded Wildcats (23-1-0), who have played for the title in four straight seasons. Northwestern beat Liberty 2-0 in 2021 before losing to North Carolina the past two seasons. No. 4 seed Saint Joseph's (20-4-0) was in uncharted waters with its first trip to the final. The Hawks eliminated top-seeded North Carolina in the semifinals to advance. The Tar Heels have won the championship in half of their 22 trips to the final. Northwestern grabbed the lead 6:25 into the first quarter when Zimmer used an assist from Tromp to score. Zimmer had an assist on Olivia Bent-Cole's eighth goal of the season for a 2-0 advantage, and Tromp found the net with 25 seconds left with assists from Lauren Hunter and Ashley Sessa for a 3-0 lead. Hunter and Sessa again had the helpers on Zimmer's 10th goal of the campaign, and Hunter and Regan Cornelius assisted on Tromp's 11th goal of the season 2:42 later for a 5-0 lead at halftime and that was that. Annabel Skubisz finished with her school-record 14th shutout of the season for Northwestern. Zimmer and Tromp are the second duo to score multiple goals for their school in a championship match. Zimmer was named the tournament MVP. It was the second championship for Wildcats coach Tracey Fuchs. Northwestern joins North Carolina and Old Dominion as the only schools to reach the championship match in four straight seasons. Six schools have won multiple titles.
Bjork is 'absolutely' confident that Day will return next year at Ohio StateRALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday vetoed a Hurricane Helene relief bill that also included sweeping changes to the power and authority structures for several state leaders and agencies. Senate Bill 382, which lawmakers passed last week, was originally expected to primarily address ongoing disaster relief efforts for the impacts of the devastating storm that hit Western North Carolina in September. But when lawmakers unveiled the bill just hours before the first vote on it, it included far more than relief measures. Among several other changes, the Republican-drafted bill would strip the state’s next governor, Democrat Josh Stein, of the power to appoint members of the State Board of Elections and instead give the authority to the next auditor, Republican Dave Boliek. It would prevent the state’s next attorney general, Democrat Jeff Jackson, from taking positions on behalf of the state that are “contrary to or inconsistent with the position of the General Assembly,” which has Republican majorities in both chambers. The lieutenant governor and state superintendent would also lose some authority. The bill would set aside $227 million for the state’s Helene relief fund, but it does not appear to spend all of that money. It would provide $25 million to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for debris removal, $2 million for technical assistance to soil and water conservation districts in affected areas and $200 million split between two separate loan programs. Cooper, a Democrat, called the bill “a sham” and said “it does not send money to Western North Carolina but merely shuffles money from one fund to another in Raleigh.” Three Republicans in the state House, all representing western parts of the state, voted against the bill. No Senate Republicans followed suit. Cooper’s veto of SB 382 marks his 12th this year, and lawmakers so far have overridden all 11 previous vetoes. Rep. Destin Hall, whom House Republicans elected last week to succeed Tim Moore as speaker of the House in the next legislative session, said last week that he was confident that his chamber would have enough votes to override Cooper’s veto of the bill, which requires a three-fifths majority. Lawmakers are expected to return to Raleigh on Monday. Non-Helene measures in bill The bill would also: •Significantly reduce the amount of time voters are given to fix issues with their provisional ballots and require counties to finish counting all provisional ballots on the third day after Election Day, a process that took nearly two weeks this year. •Make the the State Highway Patrol into a standalone department, rather than a subset of the N.C. Department of Public Safety, and require the governor’s choice for Highway Patrol commander to be approved by lawmakers. •Eliminate the positions of two Superior Court judges after their terms expire, including a Democrat who threw out two amendments to the North Carolina Constitution that voters approved in 2018 — one on voter ID and another to cap the state income tax rate. •Require the governor to fill any vacancies on the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals from a list of people recommended by the leaving judge’s political party. •Allow donations from corporations, business entities and labor unions to be used to fund legal actions for political parties. •Shift control of the state Utilities Commission away from the governor. •Require an extra step before the attorney general’s office can intervene in matters before the Utilities Commission, such as cases over how much Duke Energy’s utilities can charge for electricity. •Prevent incoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green, a Democrat, from appealing decisions made by the N.C. Charter School Review Board. Cooper criticized those measures and others in the bill on Tuesday, saying the legislation “plays politics.” “This legislation was titled disaster relief but instead violates the constitution by taking appointments away from the next Governor for the Board of Elections, Utilities Commission and Commander of the NC Highway Patrol, letting political parties choose appellate judges and interfering with the Attorney General’s ability to advocate for lower electric bills for consumers,” he said in a statement. Cooper also noted that the bill did not provide grants for small businesses in the disaster-affected counties, calling the move a “cruel blow.” Local business owners and officials from Western North Carolina had advocated for state legislators to fund grants over loans, with Buncombe County Democratic Rep. Eric Ager noting in a press conference last week that it could be difficult for businesses to pay back loans. Ager and other Democratic legislators from the western part of the state criticized the bill for its relative lack of Helene-related funding combined with the additional measures it included. Democratic Rep. Julie Mayfield, also of Buncombe County, questioned why the Helene measures weren’t included in their own bill, separate from the other provisions. Hall told reporters the measures were combined into a single bill because the state had already provided “about a billion dollars in Helene relief.” Lawmakers previously appropriated about $877 million for Helene recovery in two separate relief bills. Republican Sen. Ralph Hise, who represents several counties in Western North Carolina, said during floor debate over SB 382 last week that considering additional funding measures in December would depend on congressional actions. ---------- Reporters Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi, Adam Wagner, Kyle Ingram, Avi Bajpai and Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan contributed. -------- ©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit at charlotteobserver.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
NoneXavier Robinson had a five word response to playing LSU on Saturday
Mega Millions jackpot reaches $489M ahead of Thanksgiving: When's the next drawing?1 2 3 4 Guwahati: Festive spirit is almost palpable in Guwahati as every shopkeeper finds themselves at their creative best, striving to entice customers with exclusive products and eclectic themes. This stands in stark contrast to earlier years when the festival was celebrated in a more subdued manner. Stores have decked out their items, and people are allowing their senses to be overwhelmed by the festive discounts offered by sellers. Currently, sellers have started stocking up on a variety of Christmas items to cater to different budgets. Christmas trees range from Rs 150 to Rs 1,500, while stars are priced between Rs 20 and Rs 800. Masks start at Rs 30 and go up to Rs 250. Both wreaths and mini-sized pinecones, commonly used for decorating front doors, are priced from approximately Rs 300 to Rs 2,000, depending on their sizes. Pompons, decorative balls, streamers, ribbons, stuffed toys, and Santa pencils are among the regular additions. Interestingly, the investment and creativity have also expanded to electronic Santa dolls , snow-themed fluff balls, and dolls, bringing immediate monetary returns. "Our electronic Santas, ranging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 a piece depending on the size, were a new addition and have been sold off like hot cakes. Their utilization is mostly by resorts and malls to attract customers. Having such a festive mood is good business for us," says Rajesh, a salesman from Fancy Bazar locality. Meanwhile, citizens who have spent considerable time in the city recall that in earlier years, Christmas celebrations were quite mellow, and the recent extravagance is attributed to electronic media and themed business ventures. Utpal Dutta, a film critic and resident of the city, said, "In the past, Christmas was primarily celebrated within the Christian community, marked by the exchange of greeting cards wishing both ‘Merry Christmas' and ‘Happy New Year'. However, over the years, the celebration has grown in influence, driven by the rise of satellite television, the emergence of shopping malls, and the impact of social media, capturing the interest of the younger generation practicing different faiths." Sharing a similar thought, another resident, Banashree Dutta Roy said, "The celebration today stands in stark contrast to how it was during our time. In the past, marketplaces were decorated with fairy lights and handmade ornaments, while bakeries filled the air with the comforting aroma of freshly baked cakes, creating a warm, communal atmosphere. There were no hi-tech or fancy toys back then to attract customers. Its popularity has grown in the past 10-20 years." Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword . Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes , messages , and quotes .
TV Don't miss out on the headlines from TV. Followed categories will be added to My News. Clive Robertson was, or so this writer was warned three decades ago after laughably being appointed his publicist, a difficult, petulant, curmudgeon. What my bosses at Channel 9 failed to also mention, though possibly didn’t know, was that Robertson – who died this week aged 78 – was also a lonely man looking for love. This became clear to me during a meeting with Robertson in 1991 when he informed me that if I were to play my cards right, I might one day be lucky enough to become his wife. At the time I was 23, wide-eyed and new to television and its eccentric and spoilt characters. Despite my relative inexperience, I figured it was safe to assume this “proposal” was something Robertson extended to all the young female publicists charged with hunting him down in his sagging tucked-out-of-the-way office on Nine’s vast Sydney compound to discuss promotional opportunities. Legendary broadcaster Clive Robertson who died this week aged 78. Back then Nine, with its thriving news division which produced the highest rating news and current affairs programs on Australian television, was a vibrant place to be. This was the period after media magnate Kerry Packer bought back the television company from Alan Bond and issued an edict for management to rein in the excesses previously enjoyed under Bond. Among day-to-day changes was a booze ban that saw kitchen fridges across the network emptied of their traditional stock of wine and beer. For the first time in years, I was informed, Nine staff were, by and large, more sober than they’d been during daylight hours for a long time (though none would have been bold enough to call it a “culture review”). Despite the sobriety, the place was still a hive of sexism and sexual misconduct though most of the company’s incorrigible sex pests, gardener Don Burke included, were usually on their best behaviour when first introduced to a new employee, which I then was. With everyone on their best behaviour, it came as a surprise when I managed to navigate my way through the warren of back lanes to Robertson’s office in a nearby cottage only to find myself confronted by a worrying heap at the broadcaster’s door. A humble doorstop can convey any manner of insights into a person. Robertson pictured in his office in 1989 was known to have a pile of Penthouse and Playboy magazines as doorstops. An award or trophy might be interpreted as pretentious or a humble brag, a rock as earthy or thrifty, a purpose-made hardware store wedge as functional and boring. The doorstop in service at the door of the man who had famously parried with the likes of respected women broadcasters Caroline Jones and Margaret Throsby on ABC radio in the 1970s and ’80s and whose on-air banter was considered by many to be brilliant, acerbic, amusing, droll or deeply philosophical was a foot-high pile of porno magazines. Even in those unenlightened pre-HR department days, the sight of a pile of Playboy and Penthouse magazines sitting on the ground in a news department office was an unusual sight. It’s hard to know what Robertson, whose late night news program, The World Tonight had replaced Graham Kennedy’s Coast to Coast in the 10.30pm slot, was hoping to convey with this risque statement. The twice-married and twice-divorced commentator might have been advertising the fact he was straight. His predecessor, Kennedy, was gay. The twice-married and twice-divorced commentator was in fact a teetotal. Robertson had replaced predecessor Graham Kennedy. I found myself wondering if he might have been trying to make a friend by proffering his dirty magazine collection to the largely all-male production crew, though as I later discovered he had little in common with them as he hated sport and was teetotal. Certainly he was making the statement he didn’t care who he offended, although as I soon realised this statement was largely at odds with the man who wore his loneliness as a badge. Our weekly publicity meetings in his cluttered and shambolic office fell into a routine. I’d step around the porno mags and arrive with a slate of interview requests from newspapers, radio and industry titles, along with the occasional marketing request from the bosses upstairs who mostly seemed to go out of their way to avoid him, and the penny-pinching Robertson would knock back almost everything on the list while arguing he was only interested in paid work opportunities. He was by then raking in big money after having made his name in radio from 1967 and later finding fans on commercial radio and then television in the decades that followed. By the mid ’80s, Robertson was a bona fide television star on Network Ten’s Beauty and The Beast where he seemed at home among a women-only panel. That success preceded an offer from Seven to host 11am and then a lucrative offer from Nine in 1989. Robertson was a bona fide television star on Network Ten’s Beauty and The Beast before his move to Channel 9. Within two years his star was on the wane however at Nine where he had earned the reputation of being a grumpy slob. Despite this, he seemed happy to have my company, if only for about 30 minutes a week. During these meetings Robertson shared something of himself while knocking back pretty much everything work-related I proposed while simultaneously acknowledging the ratings threat posed by Channel 7 funnyman Steve Vizard, host of Tonight Live , in what became the last great days of duelling late night talk shows on Australian commercial television. Robertson was once married to actor Penny Cook. Picture: John Appleyard Cook played the role of Victroria ‘Vicky’ Dean on popular show A Country Practice Picture: Channel 7 He spoke with bitterness about his failed marriage to actor Penny Cook, the star of soap A Country Practice , who had broken his heart by leaving him (possibly through an open bathroom window if memory serves me) and proclaimed himself to be a world-class cuddler, something I never put to the test. He frequently lamented the fact he hadn’t had a date in years and on one occasion said, as I imagine he did to any woman who gave him the time of day, that “if you play your cards right, you could be the next Mrs Robertson” – a role no woman after Cook would ever again fill. After leaving Nine in 1992, he returned to the radio airwaves where he remained in demand on stations including 2DAYFM, 2UE, 2SM, ABC Classic FM and also in Adelaide and Perth. An unlikely romantic, Robertson died this week aged 78 following a battle with cancer. More Coverage Aussie TV show explodes, HR called in Annette Sharp Reason Sam Armytage split from husband Annette Sharp Originally published as Media legend’s office porn magazine collection and proposal to former staffer More related stories TV Nine veteran ‘nudged towards exit’ One of Nine’s biggest stars, also one of the oldest working entertainment reporters, has addressed “whispers” of a massive paycut and pressure to call it quits. Read more Breaking News TV host’s tearful send-off after 15 years Tributes have poured in for outgoing ABC News Breakfast host Michael Rowland during his final show after almost 15 years on the job. Read more
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However, the ECB’s decision is good news for the estimated 127,000 Irish people with tracker mortgages. Following a period of steep rises between 2022 and earlier this year, the interest rate on trackers reached over 4 per cent last June. Following the latest cut, the rate will average 3.1 per cent. Over 700,000 mortgage holders are either on fixed-rate or variable-rate mortgages and will be largely unaffected by the latest move. However, the rate cut is not such good news for savers. For a decade leading up to 2022 Irish depositors got a minimal return on their savings as the main ECB rate was at 0 per cent. From 2022, the returns on deposits started to rise as monetary policy tightened. At the end of October, there were € 159.1bn in deposits held by Irish households. But the outlook is once again bleak. It is expected that the ECB could cut rates to 1.75 per cent over the next year. Overall though, the backdrop to yesterday’s rate cut is deeply concerning. French borrowing costs have soared due to political instability following the collapse of Michel Barnier’s short-lived premiership last week. The German economy is teetering on the brink of recession amid ongoing political instability. Far-right parties are making gains across many member states and there is a looming threat of a trade war once Donald Trump takes over the White House. In September, Mario Draghi, the former president of the ECB, released a report on boosting EU competitiveness. He called for a series of far-reaching reforms and annual investment of €700bn to put the EU on a competitive footing with China and the US. So far little action has been taken, despite repeated warnings from the ECB. The bank’s latest cut and dovish outlook should act as a wake-up call for all member states, including Ireland.
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Jonah Goldberg Among elites across the ideological spectrum, there's one point of unifying agreement: Americans are bitterly divided. What if that's wrong? What if elites are the ones who are bitterly divided while most Americans are fairly unified? History rarely lines up perfectly with the calendar (the "sixties" didn't really start until the decade was almost over). But politically, the 21st century neatly began in 2000, when the election ended in a tie and the color coding of electoral maps became enshrined as a kind of permanent tribal color war of "red vs. blue." Elite understanding of politics has been stuck in this framework ever since. Politicians and voters have leaned into this alleged political reality, making it seem all the more real in the process. I loathe the phrase "perception is reality," but in politics it has the reifying power of self-fulfilling prophecy. Like rival noble families in medieval Europe, elites have been vying for power and dominance on the arrogant assumption that their subjects share their concern for who rules rather than what the rulers can deliver. Political cartoonists from across country draw up something special for the holiday In 2018, the group More in Common published a massive report on the "hidden tribes" of American politics. The wealthiest and whitest groups were "devoted conservatives" (6%) and "progressive activists" (8%). These tribes dominate the media, the parties and higher education, and they dictate the competing narratives of red vs. blue, particularly on cable news and social media. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of Americans resided in, or were adjacent to, the "exhausted majority." These people, however, "have no narrative," as David Brooks wrote at the time. "They have no coherent philosophic worldview to organize their thinking and compel action." Lacking a narrative might seem like a very postmodern problem, but in a postmodern elite culture, postmodern problems are real problems. It's worth noting that red vs. blue America didn't emerge ex nihilo. The 1990s were a time when the economy and government seemed to be working, at home and abroad. As a result, elites leaned into the narcissism of small differences to gain political and cultural advantage. They remain obsessed with competing, often apocalyptic, narratives. That leaves out most Americans. The gladiatorial combatants of cable news, editorial pages and academia, and their superfan spectators, can afford these fights. Members of the exhausted majority are more interested in mere competence. I think that's the hidden unity elites are missing. This is why we keep throwing incumbent parties out of power: They get elected promising competence but get derailed -- or seduced -- by fan service to, or trolling of, the elites who dominate the national conversation. There's a difference between competence and expertise. One of the most profound political changes in recent years has been the separation of notions of credentialed expertise from real-world competence. This isn't a new theme in American life, but the pandemic and the lurch toward identity politics amplified distrust of experts in unprecedented ways. This is a particular problem for the left because it is far more invested in credentialism than the right. Indeed, some progressives are suddenly realizing they invested too much in the authority of experts and too little in the ability of experts to provide what people want from government, such as affordable housing, decent education and low crime. The New York Times' Ezra Klein says he's tired of defending the authority of government institutions. Rather, "I want them to work." One of the reasons progressives find Trump so offensive is his absolute inability to speak the language of expertise -- which is full of coded elite shibboleths. But Trump veritably shouts the language of competence. I don't mean he is actually competent at governing. But he is effectively blunt about calling leaders, experts and elites -- of both parties -- stupid, ineffective, weak and incompetent. He lost in 2020 because voters didn't believe he was actually good at governing. He won in 2024 because the exhausted majority concluded the Biden administration was bad at it. Nostalgia for the low-inflation pre-pandemic economy was enough to convince voters that Trumpian drama is the tolerable price to pay for a good economy. About 3 out of 4 Americans who experienced "severe hardship" because of inflation voted for Trump. The genius of Trump's most effective ad -- "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" -- was that it was simultaneously culture-war red meat and an argument that Harris was more concerned about boutique elite concerns than everyday ones. If Trump can actually deliver competent government, he could make the Republican Party the majority party for a generation. For myriad reasons, that's an if so big it's visible from space. But the opportunity is there -- and has been there all along. Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch: thedispatch.com . Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!
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Asked if there was any special meaning to playing on Christmas for a second straight season, Lamar Jackson paused for several seconds before answering. That said it all. “I mean, it is,” he finally replied, trying to be diplomatic. “That means we're good, but at the same time, I do want to celebrate at home sometimes with my family now. I don't want to be playing on Christmas all the time — not all the time.” That sentiment seemed common among the Baltimore Ravens players this week as they prepared for their second consecutive Christmas road game. Jackson and his teammates will face the Houston Texans on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the Kansas City Chiefs play at Pittsburgh. Games on Christmas aren't new to the NFL. The Miami Dolphins famously beat the Chiefs in a playoff game on Dec. 25, 1971 — a double-overtime classic that still holds the record for the NFL's longest game. In 2020, New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara tied an NFL record with six touchdowns in a game when the Saints beat Minnesota on Christmas. Lately, however, the league has been much more aggressive about scheduling games on Christmas. There were three last year on a Monday, and this week there are two. The four teams in action this Wednesday all played this past Saturday, giving them a little more time to prepare. But each is still wrapping up a stretch of three games in 11 games. And for Baltimore and Kansas City — the teams spending the holiday on the road — this means a bit of a scramble to find time to celebrate with loved ones. “Santa hasn’t come yet, but as far as my family, we traded gifts (over the weekend),” Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “(His wife) Brittany’s a champ because I’m not there to help build the toys my family got, and the kids have opened up every single one of them.” The Chiefs are playing on Christmas for a second year in a row, although they were at home last season. Baltimore tackle Ronnie Stanley said there is an offensive line Christmas party planned for Friday at center Tyler Linderbaum's house. Jackson’s plan is to celebrate on Thursday. “I already celebrated Christmas with my family this past week," Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said. "It’s more about the thought of calling people Christmas morning and just going out there and being able to go out in front of my whole family and do what I love. That’s how I’ll celebrate.” The Ravens also have celebrated a bit as a group already. “We actually had a team dinner last night here, which was really neat. And our chefs were incredible (with) what they put out there, so that was fun,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "And we are going to have the ability for family members from the Houston area to come over for the team snack after we do a walkthrough (Tuesday) night.” Don't expect Christmas games to go away any time soon. Netflix agreed to a three-year contract in May to carry Christmas Day games. Playing on the holiday certainly gives teams a chance to be in the spotlight, although the Chiefs and Ravens already get plenty of that. The Ravens-Texans game features a halftime performance by Beyoncé. “Wasn't there a time when somebody was out peeking outside the locker room door during the Super Bowl or something like that? Was there some story on that?” Harbaugh said. “He got in trouble for it? There will be big trouble. I like Beyoncé, though. I can't say I'm a huge Beyoncé fan, but I think I like her.” Jackson, seemingly unaware of Harbaugh's attempt to lay down the law about the halftime show, arrived at the microphone immediately after the coach. “I'm going to go out there and watch,” the star quarterback said. “First time seeing Beyoncé perform, and it's at our game — that's dope. I'm going to go out and watch. Sorry Harbaugh, sorry fellas.”