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Your Boston-area home, season by season

Winter prep, heating, power and the practical chores of owning or renting around here.

Illustration of a New England colonial house in light first snow with a shovel, ice melt and roof rake by the door

Before the First Snow: A Massachusetts Homeowner's Checklist

A practical two-weekend checklist for getting a Massachusetts house, driveway and household ready for winter, in the order that actually saves you grief.

7 min read

All Home stories

Trash and recycling carts at the curb on a leafy street of triple-deckers, a garbage truck in the distance

Home

Holiday Trash Week: Which Towns Slide a Day

Which Greater Boston towns have posted Thanksgiving and Christmas 2026 trash and recycling changes, with the town source for each.

5 min read

This week

Useful now

Nov 15

Snow parking

Overnight parking bans start Nov 15 in North Reading and Woburn

10 of the 43 towns we track begin their winter parking rules between now and Dec 21.

See your town

Nov 26

Trash and recycling

Thanksgiving week: 27 towns have posted their pickup plans

Which towns slide a day, and which do not, each linked to the town notice.

Check your pickup day

Nov 21

Tree lighting

Faneuil Hall Marketplace Annual Holiday Tree Lighting is the first big lighting

8 tree lightings have confirmed 2026 dates around Greater Boston.

All the dates

Next 3 weeks

Confirmed events running or opening in the next three weeks

Snowport, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Christmastime at Santa's Village.

See the list

Thursday newsletter

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Winter prep, rebates and the practical chores, one useful guide a week.

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Keep exploring

Things to Do

Out and about around Boston

Lights, markets, shows and weekend plans, with dates, prices and what to know before you go.

Eat & Drink

What to eat and drink nearby

Pie orders, new restaurants, markets and seasonal bites across Boston and the North Shore.

Local

What is changing in your town

Parking rules, trash schedules and notices that change your week, from the towns that publish them.

Family

Good for kids and the people with them

Santa visits, school-break plans and easy outings for families around Greater Boston.