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MINERAL The recent storms and transition to snowy winter condi- tions have closed the Las- sen Volcanic National Park Highway to vehicle traffic throughtheparkforthesea- son. Visitors can still drive into the park as far as the Manzanita Lake area at the north entrance, and to the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center, one mile inside the park's southwest entrance. "We invite you to the park to snowshoe, ski and sled or enjoy a cup of hot chocolate by the fireplace in theKohmYah-mah-neeVis- itor Center throughout the season," said Park Superin- tendent Steve Gibbons. The park remains open for visitors throughout the winter and on Jan. 1, 2016 the park and the National Park Service begin a year- long celebration of their 100th anniversaries. Ranger-led snowshoe walks are offered on Satur- days and Sundays starting Jan. 2. Meet at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Cen- ter at 1:30 p.m. for a 1½- to 2-hour walk through Las- sen Volcanic's spectacular winter scenery. Discover winter at Lassen through outdoor fun and film at the fourth annual LassenFilmFestival,10a.m. to4p.m.,Jan.16-18.Thisfree event has the theme, Find Your Park, in celebration of the centennials. Entrance to the park is free on Monday, Jan. 18 in commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Visitors should be pre- paredforarangeofweather conditions. Check the most recent weather forecast, dress in layers and carry food and water. Stow a shovel, extra blankets and tire chains in your vehicle in case unexpected winter road conditions delay your travel. The Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For more information on the film festival, snowshoe walks, current weather con- ditions or general informa- tion, call the park at 595- 4480 or visit lavo_informa- tion@nps.gov. TO DO Winter arrives at Lassen Volcanic National Park COURTESYPHOTO Pictured are Brokeoff Mountain and Lake Helen at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Back when I was a kid, birthday parties were mostly ho-hum, consist- ing of a few rounds of Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Drop Clothespins in the Bot- tle followed by Betty Crocker cake baked in a 9-by-13-inch pan with but- tercream frosting. Back then going "all out" meant splurging on a pre-made cake from the local bakery. These days going all out for a child's birthday party means something a bit dif- ferent. Some of the stories are mind-boggling. Recently I read about parents in one Minnesota town who rented a bar for a princess-themed party. Children and their par- ents were invited and in- structed to come dressed in tuxedos and formal at- tire. Guests were picked up in limos. The party in- cluded live music and champagne for the adults. The birthday girl was turning four. Sure, that was an ex- treme example, but there is no denying that birth- day parties for kids are be- coming more and more ex- travagant. You know what I'm talking about. And I get it. Birthday parties have become part of our cul- ture. The pressure to keep up can be intense. We don't want to disappoint the child. But more than that, we want to send the message that our child is as important as other chil- dren. We're driven to go all out to provide the expe- rience of a lifetime — and to do it again every year. It doesn't have to be this way. There are great ways to have parties that let a child know how special they are — and ways to do that without breaking the bank. IT'S NOT A COMPETI- TION. Write those words on your frontal lobe. Re- peat it often. Just because the neighbors hired a car- load of clowns complete with ponies and a bouncy house doesn't mean they love their kids more than you love yours. You are not competing for an award. You have permission to do your own thing. LIMIT THE GUEST LIST. You should not feel obligated to invite every kid that the birthday child has come in contact with over the past year. Nor should you feel like you need to invite the parents of every child. Limit the guest list to include only your child's real friends and you'll create a more intimate and child-friendly experience. FIND WAYS TO DO IT YOURSELF. Never in the history of the world have there been as many ideas and instructions for how to do stuff yourself than there are now that we have access to Pinterest and any number of blogs de- voted to creative parent- ing. Go online. Learn how to make the cake your- self. Create invitations, games and decorations yourself. Find the clos- est dollar store. Load up on cheap paper goods and decorations. The more you do yourself, the less you'll spend. And the kids will love it! FORGET THE GOODY BAGS. Whoever came up with the idea of goody bags should have gone back to the draw- ing board. The tradi- tion that every child goes home with a bag of plas- tic things that kids don't want, don't need and will lose by the next day needs to be re-evaluated — and you are the perfect per- son to get that ball rolling. Forget the goody bags and you will be applauded by ever party giver who fol- lows. Wouldyouliketosend a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@ everydaycheapskate. com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Ste. B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. EVERYDAY CHEAPSKATE How to not go broke on birthday parties Mary Hunt By Jennifer Cooper Social Security manager in Redding On Veterans Day, the na- tion honored the men and women who risk their lives to protect our freedom. Social Security honors veterans and active duty members of the military ev- ery day by giving them the respect they deserve. A vital part of that is administer- ing the Social Security dis- ability program. For those who return home with injuries, Social Security is a resource they can turn to. If you know any wounded veterans, please let them know about Social Security's Wounded War- riorswebsite.Youcanfindit at www.socialsecurity.gov/ woundedwarriors. The Wounded Warriors website answers many commonly asked questions, and shares other useful in- formation about disability benefits, including how vet- erans can receive expedited processing of disability claims. Benefits available through Social Security are different than those from the Department of Veterans Affairs and require a sepa- rate application. The expedited process is used for military ser- vice members who be- come disabled while on ac- tive military service on or after Oct. 1, 2001, regard- less of where the disabil- ity occurs. Even active duty military who continue to receive pay while in a hospital or on medical leave should con- sider applying for disabil- ity benefits if they're unable to work due to a disabling condition. Active duty sta- tus and receipt of military pay doesn't necessarily pre- vent payment of Social Se- curity disability benefits. Although a person can't re- ceive Social Security dis- ability benefits while en- gaging in substantial work for pay or profit, receipt of military payments should never stop someone from applying for disability ben- efits from Social Security. Learn more by visiting www.socialsecurity.gov/ woundedwarriors. Social Security is proud to support the veterans and active duty members of the military. Let these heroes know they can count on us when they need to take advantage of their earned benefits. SOCIAL SECURITY He lp in g ve te ra ns, a ct iv e dut y mi li ta ry m em be rs California State Board of Equalization Chairman and Franchise Tax Board mem- ber Jerome Horton says tax- payers should take a few simple steps to keep from being preyed upon by data thieves and cyber criminals. "I stand with the Inter- nal Revenue Service and other state tax agencies throughout our great na- tion in encouraging Califor- nia taxpayers to follow safe- guards for protecting their information," said Horton. "Criminals have access to a good deal of personal data which they can use to file fraudulent returns. I urge you to become aware of se- curity measures you can take online and at home to protect your data from cy- ber criminals." Tax authorities made the appeal to the public re- cently in Washington, D.C. at a news conference that included more than a dozen state tax agency executives, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen and representa- tives of the tax preparation and software developer in- dustries. "Identity thieves are evolving, and so must we," said Koskinen. "The IRS, the states and the tax indus- try are putting in place even tougher safeguards. But, we need the public's help. We need people to join with us and take an active role in protecting their personal and financial data from thieves." Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself: Use security software with firewall and anti-virus protections. Use automatic updates. Encrypt your tax returns and other sensitive data. Use strong passwords. Beware of phishing emails. Are you expecting a message from your bank or tax software company to update your account? A link may take you to a fake website that is designed to steal your log-on informa- tion. 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