About House & Home: Holiday Entertaining Without the Fuss

House & Home In the Spotlight | More Topics |   from Diane Schmidt While I love the holidays, I really hate all the cleaning and tidying that has to be done beforehand. Why can't people come over and just accept the fact that we're a messy family? Okay, maybe that's my internal housekeeper who's pestering me, telling me I better make sure all the cat hair's been removed from the couch so Aunt Florence doesn't get strands of white fur on her new black cardigan.   In the Spotlight Simplify Your Holiday Meal Planning I'm all for simple. Although, we once went to my uncle's house for the holidays, and instead of finding a house full of yummy food, we found an empty fridge, a wad of cash on the table and a note asking us to make a short trip to the grocery store. My uncle didn't show up until the next day after all the food had been bought and prepared. Now that's simplifying!              More Topics Make Your Own Christmas Container Candles Candle & Soap Making Why to Buy Antiques in a Down Economy Antiques Great Gifts for Horse Owners Horses Top Home Design Software Programs Architecture 5 Best Herbs For a Medicinal Herb Garden Herb Gardens Top 8 Feng Shui Cures Feng Shui Mercury Levels in Fish and Shellfish Green Living Cleaning Up After a Big Meal Our house abides by the golden rule: "Whoever cooks, shall sit back and relax whilst the other members of the family clean up the mess". Works for me...   Holiday Laundry Stain Removal Guide I can never make it through a big holiday meal without some kind of laundry catastrophe. Usually I'm hit by a drop of wine or a spat of cranberry sauce and to top it all off, last year I ended up spilling a bowlful of gravy over my new silk skirt. Needless to say, no one ever wants to sit next to me at dinnertime.     Sponsored Links   Best Moves in a Bad Economy Save & Invest the Right Way Find out how to beat a bear market, make smart choices, and keep your cool even when the economy is unpredictable. House & Home Ads Dining Room Ideas Dream Bedroom Kitchen Design Ideas Feng Shui Home Modern Decor Advertisement     Visit Related About GuideSites: Antiques Apartment Living/Rental Architecture Entertaining Home Buying/Selling Home Repair Interior Decorating Landscaping   Search About      Sign up for more free newsletters on favorite topics. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About House & Home newsletter as batman8672@GMAIL.COM. If you wish to change or remove your email address, please visit: http://www.about.com/nl/usgs.htm?nl=househomesl&e=batman8672@GMAIL.COM About respects your privacy. Our Privacy Policy. Our Contact Information. 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2008 About, Inc.

About House & Home: Stuff You Can Do for Under $20

House & Home In the Spotlight | More Topics |   from Diane Schmidt These days, I'm all about saving money. I suppose that's why I've been trying to convince my family that exchanging niceties instead of gifts might be a more cost-effective way of celebrating the holidays. Of course, that would exclude Uncle Ned. Uncle Ned is like Scrooge except we're still waiting for the happy ending.   In the Spotlight Freshen Up a Room For Less Than $15 And I'm not talking about a couple of bottles of air freshener or getting Uncle Ned to put on some cologne. Instead, this article gets you thinking about how such simple touches can transform a room without needing to break the piggy bank.              More Topics Get Your Pet Ready for the Cold Veterinary Medicine Repair a Leaky Toilet Home Repair Build a House on a Budget Architecture Knit a Christmas Stocking Knitting DTV Transition Survival Guide Home Theater How to Get Rid of Leaves Lawn Care Do It Yourself or Hire a Pro? Electrical Grow Some Luck for Under 10 Bucks I've never been lucky. I could buy a zillion lottery tickets and never even win $10. In fact, when I was seven years old, I purchased 15 tickets for a draw for an enormous chocolate Santa. Only 16 tickets were sold. My sister purchased the 16th ticket. Needless to say, I didn't speak to her for a week afterward as she refused to share the Santa with me even though I plugged an entire month's allowance into the draw.   Go Shopping for Gifts Under $20 Okay, so maybe my idea of low cost gifts was going a little far. But then again, you don't know my family. I'd love a holiday where we traded niceties instead of the usual. In fact, I'd pay money just to make it happen...     Sponsored Links   Best Moves in a Bad Economy Save & Invest the Right Way Find out how to beat a bear market, make smart choices, and keep your cool even when the economy is unpredictable. House & Home Ads House Magazine Art Antique Magazine Happy House House Designs Design Magazine Advertisement     Visit Related About GuideSites: Antiques Apartment Living/Rental Architecture Entertaining Home Buying/Selling Home Repair Interior Decorating Landscaping   Search About      Sign up for more free newsletters on favorite topics. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About House & Home newsletter as batman8672@GMAIL.COM. If you wish to change or remove your email address, please visit: http://www.about.com/nl/usgs.htm?nl=househomesl&e=batman8672@GMAIL.COM About respects your privacy. Our Privacy Policy. Our Contact Information. 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2008 About, Inc.

About House & Home: Get Ready for the Holidays

House & Home In the Spotlight | More Topics |   from Diane Schmidt The older I get, the more time seems to scurry by without any regard for my need to have it slow down. Take the holidays, for instance. Not only are the Halloween decorations still in place, but now my husband insists on installing the Christmas lights regardless of the cobwebs and hay bales and tombstones. Frankly, I wouldn't mind just keeping all the decorations up - permanently. Of course, the number of neighborhood invites we'd receive would probably be reduced down to...ah..zero.   In the Spotlight 10 Week Holiday Organizing Plan Okay, so there aren't 10 weeks left until the holidays. In fact, it's a lot less than that. Personally, I'm afraid to count, so instead I'm sticking to the 10-week plan starting today. Or maybe tomorrow...              More Topics How to Deal With a Bad Neighbor Apartment Living / Rental Basic Interior Design Principles Furniture Moving with Birds Pet Birds Outdoor Decorating with Fishing Wire Pool & Patio Yo Yo Quilts Quilting How to Find a Down Payment Home Buying / Selling Control Flies in Your Home Pest Control Great Holiday Gifts You Can Make I've never been a crafty person. I'm not good with a needle and thread. My husband takes his shirts to the tailors when he needs a button. But this year, I'm determined to save some money, and instead invest time into making my own gifts. Of course, I'll probably garner more pleasure from the process than the recipient will when they receive a winter hat that looks like something from Dr. Seuss.   Outdoor Christmas Lighting Okay, so I gave into my husband's request to put up the Christmas lights even though I think it's way too early. He claimed afterward, once the twinkling lights were in place, that the cobwebs look like snowdrifts, the hay bales like our home is awaiting Santa's reindeer and the tombstones look like...well, tombstones.     Sponsored Links   Best Moves in a Bad Economy Save & Invest the Right Way Find out how to beat a bear market, make smart choices, and keep your cool even when the economy is unpredictable. House & Home Ads Interior Design Idea House Decoration Feng Shui Ideas Living Rooms Rooms Ideas Advertisement     Visit Related About GuideSites: Antiques Apartment Living/Rental Architecture Entertaining Home Buying/Selling Home Repair Interior Decorating Landscaping   Search About      Sign up for more free newsletters on favorite topics. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About House & Home newsletter as batman8672@GMAIL.COM. If you wish to change or remove your email address, please visit: http://www.about.com/nl/usgs.htm?nl=househomesl&e=batman8672@GMAIL.COM About respects your privacy. Our Privacy Policy. Our Contact Information. 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2008 About, Inc.