Blog Posts by Sarah McColl, Shine staff

It's almost the most wonderful time of the year--if it weren't for the grocery bill, stress of hosting, and the seemingly endless stream of turkey sandwiches that follows Thanksgiving dinner. Consider this your survival guide for a Thanksgiving that makes the most of what matters (pie!) and cuts the corners that no one will miss.

Let Sales Dictate the Menu
Ellie Kay, author of Living Rich for Less, advises planning your menu around what's on sale, rather than dreaming up a potentially pricey menu with spendy out-of-season ingredients and shopping later. Stick to the usual Thanksgiving suspects, like stuffing, turkey, and pumpkin pie filling, which tend to go on sale in the weeks before Thanksgiving.

Know When to Buy Canned or Frozen
Don't waste money on fresh ingredients that might be just as good--or better--in their frozen or canned forms. Epicurious.com reports that a fresh cheese pumpkin can cost twice as much as the canned version, and could result in a watered-down pie filling,

"Getting kids involved in the kitchen at Thanksgiving is a terrific way to get them excited about the meal," says blogger Kelsey Banfield of The Naptime Chef. And who doesn't need a few extra hands in the kitchen on Thanksgiving? Here, six ideas for easy dishes your kids can make with your or comple

By now you've likely read several articles about making this Thanksgiving like none other. You've got visions of grandeur: you've clipped seven new recipes, have invited your boss (just for kicks!), and are thinking of crocheting cornucopia centerpieces for the big day. Hold up there, Ms. Great Expectation. Lisa Quinn, author of Life's Too Short to Fold Fitted Sheets advises taking the urge to be perfect down a notch. Read on for ways to keep your cool when you've got guests coming out of your ears and the biggest meal of the year on the stove.

Put on Your Game Face
This might sound a little intense, but let's take a cue from football stars on this one: get in the zone. Just as important as having enough sugar and flour for the pies is being mentally prepared for the day. You might not need to rehearse the image of you sliding the turkey into the oven, but you might want to be ready for Aunt Gladys's questions about why you haven't gotten a "real job" or why it seems you've "put on

As long as I can remember, my grandma has worn the Estee Lauder perfume Beautiful. And she is beautiful: she's got the same twinkling eyes at 86 that she had at 23, and the slightest whiff of that white floral is, for me, all about her spirited pluck and shameless flirting. Perfume is such an evocative part of figuring out what kind of woman we want to be (including, of course, the kind that doesn't wear perfume). We watched our moms dab an amber liquid behind her earlobes before a night out, and we sprayed Love's Baby Soft and Charlie on our wrists in the drugstore. Perfume, even more than clothes, is about individuality. Spray the same fragrance on three different women and you'll get three different scents. Which is exactly why the new perfume Beauty by Calvin Klein is so annoying: its concept of beauty seems so dang singular.

The ads feature gorgeous, stylish Diane Kruger wearing a drapey white gown, bathed in a clear, cool light with the big word "BEAUTY" running across her torso.

When you're used to 4-pound chickens, the prospect of a giant turkey is intimidating, to say the least. How do you know how much to buy? And what happens when dinner is tomorrow and you forgot that whole defrosting thing? Below, a cheat sheet of tips to arm yourself with.

How Much to Buy?
Figuring out how much turkey to buy can seem confusing, but it doesn't have to be. For dinner itself, registered dietician Shari Steinbach advises figuring one-pound uncooked turkey per person when buying your bird. If you want leftovers, the rule of thumb is one-and-a-half pounds per person. So, a host with eighteen guests and a future filled with turkey tetrazzini, should buy a 27-pound bird. Still confused? Let this calculator do the arithmetic for you.

Should I Buy Fresh or Frozen?
"Most people agree that there's no noticeable difference in taste between fresh and frozen turkeys," says household savings expert for Coupons.com, Jeanette Pavini, so it's just a matter of choosing the option that's

photo via Flickr user ShimelleWe're closing in on the holiday season where talking about what we're grateful for is part of the drill. And actually, we're really grateful for that. Studies show what most of us already knew to be true: that savoring the delights in your life contributes to feelings of happiness. We're grateful for the big stuff, of course, like our health and a roof over our heads. But we thought we'd kick off the season with an ode to the little joys we're counting our lucky stars for.

Red holiday Starbucks cups. Even if we prefer to drink our coffee at home, there's something about the sight of those cheery cups that's just puts us in a better mood.

YouTube videos that still make us laugh. We've seen that one with the sneezing panda, like, 15 times, and still think it's criminally cute. Charlie biting his brother and Christian the Lion? They just never get old.

Half-price Halloween candy. Fun-sized Snickers and mini-packs of M&M's for cheap? We're all over that.

Read more: 10 recipes to make

Rules-y overachievers in magazines and stylishly-appointed (and edited!) cooking shows have given the impression that entertaining--major holiday or not--is the sort of endeavor best overseen by a professional staff and creative director. But you don't have to serve dinner on fine (or even matching) china to make people feel cared for and tended to. "To invite a person into your house," wrote French good time guy Brillat-Savarin, "is to take charge of his happiness for as long as he is under your roof." Keep that in mind when you start to confuse serving perfect roast turkey for dispensing happiness. Here, how to make you guests feel welcomed with open arms (and how to have a good time yourself!).

Imagine Guests Are Arriving 30 Minutes Earlier Than They Actually Are
Part of making people feel welcome is being ready when they arrive and not, you know, wearing your curlers and doing a last-minute once-over with the vacuum. Invited people over for 3 o'clock Thanksgiving dinner? Plan your

Thanksgiving eats up the monthly food budget as quickly as Uncle Mike wolfs down the pecan pie. And it's no laughing matter. So how can you squeeze out a month of meals with what's left over in the purse? It might require a slight shift in the way we cook and eat, but think of it as a month-long experiment that ends with an extravaganza of turkey and stuffing.