Which is better for you, hard or soft cheese? Roast beef or Ham? Real Simple helps you make the healthy eating choice this season.By Sally Wadyka More holiday tips:The Stress-Free Holiday Party PlanHoliday Recipes Real Family Kitchens10 Ideas for Sugar Cookie DoughWays to Straighten Up After a Holid

By GalTime Party Specialists Dawn Sandomeno and Elizabeth Mascali of Party Bluprints

Hosting at the holidays is a rewarding experience and can be lots of fun, so plan properly and make sure YOU get to partake in it! Making memories for your family, friends and especially the children in your life is a gift you give each guest as a hostess but you don't need to sacrifice your own enjoyment to give it. Here are 7 super tips that not only save time, they allow you to enjoy your own party!

1. Set your table and bar area the day before your party. One less thing to do means more time for you. Take the time for yourself to get ready and feel good - remember you set the mood for your party.

2. Make ahead meals like casseroles are great for holiday entertaining and can be served in one dish. That means less pots to clean and you won't need to cooking during the party. Here are 26 crowd-pleasing holiday casserole recipes from BHG.com>

Related: 4 Tips to Throw A HOT

Top hairstylists and makeup artists reveal their favorite trends of the season



1. Rich Hair Color

"The holidays are a time of year steeped in tradition and jewel tones, so 'tis the season to enrich your hair with color," says Amanda Williams, celebrity hairstylist (she's worked with Ellen Page and Bryce Dallas Howard) and owner of Arabella Salon in Portland, Oregon. She recommends getting a professional treatment with Davines' gentle, plant-based Finest Pigment gloss ( click here to locate a salon near you). "It only lasts six to eight shampoos so it's an extremely non-committal way to create depth and luxurious shine," says Williams. Translation: There's no excuse not to pair emerald earrings with red-tinted tresses.

Emma Stone

"I love red lips-they're eternally chic and look especially festive during the holidays," says Troy Surratt, the makeup guru behind Maggie Gyllenhaal's oft-deep-colored pucker. "If you have reservations about an opaque formula, try a sheer one

To prepare for rainy days, keep some essentials in your pantry for impromptu kids crafts. Holiday marshmallows are an easy favorite. Projects like these keep kids entertained while letting their imaginations run wild.

Suggested ingredients and tools:
1. Large marshmallows
2. Candy melts or chocolate chips
3. Holiday sprinkles
4. Ceramic candy melting bowls (nice to have, not necessary)
5. Shredded coconut
6. Food markers
7. Chocolate covered candy canes, lollipop sticks or pretzel sticks
8. Gum drops or other candy

Directions:
1. Melt candy and make sure it's at a temperature your kids can handle.
2. Have the kids paint the tops of the marshmallows with the melted candy.
3. Put toppings in individual bowls.
4. Dunk marshmallows in toppings. Or sprinkle them on top.
5. Draw faces on front.

The creativity doesn't have to stop here. If you have pretzels, put the marshmallows on a stick. We used chocolate covered candy canes.

Or arrange them into a Christmas tree shape. My

Merry Cookies, I mean, Christmas! It's hard to imagine Christmas without all the cookie baking, isn't it? Well, believe me, kids think so, too.

Many of you parents will be baking a lot on your own, but if you're looking for a few cookie baking recipes that are easy for kids to make, look no more. We've compiled three easy recipes that combine three of the most important aspects of the season: powdered sugar, peppermint, and chocolate.

More from The Stir:The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies, Ever

Of course, when it comes to baking and hot ovens, we can't leave kids on their own completely, but these three recipes each have seven or less ingredients and minimal, simple instructions, so the kids can take a big part in the making that comes before the baking.

3 Simple Holiday Cookies Kids Can Make

Snowball Cookies (pictured above)

Recipe by Sharon Mehl for Kaboose

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon

Whip up some tacky, but delicious, appetizer recipes that are as entertaining as your ugly Christmas sweater! By Dawn Williams

Tacky Christmas Sweater Party
It's time to celebrate the season, the camaraderie, and, of course, the tackiest piece of Christmas clothing you can find. Ugly sweater parties are all the rage during the holidays. And if you want to be deemed the ultimate hostess of one of these gatherings, serving food with tacky flair is a must.

We've taken our recipes and made them, well, just a little more festive than usual. Your gaudy guests will not only comment on the creative spread, but also on how tasty the appetizers are!

Related: 15 Easiest Finger Foods Ever

Feta Cheese Truffles
Tiny cheese truffles are super-simple to make and pair well with other finger foods, such as almonds, olives, and grape tomatoes. To up the tacky ante, serve them in ice-cube trays nestled in holiday boxes.

Recipe: Feta Cheese Truffles

Corn Dogs
Mini

Black Friday... Cyber Monday... it seems everywhere we turn, we're getting tips on how to save money shopping for holiday gifts. But for every penny we save on electronics, toys and self-care products, there's another we spend on decorations and holiday cards. In fact, Americans spend $8 billion a year on holiday decorations alone -- a number great for the economy but not so good on the family budget. Take it from me, I'm the daughter of a woman who decorated so much and for almost every holiday, I'm surprised she didn't find herself Groundhog Day lawn ornaments to celebrate his shadow sighting.

But before you either spend way too much time and money, or throw in the towel because it's all too much, I've joined forces with my Twitter and Facebook mom friends to present...

5 Ways to Save on Holiday Decorations and Cards

1. Get crafty -- Of all the deals and finds I've discovered this year, I'm most excited about my new, budding love of crafting. Miranda Becker, Family.com's adorable

holiday cookiesYou may still be picking at what's left of the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie (unless your hubby already ate all of it), but let's face it, the holiday season marches on, meaning pie is out and cookies are in.

More from The Stir: Eat Cookies to Make More Breast Milk

Right around the beginning of December, my grandmother would always stock her kitchen with all of the necessities for cookie-making: pounds of sugar and flour, chocolate chips, oatmeal, raisins, etc. For the next month, her kitchen would constantly smell of fresh baked cookies that she would then box up and gift to neighbors, teachers, church members, and everyone in between.

While I really love the idea of baking cookies for others, I'm just not that ambitious (sorry, Grandma). That's why I am a huge huge fan of the cookie swap.

Instead of making 12 different kinds of cookies, you only have to make several batches of one kind, and then invite guests to bring over batches of their favorite, you swap, and voila