It's the Holiday season again and I don't know if this happens to anyone else, but the same thing seems to happen to me every year. From about mid-September all the way up to Christmas Eve, I have numerous conversations in my head. I tell myself that this year I'll be on top of it! This year I will be prepared and start early. This year I will not wait until the last minute. This year I will know exactly what I'm getting everyone and will get it and mail it early. THIS will be the year. So you can imagine what I'm doing to myself: creating stress, worry, anxiety, self-doubt, unreasonable expectations, oh my god the list goes on! And it's ME doing it! Well, me and the non-stop-commercial-overload-retail-push-gotta-get-this-year's-hot-"it"-item-----you know what I'm saying. Every year I remember the last year's failures and disappointments. I remember last year's mistakes and vow to learn from them. And every year I don't.

The thing is: I do

You've put together the ultimate guest list and planned the perfect evening - now if only you can get everyone to show up! There's an unwelcome phenomenon we refer to as "the flake factor," when people say they're coming and then don't show up. Here are a few tips and tricks to ensure that people make the extra effort to be there for your festivities, whether it's a cozy dinner or large cocktail gathering.

• Send out a reminder several days before the event via email. Online sites like Evite and Pingg generate automatic reminders a week or several days beforehand. You can also send out an email or call with a casual message of: "See you this Saturday!" When possible, personalize the message to the recipient rather than sending out group messages -- it reinforces that you really want THAT person to be there.
  
  
• Let people know how important it is that they be there. Be enthusiastic about receiving your guests and make sure they understand that you're excited to have

Getty ImagesI know this sounds a bit bah-humbug, but I have to ask: Have you considered canceling Christmas this year?

No, I'm not suggesting that you hack up your evergreen wreath for kindling or pretend you're not home when the extended family arrives on your doorstep dressed in their holiday finery. But think about it ... what would it be like if you did kiss off Kwanzaa, say "sayonara" to your menorah, or give a big fat "feh" to Festivus?

From a strictly financial point of view, canceling Christmas might be the best gift you ever give to your family: "Hey honey, help me wrap financial stability and fiscal awareness amid uncertain economic times and put it underneath the tree before the kids wake up!"

Unfortunately, that's not the gift-that-keeps-on-giving kind of present most people have in mind this year.

Owe, owe, owe -- Merry Christmas!

According to the National Retail Federation, U.S. consumers will shell out $437.6 billion on holiday cheer. That's an average

Don't get caught at the office or family holiday party with the blinking Santa sweater. This year we've found stylish options for every festive occasion -- no matter if you're 3 or 50!


A figure-flattering dress that combines elegance and ease was at the top of Jeni Sussman's wish list. This satin stunner, with its ruffled crossover neckline and midriff ruching, showcases curves without clinging. "I love it!" Sussman says. Also enjoying her finery: daughter Audrey, who kept twirling in her crinoline-lined frock.

Plaid dress, $30, Crazy 8. Headband, tights, and Mary Janes, The Children's Place. Red dress, $164, Suzi Chin for Maggy Boutique. Necklace, Grayce by Molly Sims. Bracelet, Carolee. Pumps, Filene's Basement.



A sophisticated gleam team - brocade skirt and beaded turtleneck - are tailor-made for Jennifer Shiman's Christmas Eve meal with the in-laws. "The pieces are dressy without being fussy," says Shiman. Daughter Madeline's sweater separates have the same party-season

Serious Eats writer and pastry chef Gina DePalma shares five tricks for perfect holiday cookies, and her own recipe for the classic sugar cookie.

1. Measure Carefully

Any sugar cookie recipe is a delicate proportional balance of fat, sugar, and flour, so be sure to measure your ingredients carefully in order to get the desired finished texture (crisp, chewy, delicate, melting, etc).

2. Mind Your Butter!

A key step in making sugar cookies is the creaming of butter and sugar. If the butter is too soft, your cookies will be greasy, and if it is too cold, they'll seem like lead weights. It is important to start with evenly softened butter, and the only way to do this properly is to take it out of the refrigerator and, uh, wait. Always soften butter in a temperate environment until it yields gently to pressure; if you want to hasten the process a bit, cut the butter into even sized pieces and spread them out. This is not the time to attempt any wacky moves in the microwave or

by Tammy (Contributor to the Greene Guide)

"Old," "ugly" and "fat" are the three most undesirable words in a woman's vocabulary. Especially during the holiday season and especially when you are dealing with family members like mine, who have about as much tact and subtlety as an M1 army tank. Our conversations tend to always revolve around these three taboo words, and are as comfortable as cart-wheeling down Times Square in December wearing nothing but a Santa hat. These conversations usually go like this:

"So, Tammy, how old are you now?"

"Oh, Tam, hon, let me recommend a reputable cosmetic surgeon."

"Happy holidays, sweetie-pea! Here's an exercise video and a digital scale."

Therefore, my crash diet in preparation for our holiday family gathering starts early. It's easy to avoid all types of fats. But healthy dieting is not about avoiding all fats; just the "bad fats." We need to consume the right foods to make hormones and various other necessary chemicals for

You've got the party dress, a pair of festive shoes and a cocktail ring all ready...but before you leave for the many parties you'll attend in the next two weeks, stock up on a few of these cool holiday hostess gifts to bring along with you. We promise they'll get you invited back.
Volupsca candle - crisp champagne
This Voluspa candle in a decadent champagne scent is sleek and elegant, and at $9, costs less than bringing a bottle of the stuff.

Juicy dessert Plates from Target

Forget baking cookies-bring along these fun dessert plates tied with a big bow and no one will know you can't really cook.

sur la table apron

Get her an sophisticated apron that looks in place over her black dress - a far cry from June Cleaver's busy floral one.

lollia

Lollia's deliciously scented bath salts come in packaging so sweet (there's even a bow), you don't have to wrap them yourself.

See more awesome ideas from our gift guides, and check out our Sold Out List for where to get the most in-demand gifts this season.

Year after year, Mary Smith prepared Christmas dinners along a traditional line. Ham, green beans, creamed potatoes with peas, biscuits, and mince and pumpkin pies.

And for the better part of two decades, the laborious Waldorf salad.

Perhaps you know it -- chopped apples, celery and walnuts, with mayonnaise, served chilled. Invented by the maitre d' of New York's Waldorf Hotel at the turn of the last century.

Mary's version -- actually the recipe of her mother, Lizzie, who even kept a decorative just-for-Waldorf-salad bowl in the china cabinet -- included grapes, whip cream as well as mayo, and pecans instead of walnuts.

And it took forever to make.

Of course it would, if you started with pecans in the shell. Washed and chopped a dozen red delicious apples. Whipped your own cream. And -- no kidding -- sliced each grape in half and used the paring knife to remove four seeds.

But that is how her mother made it, and Mary felt duty-bound to do the same.

One year, the busy hospital