Judges tasted a dozen packaged stuffings, including traditional, herbed, and cornbread varieties, and found three winners

While nothing beats homemade stuffing, when the Thanksgiving time-crunch hits, even some of the most dedicated from-scratch cooks among us reach for a box, bag, or can of packaged stuffing-either as a stand-alone side or as a base for fresh herbs, vegetables, and other seasonings.

Thanksgiving on a budget? Find out how to feed 8 people for less than $80

To determine which store-bought stuffings can pass for homemade, Epicurious tested three stuffing categories: home-style (also called traditional or country-style), herb-seasoned, and cornbread.

First we set the criteria for not-made-from-scratch stuffing: The ideal stuffing would have to be quick and easy to make. The bread pieces should be moist and crunchy, not dry or soggy. They should retain their shape and not dissolve into a gummy or mushy paste. The dressing should be well seasoned with

The first time I hosted Thanksgiving dinner I was terrified. Mostly I was terrified about the prospect of roasting a turkey. Thankfully, that ended up being the easiest part of my day. With my 3 last-minute tips for perfect turkey and delicious Thanksgiving recipes, menus and planners, it will be the easiest part of your Thanksgiving day too.

3 last-minute tips for perfect turkey

1. OK, Thanksgiving has arrived-time to get that turkey ready to roast! Skip rubbing down your turkey with butter-use fresh herbs and spices to add amazing flavor to your turkey without added fat. Start by rubbing a seasoning mixture over the turkey, then tuck in the wing tips underneath and tie the legs together with kitchen string. Find step-by-step photos that show you how to get your turkey ready to roast here.

2. After roasting, let your turkey rest for at least 20 minutes (to allow the juices in the turkey redistribute throughout the meat, resulting in juicier turkey). Use the time to make

The turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and family time are a given on Thanksgiving. The variables? Your unpredictable children. As the holiday based around thankfulness and a full table approaches, consider giving your kids a crash course in manners. Visit Parents.com for fun ways to encourage good behavior at Thanksgiving gatherings.

According to manners expert and consultant Thomas P. Farley, manners are a simple matter of kindness and consideration, and it's never too early for your kids to start minding their Ps and Qs. "You start with the basics: please, thank you, and sorry," says Farley. "If you instill those three things and the child really knows that those are important, you're 90 percent of the way there."

Farley shared the following tips to prepare your children (and yourself) for Thanksgiving -- and everyday -- manners.

1. Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks and being grateful.

Set the tone before the meal begins, and explain the

By Kathryn Hawkins for Gimundo.com, the site for good news, served daily.

There's the turkey (or tofurkey, if you're a vegetarian), the stuffing, the cranberry sauce, and of course, the pumpkin pie. There are relatives that you haven't seen all year. There's the post-dinner football game on TV. There is comfort in tradition, and Thanksgiving is full of traditions, many of which have been passed down from our earliest colonial ancestors.

But sometimes it's nice to try something a little different. If you're ready to shake up your Thanksgiving, here are some unique ideas that will make the holiday unforgettable.

Hold a pre-Turkey Day "experimental potluck." Erik Fabian, owner of DoubleHappinessNYC.com, hosts an experimental potluck with his girlfriend every year, a week or two before Thanksgiving. "The idea is to encourage people to practice some new dish they have always wanted to try on Turkey Day or to make up for past failures with a redo." So if you've been eying a

Pies, crisps, tarts, and cheesecake: Here are 12 luscious ways to finish the feast.

Related: 6 Tips to a Stress-Free Thanksgiving

More from Bon Appétit:

• Not Hosting? 16 Perfect Dishes to Bring to Thanksgiving

• 6 Healthy Tricks for Your Thanksgiving Feast

• Top 7 Most Common Turkey Emergencies (and How to Fix Them)

• 16 New Cranberry Sauce Ideas for Thanksgiving

• Easy, Homey Thanksgiving Potato Recipes Everyone Will Love

• 6 Instant, No-Cook Thanksgiving Appetizers

• Fabulous Finales: 28 Thanksgiving Desserts to Finish Your Feast

• 5 Essential Kitchen Tools for Thanksgiving

1. The Bigger the Turkey, the Better

When I was a kid, my mom took me to the supermarket a week before Thanksgiving and let me pick out the frozen turkey. I went for the one with the biggest breasts. Done laughing? Here's the thing, the ones with big breasts don't have much flavor. According to Rick Rodgers, cooking teacher and author of Thanksgiving 101, you should compare the size of the breast to the size of the rest of the bird. "Larger-breasted turkeys are new breeds that were created to produce a larger amount of meat--not a better flavor. The smaller the ratio of breast meat to whole bird, the closer the turkey is to the original model and the more old-fashioned its flavor will be," he says. My advice, go with a fresh heritage turkey or crossbreed turkey.

Turkey Buying Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Buying and Cooking Turkey

2. Fresh Pumpkin is Better Than Canned Pumpkin

"Canned" isn't a bad word. Canned tuna and canned tomatoes have a place in the pantry of any

Everyone loves turkey-day leftovers, but there're only so many times you can re-heat mashed potatoes before they start to seem as bland as Uncle Ned's thoughts on classical jazz. Luckily, Better Homes & Gardens has come up with unexpected ways to re-purpose your Thanksgiving cornucopia into spicy, s

For some people, Thanksgiving dinner is all about turkey or pumpkin pie. For my sister and me, it's all about mashed potatoes. The first thing we put on our plates is a big pile of potatoes-everything else is just garnish. When it's time to dig into leftovers, I always heat up mashed potatoes and gravy. But when I watched my mom make my beloved mashed potatoes one year (because I wanted to learn how to make them), I was horrified at all of the butter and cream she added.

But you can make delicious mashed potatoes that are healthier. Here are 4 recipes to try this Thanksgiving.

1. Use poached garlic and a small amount of reduced-fat sour cream to give Garlic Mashed Potatoes delicious flavor without a lot of fat. (The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.)

2. Extra-sharp Cheddar and buttermilk add a tangy punch to Vermont Cheddar Mashed Potatoes. And, yes, we may be a bit biased, but we prefer Vermont Cheddar cheese.

3. Try something different and make Layered