This week on 'Tis the Season, it's time to wrap some presents. My guest this week is Wanda Wen, owner of soolip, a Los Angeles paperie and author of The Art of Gift Wrapping. Wanda brought some amazing wrapping paper, and she'll demonstrate how to wrap a present using only three pieces of double-sided tape; how to wrap a cylinder, and what to do with all those scraps!

Next week on 'Tis the Season: Get ready for some amazing holiday desserts

Video produced by Jamila Jordan, Jennie Josephson. Post-production by Katie Best and John Adams. Graphics by Todd Tanner for Yahoo! Studios.

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Your cookies gain unwanted holiday width.

Life Lived DeliciouslyLumpy gravy, pasty potatoes, shredded turkey-what's a holiday cook to do? Find out how to avoid these and other holiday kitchen calamities with Cooking Light magazine's Most Common Cooking Mistakes.

Mistake #1: Your cookies gain unwanted holiday width.
Result: Sad gingerbread men.

Baking holiday cookies can go from a labor of love to an exercise in frustration when your gingerbread men come out more bloated than a Macy's parade float. The problem is too much heat-but not at the baking stage, at the mixing stage: Your butter is too warm.

See More: 100 Best Cookies

The solution: Keep your butter cool, right until baking. Butter starts to melt at 68°, and once that happens, its water-fat emulsion breaks and there's no getting it back. Cold, emulsified butter helps give baked goods structure by taking in air when mixed with sugar. For cookies, you want butter well below room temperature; between 50° and 65° is optimal. Cut the butter into chunks, and let it stand at room

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On Thanksgiving, everyone in my family goes around the table and shares what we're grateful for. There answers range from sentimental to appetite-driven (my personal go-to: semi-soft cheeses). It's one of my favorite parts of the holidays and something I only wished we'd carried on every day of my childhood.

That was before I heard about the additional health benefits. According to multtiple studies, gratitude is mentally and physically nutritious for kids.

"We know that grateful kids are happier [and] more satisfied with their lives," explains Hoftra University psychology assistant professor Jeffrey Froh in an article this week in The Washington Post. "They report better relationships with friends and family, higher GPAs, less materialism, less envy and less depression, along with a desire to connect to their community and to want to give back."

That's not all. It's also believed to boost immune systems and lower blood pressure over time. In a Temple Univeristy study,

Read More »from Grateful Kids Are Healthier. Studies Find Benefits in 365 Days of Thanksgiving

This week's video is all about timing. We'll talk about how to start your Thanksgiving prep during the week before the big meal, so you don't have to wake up at four am on the morning of the big day. We'll also talk about how to 'time the table' to make sure all your delicious dishes make it onto the table at the same time.

Please enjoy some of the the delicious recipes featured in the video

What a beautiful turkey!

Turkey Brine and Roast:

Brining Ingredients:

12-16 lb. turkey
2 gallons water
1 cup salt
3 tablespoons very coursely ground black peppercorns
2 teaspoons juniper berries
1/2 cup sugar
4 sprigs rosemary

Method:
Make the brine up to two nights before you cook the turkey. Heat water just enough to dissolve sugar and salt. Add remaining ingredients and cool down to refrigeration temperature. If there is no room in the refrigerator, line a large enough cooler with a trash bag and submerge turkey in brine in the trash bag. Tie tightly and ice very

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Tis The Season Episode One: Small bites are a big hit at any holiday party! This week we're making Mini Mac n' Cheese Muffins, Crispy Cauliflower Florets, and JELLO's Chocolate Cherry Bombs.

Host Pace Webb makes Mini Mac n' Cheese Muffins

Mini Mac n' Cheese Muffins
These bite-sized treats are perfect for a holiday party whether you're a guest or the host.

Yields: 48 mini muffins

Ingredients:

1 lb. small elbow pasta
6 oz. butter, divided
4 oz. flour
4 cups whole milk
1 lb. cheddar cheese, grated 3 eggs, whisked

¾ cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Special equipment:
24 count mini muffin tin

Method:

Bring salted water to a rolling boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Cook until soft.
(Tip: Don't stop at al dente, the pasta will not continue to cook through when molded into muffin form.)

Make Mornay sauce by melting 3 oz. of butter and mixing in the flour. Cook the butter and flour together for a few minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Slowly add the milk and whisk in. When

Read More »from 'Tis the Season: Mini Mac and Cheese Muffins

Mini Mac n' Cheese Muffins
These bite-sized treats are perfect for a holiday party whether you're a guest or the host.

Yields: 48 mini muffins

Ingredients:

1 lb. small elbow pasta
6 oz. butter, divided
4 oz. flour
4 cups whole milk
1 lb. cheddar cheese, grated
3 eggs, whisked
¾ cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Special equipment:
24 count mini muffin tin

Method:

Bring salted water to a rolling boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Cook until soft.
(Tip: Don't stop at al dente, the pasta will not continue to cook through when molded into muffin form.)

Make Mornay sauce by melting 3 oz. of butter and mixing in the flour. Cook the butter and flour together for a few minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Slowly add the milk and whisk in. When sauce thickens remove from heat and add grated cheese. Season with salt and cayenne. Add sauce to the cooked pasta Then

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In The Perfect Bird, author Molly Stevens lays out her foolproof method for roasting a turkey. But in the Saveur kitchen, we're rarely willing to just sit back and savor success. Stevens's beautiful bird sparked lively debates, with staffers putting forward their own techniques for getting the juiciest meat or the crispiest skin. In fact, every Thanksgiving recipe we tested for this issue either called forth another tried-and-true tip or gave rise to a new one. Here are a few we all agreed are worth adding to your Thanksgiving repertoire. Get tons of Thanksgiving tips, menu ideas, and more »

For a turkey with skin that's crisp, and flavorful, keep a small saucepan of melted butter, whole peppercorns, sherry vinegar, and dried sage and thyme on the stove, and use a basting brush to slather the infused butter all over the turkey as it roasts, every 30 minutes or so. See the recipe for The Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey »
Tip 1: Crispier-Skinned Turkey
For a turkey with skin that's crisp, and flavorful, keep a small saucepan of melted butter, whole peppercorns, sherry vinegar, and dried sage and thyme on the stove, and use a basting brush to slather the infused butter all over the turkey as it roasts, every 30 minutes or so. See the recipe for The Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey »

Related: A Vegetarian Thanksgiving

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