Thanksgiving is nearly here: hold on to your pocketbooks!

Supermarket spending jumps this week--but it doesn't have to break the bank. Today, we've got tips and ideas to help you prepare festive holiday meals without busting the budget as we prepare for holiday meals and hospitality.

to do today ...

Prepare for drop-in visitors. Collect hospitality supplies: cheeses, crackers, frozen desserts. Hide from hungry family members using creative labeling.

to read today ...

Even the most die-hard non-cooks will find themselves shopping for food this week, as American Thanksgiving approaches. Watch out, wallet! How do you feed the family a lavish holiday meal without going broke? We've got the answer to supermarket savings on holiday meals:

Save Money on Holiday Meals

today's recipe ...

M&M Cookie Mix in a Jar makes a colorful jar gift, and is popular with kids. We make it easy with free printable gift tag:

M&M Cookie Mix in a Jar

Party PlannerWill you entertain during the holiday season? Whether it's a simple potluck gathering, formal dinner party or all-out bash, planning pays.

Get a grip on any holiday parties now, before the seasonal rush begins. Sending invitations early makes it more likely guests will be able to attend; having shopping and supply lists ready cuts down on party-day trips to the store.

Try these free printables to plan holiday entertaining:

Party Planner

Party Budget

Dashing around at the last minute, chanting, "Where's the serving spoon, where's the serving spoon?" is a holiday tradition that can stand to be forgotten. Cut chaos on the big day: set the table early.

If you're hosting Thankgiving dinner, set the table a day or two ahead. Place a small sticky note inside serving dishes to remind you (or your helpers) what goes where. You'll have time to shine up a tarnished platter or rout out missing serving pieces--in blessed privacy.

Today, we share the secret for simplifying holiday baking chores: developing a "specialty". A simple strategy to streamline the holiday cook-a-thon, a baking specialty saves time and tears in the holiday kitchen. I'll share mine, too!

to do today ...

Feed the freezer. Do a mini-freezer cooking session to put 5 to 10 pre-made entrees into the freezer. Track holiday meals on a Freezer Inventory Page Use these meals on busy December evenings.

Simplify holiday baking: organize a cookie swap. Invite 6 to 12 guests to bring as many dozen cookies as there are guests. Swap so that each guest leaves with a lavish assortment of holiday goodies. Freeze immediately, marked as "liver and onions."

to print today ...

Freezer Inventory

to read today ...

Beat the baking blues with our guide to easing holiday baking chores:

Baking Time-Saver: Make it a Specialty!

today's recipe ...

Look out, Rudolph: here come the Candy Cane Reindeer! Tucked into stockings or as package decoration, these holiday crafts are fast, fun and kid-friendly:

Candy Cane Reindeer Craft

You'll need to have a copy of Microsoft Word 97 or later, but if you do, check out this bonanza of free Thanksgiving printables from Microsoft!

From greeting cards to party invitations, dinner menus to recipe cards, you'll find a bonanza of quick templates to spark your holiday celebration.

Thankgiving Printables for Microsoft Word

Holiday baking. For many of us, kitchen creations are integral to the holiday spirit. We love the feeling of family connection as we tuck pie crust into grandmother's pie dish, or when we follow a candy recipe written in a great-grandmother's spidery hand.

But when is enough enough? Under the influence of Christmas magazines and You-Know-Which Domestic Dominatrix, grandmother Mim's simple plate of pralines has exploded into six kinds of cookies, four kinds of candies and some powdered cocoa mix for good measure. Like other areas of holiday prep, expectations for holiday baking have exploded in the last generation or two--and just when we're struggling with increasing time pressure and stricter diets.

Holiday baking should be a pleasure, not a chore. Think smaller and simpler when planning holiday baking. Double up on drop cookies, and forget the tedious rolled-and-cut out creations. Opt for no-cook candies instead of hard-to-beat fudge. Replace elaborate cookie trays with mini-loaves of tea bread, or go whole hog and buy your Christmas goodies from your local baker.

Cooking for the Thanksgiving feast, plan to double or triple amounts for any freezer-friendly dishes, and tuck the extras into the freezer for later use.

Good freezer candidates include unbaked pie shells, unbaked pies, unbaked stuffing and--surprise!--mashed potatoes. Cook once, feast twice for an organized holiday season.

Time to plan holiday meals! Today's the day we break out our printable holiday meal planner forms, and organize those big dinners and festive brunches.

to do today ... plan holiday menus!

Thanksgiving is a few days away; it's time to sort out holiday menu plans. On our free printable holiday menu planner or a fresh sheet of paper, list each holiday meal that will take place in your home.

Thanksgiving Day? Christmas Eve? Christmas Day? New Years? Give each at-home meal a good hunk of space on the page for menu planning.

Next, list those meals that you will take away from home. Christmas Breakfast at Grandma's? Holiday pot-luck at church? If you'll need to bring a dish, note it down. Leave a smaller space between each away-from-home meal.

The only one who should wing it when it comes to holiday meals? The turkey.

Smart cooks know that a written menu plan calms chaos in the kitchen, and never more so than before a big holiday feast. A written menu plan makes it easy to spot bottlenecks at oven and cookstove, sorts serving dishes, and organizes potluck contributions.

Take a moment today to plan Thanksgiving dinner. Use our free printable Holiday Menu Planner. It'll be your road map to a calm celebration.

Print a Holiday Menu Planner Form