Thanksgiving

• Serve together at a Thanksgiving meal in your community.

• Buy an extra turkey and take it to the Food Bank.

• Find a family that you can deliver a Thanksgiving meal to with your children.
  

Shopping after Thanksgiving can be rewarding with all the great sales and overwhelming with all the crowds.

Start Early

• Waiting until the last minute increases holiday stress. Waiting until Christmas Eve, you'll have to fight crowds and take whatever is left over.
  

Shop in Off-Peak Hours

• Shop at slow times during the early morning or late in the evening. You can forgo the crowds and long lines by shopping in stores that are open 24 hours.
  

Take a List

• Keep a pen and paper in your purse or wallet and write down all of your gift ideas. If you keep your list with you at all times, you'll know exactly what you need to buy, you'll be less likely to forget something, and you'll avoid over-spending.
  

Set a Budget

• Are you still paying for last year's gifts? Work out a budget and stick to it. Buy only affordable gifts and you'll find it much easier to pay off your holiday credit card debt. (Husbands will really appreciate this.)
  

Look for Sales

• Watch store ads and be on the lookout for holiday sales. You can save a pretty good chunk of money because almost anything you may want to buy eventually goes on sale.
  

Buy a few Extra Gifts

• Choose a few Find some "generic" gifts on sale that can be for a man or a woman, (gift cards are perfect) and purchase a couple of extras. This way you'll always be prepared if someone unexpectedly gives you a gift, and you can avoid any embarrassment or hurt feelings by returning the favor.
  

Shop Online

• Every year, more and more people shop from the comfort of their own home. Get your list and buy your Christmas presents at a leisurely pace to avoid the stress. Keep an eye out for free shipping and other "online only" deals. Often, there is the additional savings of not having to pay sales tax that will off set any shipping charges.
  

Save Receipts

• Be prepared for broken items, wrong sizes and duplicate gifts. Always save shopping receipts for 90 days after your purchase. This is about how long stores will allow a returns. Don forget to ask for a gift receipt.
  

Treat Yourself

• If you followed the tips above and stayed organized then you'll have time to enjoy all the season has to offer. Go caroling, ice skating, bake cookies with the kids...

• There are many homemade arts and crafts you can try. Search online for creative ideas or keep it simple with tracing hands and making it into a turkey or painting leaves for Fall.

• Make a thankful chain. Cut out strips in Fall colors and keep them out during the month and guide your kids to think of things they are thankful for (i.e. grandparents, food, sister, etc.) By Thanksgiving, you can have a large chain to reflect on. You can also have your guests help you do this on Thanksgiving.

• Another variation is a table runner that you can write the thankful items on and note the year.

• Help your child make a homemade Thanksgiving card for neighbors or family members.

• Visit your local library to check out some Thanksgiving books.

• Butterball Turkey Talk-Line
  800.288.8372 or www.Butterball.com
• Foster Farms Turkey Helpline
  800.255.7227
  Get all your questions answered about cooking a turkey.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat & Poultry Hotline
  888.674.6854
  Food specialists answer calls year round in Spanish and English on meat & poultry preparation.
• Empire Kosher Poultry Customer Hotline
  800.367.4734 or empirekosher.com
• Recipes and tips on cooking poultry:
  www.TurkeyHelp.com
  www.EatTurkey.com