December 2010

Finding the magic of the holiday season

What I Learned This Month

Share Your Shopping Smarts

When do you take down your holiday decorations?

Creative Gift Ideas from BHG.com

More from BHG

Things to Do This Month

Wrap up your shopping, hum a happy tune, and spread cheer by giving presents with a purpose.

Collectible Ornaments

Pure Style Home

All is Bright

Breakfast Is Served

Holiday Munchies

Get Crackin'

Santa's Helper

Into the Woods

Cheery woodland-inspired containers extend the season's festive mood to your outdoor spaces.

Surprise Package

There's no place like home for the holidays, especially when it's filled with lively colors, original touches, and fun traditions.

Warm Welcomes

This season, come in from the decorating cold. These easy felt flourishes will give your home the warm fuzzies.

Christmas Present

There's always room for one more at-ease tradition in this young family's Christmas lineup.

Party Central

If your entertaining gear lives where you need it, when you need it, throwing a casual cocktail party is as easy as opening the front door.

Dinner Belle

Tableware designer Rosanna Bowles serves up her tips for setting three festive holiday tables.

Top Secrets

Go beyond the basic bow. These simple paper projects will crown your packages in style.

Cookie Break

Every holiday season, bakery owner Agnes Hsu invites her friends to a new kind of cookie swap, where each treat comes with a recipe-- and a charity-- attached.

Homegrown Holiday

Garden designer Jon Carloftis finds his favorite materials for decking the halls right in his own backyard.

Berried Treasure

Let nature's winter wardrobe of berries and boughs inspire your holiday decorating.

Celebrate the Holidays

Full Circle

The natural materials and colors of the season shine in three easy-to-make wreaths.

Brightest Bulb

Open for the holidays The breathtaking blooms of amaryllis light up any mantel or tabletop. Plant bulbs now to brighten your home by the end of the year.

10 Ways to Save Time This Month

Order Up

It's a Wrap

Ornament Holder

Storing Holiday Lights

Cash for Lights

Energy saved by using LED holiday light strings that are Energy Star qualified, rather than ordinary incandescent ones...

Keep Your Tree Fresh Longer

Nothing beats the invigorating aroma of a real Christmas tree. Make it linger a little longer with these easy steps.

Living Ornaments

The Wish List

The decorations are up, the cookies made... but the gifts? The best ideas are right here. Start crossing off your shopping list now.

Grate Tool

Give the gift of fuss-free flavor. Small handheld graters with new wider blades are hitting shelves, allowing you to add thin slivers of lime peel or carrots to dishes in a flash. Stir freshly grated ginger into holiday appetizers.

New Ways with Puff Pastry

Peppermint Candies

Quick Pan Sauce

Toasting Nuts

GREAT GIFT

Celebration Cookies

Save the Date

Holiday Baking

Cooking Enthusiast

Gifts Cooks Love

Tea totaling

Cyber slimming

Rub out colds

Chocolaty goodness

Heads up for hoopsters

Off the record

Skintervention

Fruit Gift Box

Fair trade

ID IQ

Year-end tax tip

Up in alms

Merry mayhem

Feeling like your holiday doesn't measure up? One stressed-out mom discovers that "perfect" is in the eye of the beholder.

Homespun for the Holidays

Make the most of family time this season by handcrafting a few special ornaments. These keepsakes are easy enough for all ages to master.

I Did It!