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.

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.

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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

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A stockpile of frozen dinners is a seasonal stress-buster during the month of December. This week, add a few ready-to-cook meals to the freezer to prepare for the busy weeks ahead.

Whether you try traditional once-a-month cooking methods, buy premade meals at the warehouse store, or pay a visit to one of the new freezer cooking franchises, setting aside a stock of easy family dinners will cut stress during the Christmas season.

Feed the Freezer: Complete Freezer Cooking Guide

The tastes of the season: they're unforgettable! What special holiday flavors help you find the holiday spirit, even in November?

The tangy sparkle of cream of tartar and crushed candy canes in Candy Cane Cookies. Mom's cornbread dressing, redolent with sage and onion. The sheer decadence of chocolate and whipped cream in my favorite Christmas dessert, Buche de Noel.

Think of the unique flavors most strongly associated with this time of year. Cranberries and pumpkins. Turkey and savory stuffing. Gingerbread men.

Who needs motivation when we have the sense of taste? Holiday cooking chores turn to sheer sensual pleasure when you consider the flavors of the holidays!

The secret to dinner-hour organization during the holiday season? A well-stocked, organized freezer! Today's the day to clean out the freezer in anticipation of holiday goodies and freezer meals to come. Add a free printable Freezer Inventory Form, and you'll sail through holiday cooking chores.

Inventory the freezer, and record contents on the Freezer Inventory Form. Plan to eat from the freezer this week and next week, making room for holiday meals and holiday goodies. Use food budget savings to stock up on holiday staples.

Freezer Inventory

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Looking for an easy, inexpensive holiday gift? Pretty layered bath salts make a perfect gift for teens, co-workers or teachers. Sparked with the holiday scent of peppermint, Candy Cane Bath Salts are a seasonal treat.

Makes 12 gift jars at a cost approximately $1.50 per jar.

Includes free printable gift tags.

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Brace yourselves! Holiday cooking season is upon us. From now until January, busy kitchens are the norm, like it or not. What better time for a quick refrigerator declutter?

Right now, today, and absolutely before you shop for the holiday, tackle the refrigerator, top to bottom. Starting on the top shelf, remove all leftovers, past-the-shelf-date foods, shriveled fruits and drooping vegetables.

Take a hard look at what's left. A jar of pickle spears holding one leaning pickle? A bottle of barbeque sauce with one scanty inch in the bottom? A down-to-the-last scrape mayonnaise jar? Lay down the law: eat them today, or toss them NOW.

Goal: make room for holiday cooking. Just like our waistbands, our refrigerators overflow during this time of year. Get a step ahead and declutter that refrigerator before you shop!

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Pitching in to share the work makes a lot of sense when it comes to holiday meals--but without a bit of planning, you can end up with six different versions of Green Bean Casserole--and no rolls!

Bring order to potluck dinners today. Our free printable form makes it easy to plan, delegate and coordinate a shared menu:

Potluck Menu Planner Form

With Thanksgiving Day coming soon in the USA, there's no better time to organize holiday meals, menus and baking. Welcome to Get Cooking week!

It's all things food at the Countdown this week. Tighten your corsets! We're going to Get Cooking ... for the most delicious holiday season ever!

This week in the Christmas Countdown, we'll explore frugal strategies for holiday meals, plan family dinners, clean out our freezers and get the goods on those sneaky Grocery Guys.

Get Cooking Week Assignments

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If your shopping pulse races at the thought of post-Thanksgiving sales, heads up! Try these tips to get the most bang from your Black Friday buck, from Consumerist.com:

Black Friday Shopping Checklist

To make your list and plan your shopping strategy as information comes to light, try our free printable Black Friday sales planner:

Holiday Sales Planner

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America celebrates Thanksgiving next Thursday, gathering family and friends around the dining table. This week in the Houseworks Holiday Plan, we'll see to it that the celebration takes place in a clean and organized dining area.

Holiday prep chores observe the holiday, together with the traditional Black Friday sales. We'll prepare for the holiday meal, celebrate Thanksgiving, then shop! Finally, this is the week we plan holiday entertaining, so put on a festive mood as we follow the Houseworks Holiday Plan.

Dining Space Week Assignments

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snowman soup gift tag

If good little boys and girls get Snowman Soup, what do the naughty ones deserve? Snowman Poop! This inexpensive holiday gag gift is easy to make for office gifts, Secret Santa exchanges or stocking stuffers.

To make Snowman Poop, place a handful of mini-marshmallows in a small zipper food storage bag or decorated cellophane treat bag, then attach a gift tag with one the following poems.

Print a free printable Snowman Poop Gift Tag.

New! Print this Snowman Poop gift tag in .PDF format.

Or hand-write this message from Santa and attach to the gift bag:

I hear you've been naughty,
So listen, here's the scoop...
I'm running short on coal this year,
So you get "Snowman Poop"
Love, Santa

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Warm the hearts of good little boys and girls with a packet of Snowman Soup!

Take a packet of hot chocolate, chocolate kiss, marshmallows and candy cane, package in a mug or holiday-themed goody bag, then add a free printable gift tag for a cheery winter gift.

Easy enough for children to make, Snowman Soup is perfect for stocking stuffers, office gifts, Secret Santa presents or 12 Days of Christmas gifts.

New! Add a Winter Warmer Jiffy Pop® Popcorn Topper for an easy, cheery winter gift basket.

Click the read more link below for instructions, gift tags and the Snowman Soup poem.

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Is giving only about "stuff"--or is it a reflection of the heart? Plan to make a gift of yourself this holiday season.

This week in the Christmas Countdown, we've focused on gifts and giving--and 99% of the time, we've seen this effort in terms of "things." Stuff. Boxes and parcels and bags. Stocking stuffers. But have we considered making a true gift: a gift of ourselves?

In the days to come, we'll begin planning the American Thanksgiving holiday. Will we also begin to ponder those things for which we are thankful? Out of gratitude comes grace, and from abundance comes true giving.

Challenge yourself and your family to make a difference, this holiday season and beyond--to make a true gift of yourselves. Teach someone a new skill. Tackle a service project as a family. Visit an assisted living center, or take part in a church ministry.

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Savvy shoppers know that the week before Thanksgiving will see rock-bottom pricing on pantry staples at the supermarket, discount warehouse and drug stores.

Stock up now--for Thanksgiving AND Christmas AND New Year's--to put holiday meals on the table at frugal prices.

Need a shopping list? Print one here:

Free Printable Shopping List

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Has your family invited a Magic Elf to visit your home this holiday season? This fun--and free--family activity delights children of all ages in the weeks before Christmas.

If you're looking for ideas and inspiration for your Magic Elf tradition, check out the wealth of Elf lore and Elf ideas at Magical Holiday Home. This online message board community loves all things Christmas, but their forum devoted to the Magic Elf concept is a sparkling standout.

You'll find Everything Elf from blogs to crafts projects to true-story confessions of Elf mischief ... but be warned! Browsing these forums can be highly addictive:

The Magic Elf Concept forum at Magical Holiday Home

Magic Elf Tradition: Will Santa's Magical Elf Visit Your Home This Christmas?

Nearly half-way there: time to do a little status check on the progress of the Christmas Countdown. I hope that most of us feel a bit more prepared, a bit better organized. We've met together for three weeks, and we've covered a lot of ground.

Still, it's natural to feel a bit of panic today. From here on out, time will fly with a vengeance. Rehearsals, parties, holiday activities will rain down upon us.

During the next three weeks, the Countdown slows the pace to match the season. Because we're doing more in other areas of our life, the Countdown will lighten the load.

Ahead lies Get Cooking Week, appropriately so as we begin to prepare for Thanksgiving. Beyond that, we Decorate, then prepare to Celebrate.

Get ready to settle into a slower rhythm! Because ready or not, the holidays are nearly here. This year, though, we are riding high and in control ... organized for the best holiday season ever!

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Attention bargain shoppers! The year's lowest prices on pantry staples will be seen in at the supermarket during the days to come. Do you know what you'll need to stock the pantry for the holiday season?

Today, make a quick pantry inventory. Sort and organize stored foods, and make out a shopping list for baking supplies, mixers, snacks and other holiday needs. Knowing what you have--and buying only what you need at discount prices--is the fast track to holiday food savings.

Free Printable Pantry Inventory Form

Looking to cut back spending on holiday gifts? Celebrate like Santa (but spend like Scrooge) with this fabulous line-up of 34 great gifts you can make yourself.

Compiled from reader suggestions at finance blog Get Rich Slowly, the list focuses on easy-to-make gifts for all ages. Even if you're all thumbs at crafting, you'll find inspiration with this roundup of handmade holiday ideas.

And we loved, loved, LOVED the nice link to our site! Thanks, J.D.!

Do It Yourself Christmas: 34 Great Gifts You Can Make Yourself

Ask any wife and mother what she needs most during the holiday season, and she'll tell you, "More time!"

Yet this same busy lady will fill her Christmas gift list with elaborate hand-crafted gifts, requiring substantial outlays of cash, time and skill.

Result? She careens into mid-December either (1) working nightly until 1 a.m. to finish the lot or (2) substituting hurry-up last minute purchases for the unfinished gifts.

How to take charge of out-of-control crafting? Apply the Rule of Four!

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No doubt about it: a freezer can create a Christmas kitchen magician in the twinkling of a snowflake. Stockpiled side dishes, baked goods, kitchen gifts and holiday meals buy precious time in the holiday kitchen ... if you know what you have!

Keep track of freezer contents to stay on-track for happy holidays. A simple freezer inventory form means you'll know at a glance what's hidden in Moby's cold innards. Print one today, to organize your frozen assets:

Printable Freezer Inventory Form