By Colleen Rothe

The Halloween stuff is hardly out of the way and Santa and red and green dot everything the retailers have to offer. Oh! Don’t forget to get your eggnog latte too!

Ugh. Bah humbug! Let them eat cake! Go ahead…grumble. Get it all out of your system. Now it’s time to face the calendar and make a plan.

The Holidays are approaching – whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanza, Christmas or Yule – Americans, whatever their proclivities, are waxing grateful this year on Nov. 27. If you’re like me and tasked with hosting the family feast, there’s some easy tips to making sure you save some money and ease the stress of the holiday, at least in that regard. None of these tips will make Cousin Eddie Johnson, along with his Hamburger-Helper-loving family, decide not to park their motor home outside your house; but these tips might just allow you the energy to deal with wayward relatives because you’re not stressing about the monetary cost of your Thanksgiving Day meal.

Get the gang involved: The first is to make sure that you have the right meal planned. If you know exactly who will be coming to dinner at your home, get them involved in the meal planning. If no one but you likes the cranberry-and-nut cornbread dressing, don’t make it. Make sure everyone really wants the traditional turkey, as opposed to say a ham or duckling. Making food that people won’t eat or that will go bad before a sole enjoyer might eat it, is just a waste of money. One year I got off really cheap by doing make-your-own pizzas. But that’s what everyone wanted. I missed the leftover turkey sandwiches and hash, but it’s one of the best Thanksgivings on records for our family.

Pay attention to the grocery store circulars: Many of your local markets will be running sales way ahead of time. The smart consumer will be getting a frozen bird and any canned or other frozen goods ahead of time. Like always, planning ahead of time will save you money. Additionally, it will save you headache. Avoiding the last-minute crowds, save to get your fresh produce, is worth your sanity, at minimum. Plus, many markets mark down the fresh produce so that they don’t have any sitting in the bins while the store is closed for Thanksgiving. So, watch those circulars and pay attention.

Appetizers should be part of the plan: There’s nothing more annoying for the host chef than someone poking around in his or her kitchen while trying to get a fall festival feast on the table. Keep the traffic down in your kitchen and keep the focus on the dining room or football game by putting out inexpensive appetizers like a cheese ball (watch those circulars again) with tasty crackers, a vegetable tray, or even just pickles and olives. Our favorite appetizer is smoked salmon – local QFC stores do their own from the butcher shop really inexpensively – and it reminds my father-in-law of the smoked fish his father used to make. Served with a side of noshable crackers and you’re ready to watch the Lions lose and John Madden cut a six-legged turkey.

Guests bring the desserts & drinks: It’s the tradition in my family that those whom fall into the guest category on Thanksgiving bring the desserts and drinks. A bottle of wine from single Uncle Charlie and a bakery pie from Cousin Sally from the countryside will help keep the cost of your hosting down to a reasonable amount.

Have the children decorate: Paper plate cookies, pilgrim colorings, fall leaves pressed in wax paper – any of these can add to the festive nature. An older sibling or young adult guest can help supervise arts-n-crafts. It helps keep the kids busy while adults are visiting, watching football, playing cards, or busy cooking. Besides providing a nice activity for the younger family members, it’s a lot cheaper than buying decorations at the store. If you have a more mature audience, great decorations and place settings can be purchased on the cheap at your local thrift stores. I found an antique set of candle sticks at the local resale shop for $5. My turkey platter was just $2. There was much more, but I have minimalist tastes. Regardless, there was something for everyone and all for pennies to the dollar of retail.