I know a lot of people have yet to jump on the couponing bandwagon (even though it is easy with sites, such as Couponmom and saves a lot of money), but anyone can benefit from the new wonder — E-coupons.

Look at this haul from tonight, including two gallons of milk, two Coffeemates, four boxes of Cherrios, Olay lotion, potatoes, carrots, cheese slices, snacks, a frozen pizza and even a frozen dinner entree. $85 in groceries for … $29! That’s a $55 savings!

I used my standard strategies, which is to combine store specials, with store coupons, with manufacturer coupons (both newspaper and Internet). But I started adding in one more saving strategy — E-coupons tied directly to your store club card.

The best news is now the stores are adding E-coupons available on their web sites! So before the shop, I stopped by my store’s site (Vons.com), added its E-coupons onto my Club card, and then went on over to Shortcuts.com, Cellfire.com and P&G.com for Proctor and Gamble savings. The best part is I never needed to leave the store’s web site — the links were right there under “coupons.” Now this is no-brainer savings!

To use them is nothing. Slide your card at checkout, and the savings is automatically deducted (usually noted as “Manufacturer E coupon”). The store makes it easy to remember what you loaded, by offering a printable shopping list on its web site.

Just with e-coupons (which take nothing to load), I saved $6.05. Adding them with regular coupons and the rebate, and my total coupon savings was $32.61 — more than what I spent!

But when you combine E-coupons with and/or store specials, store coupons and paper and Internet coupons, you can net some dang good deals!

How about these steals tonight:

I have come to learn that in a household, one person becomes the Christmas Elf — the one who makes a memorable holiday come about. We’re the ones who stay up late or get up early, and generally ensure that the holiday spirit is spread far and wide. The others think it just happens — as if the Christmas Elf just materialized as needed.

Yes, my name is Harry, and I am a Christmas Elf. But I love it, however …

I’ll admit it, I am pooped tonight. Yes, Prohomemaker is wiped. I’ll head to bed, now after the fudge is ready for the neighbors and I made another cornbread for dressing later this week. And, I’ll be back up tomorrow to go to work.

But just wanted to tip you off to do a to-do list. Start backing out the holidays to ensure you get the most important tasks done.

Yes, that means some get shoved aside.

These are my top priorities:

Everything else goes to B items, including my business Christmas cards. I’ll do my best, but it’s time to say what’s most important.

So the thought for the day is prioritize. How are you doing?

P.S. I was going to move the image up in this post that I changed from last year, but it’s time to prioritize.

A re-post, but very timely. Tomorrow is going to be my baking day, and perhaps a night this week. But I plan to have it wrapped up midweek. This year, it’s using the cookie pouches I got for free and banana bread (with bananas I got for 25 cents a pound). Anyway, take this “slow” time in the holidays to whip out some items and freeze ‘em.

I think most people are just starting to wake up and say, “Gee, it’s the holiday season,” but I know you’re ahead of the game. And that’s the subject of today’s post — Bake now, or forever hold your peace.

I love that title, but my point is that it’s quiet now, so it’s the perfect time to do your baking. In 10 days, your friends will think you’re Martha Stewart on diet pills, as you pull freshly baked goods out, but only you will know they came from the freezer.

Right now, I have two large loaves of banana nut bread baking in the oven (thank you to my Kitchen Aid Professional 600 mixer, I could do both doughs in one mix!). But even if you mix by hand, it’s the time to start stowing baked goods into the freezer.

I did the banana nut bread tonight, and after it cools, I’ll stash it in the freezer for about 7 days from now — it’s the gifts for the neighbors. I also plan on whipping up the homemade cornbread for this great Caramelized Onion and Fresh Sage Cornbread Dressing recipe I used at Thanksgiving (be sure and add more chicken stock). It turned out great for Thanksgiving and will be perfect for Christmas dinner.

You can also pre-bake cookies (just got a deal or Tollhouse morsels tonight — $1.18 with my coupon — so I plan on baking some chocolate chip cookies, too).

I think by Sunday night, I will have the baking done, and ready for full swing for the holidays.

So heat up that oven, and let’s get baking!

I wrote this post a year ago, and it is still perfect. This weekend is the crunch period before the holiday. Hope this gives you a plan for this weekend and the next couple of days.

This is it — the final chapter on planning for Thanksgiving — or any holiday dinner. We are now down to the crunch period — the weekend before!

Now is the time to focus on the shopping, the dinner-timing countdown and the cooking. If you need to come up-to-date, refer back to this post, this post, and this post — these are all items I am assuming you took care of.

I am going to reinterate, the only way you will have a stress-free holiday is with planning, and that means doing a little every day, so let’s cut to the “to do” list:

One final tip — You enjoy yourself. You are a guest, too, so make it look effortless, and people will be amazed, and you will be so much more relaxed! Good luck!

Hope you have some extra money this week in your food budget, because Target is having some incredible food deals through Nov. 21!

These are all loss leaders (as I discussed in this post), so be a smart shopper: Grab the leaders and make Target take the loss, then beat cheeks out of the store with the deals.

Some examples:

But if you want to make these killer deals, add in coupons! Using the list at Couponmom.com, you can net incredible deals on these and a lot of other items. Just go to “Deals by State” at the site, and you will see the hot link for Target specials.

These are some of the deals I will be picking up with coupons:

And I have a tip on getting the biggest killer deal on the Campbells Mushroom Soup. Go to Campbellskitchen.com and print the coupon for $1 off four (and you can print twice). You’ll get the soup (which is normally $1 on a very good sale) for only 24 cents a can! The ad says others are also on sale, so I am hoping I will be getting some Cream of Chicken, too. But either way, for less than $2, I am going to get eights cans of the soup. We will be stocked easily for six months!

So check out Couponmom for the coupon matchups, as well as Saving Cents with Sense blog for more, and I will see you at Target!

I was helping my sister-in-law plan Thanksgiving tonight, and it brought to mind my little secret when entertaining large groups — rent!

Of course, if you are entertaining a small group — say 6-8 — then by all means, bring out your best. But when a larger group is on the agenda, think of renting from a party supply retailer.

People think this is out of their reach, but you will be susprised how cheap it is to rent the items you need for a big dinner party, be it Christmas, Thanksgiving or just when you are planning a crowd.

Want an example? We are expecting 16 for Thanksgiving — to rent the ivory china with gold trim and a set of 16 large goblets is only $16.50! No minimum, no cleaning ahead of time and the best part? No washing after! The supplier just expects you to rinse them before putting back in the convenient storage container.

It’s also cheap to rent tables and chairs (chairs only run about $1.10 for a white folding one - much better than asking a relative to haul over their entire set from their dining room set!)

But not all party rental deals are deals. They get you on tablecloths in particular. You’ll rent a table for $10, but the tablecloth is nearly $20. So by all means, it makes sense to invest in some good ones, but I’ve found sheets work great in a tight spot. Keep that in mind.

Hope this helps your Thanksgiving come together. And if you think it’s too soon, I’ve got news for you — we are less than 18 days out!

I made the cornbread tonight for my cornbread dressing I am bringing (be sure and cut the sugar in half on the cornbread). Just going to freeze it to prep time. Doing things ahead of time will make your holidays nearly stress-free. Read more tips here in anticpation of the season.

OK, grab your chestnuts — there are only 68 days left till Christmas! I can hear the “Oh geez!” “Not already!” and “Oh crap!” comments now. But I thought you needed a reminder.

It’s time to draft that Christmas list now, before all the holiday hubbaloo begins. Practicing what I preach, I did mine for this year tonight — 22 people (we have a big family), but I already have 10 gifts out of the way. Yea!

By drafting the list now, you will have a set guideline not only for whom you are buying gifts, but also an opportunity to set a budget per person. This will keep you from spending too much on one person and feeling you need to make it up with the next, as well as spread the bill-paying out over time. The first half of my spending should be paid off this month. My goal is to finish to it all before Thanksgiving this year so that I may devote the holidays to decorating, entertaining, enjoying my friends and family, and generally being relaxed.

But this takes planning. So I am recommending this week you list everyone for whom you wish to buy presents and set a realistic budget. The best part about this is it will allow you to hit those clearance sales, and other online deals before everyone wakes up December 1st and realizes Christmas is 24 days away.

So, ho! ho! ho! Let’s begin the holiday planning early this year and vow to enjoy all that the season brings!

Now that Christmas is behind us comes the time to prepare for the holiday wrapup — New Year’s. I began a tradition long ago that I deemed “de-Santa’ing” the house.

In the few days between the two important events, I begin to pack up all Christmas-type decorations, including Santas, snowmen, and anything “cutesy.” Left are the colors of the season in runners, crystal bowls of sparkling ornaments, and silver platters and candlesticks. I seek to transform the house from the warmth of Christmas to the elegance of New Year’s.

But this strategy has a secondary (and more ulterior) motive. By putting away the Santa-type decorations, I am edging toward the “return of normalcy” to the home after the holidays, as well as spreading out the work that is inherent in packing up everything.

It works wonderfully, and has become a standard in my holiday planning. So tonight, all the Santas are gone, but the house still exudes holiday warmth (and I will have it much easier in a couple days).

Try this strategy, you’ll see how well it works. Oh, and may I be the first to wish you, Happy New Year!

I loved this graphic! I felt like saying, “Who is tired? Raise your oven mitts.”

So how are you doing in the final crunch period?

I’ve got the following done:

I just finished the Christmas cards to past clients, so those are going in the mail tomorrow. I should be OK, and, if not, what the hell.

Let me tell you, we’re all pooped, but I still love this time of year. So how are you doing?

I love entertaining buffet-style, even if it’s just for four people. I find it the simplest way to entertain, in which you can actually enjoy your guests.

A personal pet peeve of mine is what is called “family style” for a dinner, in which all the food is placed on the table and passed about. Invariably, I have to hold either an incredibly hot dish or try to serve myself while balancing a 3-pound casserole. And, of course, I feel as if I am a waiter for half the dinner, passing this and that, all the while my own food is getting cold. If it works for you fine, but I cannot stand it either as a host or a guest.



With that out of the way, let’s get to setting up a simple buffet!

You can arrange the spread anywhere, as long as it is relatively close to the dining area. Normally, I set ours up on a library table adjacent to the dining table, which is preset with flatware, glasses, bread, butter, and napkins. That way, it’s just a matter of filling your plate and sitting down. I’ve also served it on our large island-style counter (always ensure the kitchen is clean) or even on a stovetop in a 1 bedroom apartment.

Our friends at Wynn-Dixie provided this superb graphic for a standard buffet arrangement. Note the plates and main dish first, and then the items go from there. Flatware and napkins, if placed at the buffet, are always last, along with any beverages (but I always prefer to have those on the table). Even if your guests cannot move around a table, you may use this same setup for a single-line buffet.

A couple quick tips:

I’ve got two buffets planned — one for Christmas Day night dinner and then having friends from LA over the next day for brunch, so this is why this came to mind. Hope it helped give you some ideas.