I was speaking with a friend today about her Thanksgiving plans and I could tell there was stress in her voice. She was worrying about how everything would get done. She was worrying about whether the usual family sniping would crop up. And, of course, she was worrying about whether all the recipes would turn out right. That's why I suggested that she should immediately follow my 12 Best Strategies for a Lower Stress Thanksgiving. I know she's going to thank me someday.

There is always a lot of discussion on this site about the frustration in getting guests to respond to an RSVP request. Today I'm sharing a reader tip about the way he sees the RSVP challenge. He's a professional in the hospitality industry and, therefore, he has a different perspective than the rest of us. But it did make me wonder if adapting his attitude might make all of our lives a little bit easier. What do you think?

We were away last weekend, and one of the highlights of the trip was discovering a wine and cheese shop that we hadn't explored before. After sampling the wines in the shop we picked up a bottle of local wine to enjoy when we returned back home. That wine will be new for us even though the locals are probably familiar with it. But there's wine on the horizon that will be new to everyone - the upcoming release of the French Beaujolais Nouveau on the third Thursday of this month. That sounds to me like a good excuse for a wine and cheese party.

A few weeks ago we co-hosted a mall scavenger hunt birthday party for our 11-year-old daughter and her friend who was also celebrating her 11th birthday. Since the girls were on the younger side, we divided them into teams and assigned a parent to travel around the mall with each group. I believe this was one of their favorite birthday parties and it would have been one of the least expensive ones too, except that we took the group to see a movie at the end. But truly, that was unnecessary. Their favorite part was the mall scavenger hunt.

_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

Last week was a very busy week for me. I was in charge of my daughter's Halloween party at school on Friday, it was my husband's birthday on Saturday, we went trick-or-treating on Saturday evening, and ended the night with a Halloween party back at our house. On top of all that, my dishwasher was broken all week, so I was washing pots and dishes by hand. That's why I decided to make an exception to my usual style of entertaining, and purchased a pre-cut veggie tray at the supermarket and, even worse, I served it in the plastic tray from the store. I'm still feeling guilty about this. So I'd love to know how you feel about what I did.


_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

Thanksgiving is all about tradition. Mom's traditional stuffing, cousin's traditional pumpkin pie, the traditional carving of the turkey by the family gnome - oh, wait, that only happened one year. But a tradition is something that we look forward to every year. What are some of your favorite family traditions relating to Thanksgiving? We'd love to hear about them in our Reader Responses for Holiday Traditions. Maybe we'll learn something new to pass on to our own families, even if the gnomes don't visit this year.

_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

With a small break for my daughter's Halloween classroom party today, I'll be spending much of today preparing for our after trick-or-treating Halloween party tomorrow. Since I'll be out with my daughters before everyone comes back to our home, I'll need to have some snacks to fill sugar-loaded kids before dinner is ready. I could prepare some of the ghoulish goodies found in the Halloween Planning Guide. Or, maybe I'll go with standard favorites like spinach dip, buffalo wings, and layered dips. I'll just give them a Halloween-y name such as "monster brains", "bat wings", and "swamp surprise," and I'll be all set.

I know, Halloween is on Saturday, so you figure there will be plenty of time to put together a costume for your Halloween party. But, you know what happens? By the time you prep your home, shop for the food and drinks, and decorate, you still won't have a costume. That's why you might want to consider a simple costume, such as Julia Child with an apron, rolling pin and chef's toque; static cling, with socks pinned all over yourself; or, the classic ancient Roman or Greek. Of course, before you can do that, you'll need to know how to make a toga from a sheet.

Part of the fun of Halloween is serving snacks and treats that either look like pumpkins or like something somewhat spooky or gross. This gallery of Halloween Party Treats and Snacks
shows some of the treats I've prepared and served at parties, as well as a few cakes that have been made by readers. If you are making any fun Halloween treats this week, share your photos and I will add it to the gallery so that other readers can be impressed and inspired by your creations.

_{Photo © Donna Pilato}

Right about now, most of us Halloween happy families have a few bags of candy corn just sitting around our homes waiting for next weekend's party. Well, if you can bear to break into them, you might want to turn those little bits of sugary goodness into a decorative centerpiece for this pre-Hallowen week and your party. Follow this simple step-by-step and feel free to substitute pumpkins if you don't have a beautiful gourd. Of course, that's only if you can resist the temptation to eat your centerpiece before the holiday arrives.

_{Photo © Donna Pilato}