Money Crashers: Holiday articles

As you know, I've long been a believer that the holiday season (meaning Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Festivus, and any other winter solstice holiday) should not start until after Thanksgiving. I avoid going into local stores that display Christmas wares before Thanksgiving, and I've actually boycotted stores that started their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day. However, this boycott does not extend to my work life, since any holiday shopping article needs to be written well before Thanksgiving in order to make it through to publication in early December. (Once I wrote an article on green gift giving that didn't get published until December 23, with Hanukkah already over and Christmas just two days away, so ever since then I've made a point of being early with these.)

Hence, I've currently got several holiday articles in the pipeline at Money Crashers, and two of them have already been published. However, I've waited until now to publicize them here, so as to avoid thrusting Christmas into your Thanksgiving weekend. Now, with the holiday season officially under way, I can tell you about them.

The first piece, 30 Best Gift Ideas for Foodies (on Every Budget), is about how to find  the perfect gift for a foodie friend. It provides options in several price ranges, from new and interesting ingredients to useful kitchen gizmos to spiffy aprons and chef coats. With so much to choose from, you're sure to find something suitable for your favorite foodie.

The second, How to Create a Holiday Budget and Stick to It, is about using a budget to avoid holiday overspending. Technically, this one may be coming a bit late for those who started their holiday shopping on Black Friday, but it can still help you keep your total spending within limits and avoid a debt hangover after New Year's Day.

By the way, this second piece also includes a long section full of money-saving strategies for the holidays—but after it was published, my editor asked if I could pull those out into a separate article. So at some point in December, most of these tips will get cut from the budgeting piece and moved into the new one. I'll alert you when it comes out.