Merry Christmas! Here’s hoping you had a terrific holiday, filled with family, friends, and laughter. And, if you’re anything like me, for the last week you’ve been rushing around, wrapping last-minute gifts, welcoming visitors, and whipping up food for a crowd—then tackling stack after never-ending stack of dirty dishes. So my next wish for you is that you have a chance to relax today before the New Year’s celebration begins. Here’s how to head in the right direction:

• Work in a workout. Take a brisk 30-minute walk outside. The fresh air and time to yourself will do you good.
• Rub away the tension. A massage will have you relaxed and feeling stress-free in no time. Use mood-boosting herbal oils, such as bergamot, geranium, jasmine, neroli, or ylang-ylang, all of which are available at health food stores.
• Eat good mood food. Tryptophan-rich foods, such as turkey, chicken, fish, dairy products, soybeans, nuts, and avocados can ease stress. So spread some guacamole on a slice of leftover turkey, or grab a handful of almonds, and snack away.
• Get help from hyssop. Relax in a hyssop herbal bath before you head for bed, and I guarantee you’ll get a good night’s sleep. Simply drop 4 or 5 hyssop tea bags (found at any health food store) into the running bathwater and add a few teaspoons of oatmeal. Let the bags float as you soak, and soon your troubles will also float—away!

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Happy holidays! Have you gotten your poinsettia yet? With a little care and patience, you can enjoy your winter beauty not just this Christmas season, but for years to come. Here’s what you need to do:

For the next couple of weeks, keep your poinsettia near a warm, sunny window, but don’t let the plant touch the glass. Check the soil every day and water it when it’s dry to the touch. Don’t allow the soil to either dry out completely or remain soaking wet.

After the holidays, stop watering your poinsettia and store it in a cool, dry place when the leaves fall off. In spring, start watering it again, and cut the stems back to 6 inches tall. Keep the stems pinched back as the new leaves begin to form to make a short, compact plant. From early October until blooming starts, place the plant in a dark closet for 12 hours each night, and move it to a sunny window for the rest of the day. Then, voilà! Come Christmas 2010, your poinsettia will be a bloomin’ beauty, all over again!

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For many folks, the whole idea of growing trees and shrubs with bright berries is to attract winter birds. But berries meet only one of our fine-feathered friends’ cold weather needs. Here are a few more ideas for a winter wonderland—they’re literally for the birds:

• One of the simplest ways to feed birds in winter is to make a suet feeding station. Simply drill 1-inch holes into a thick branch, and hang it from a tree. Fill the holes with suet (heating it first to make it easier to pack), and you’re good to go. Just make sure to keep the suet coming after your bird buddies have flown in for a snack.
• A supply of fresh water for drinking and bathing is a must all year round, but it’s especially important in winter! Heat some water to lukewarm and pour it into your birdbath every morning. The birds will quickly take advantage of their luxurious winter hot tub before the water ices over.
• Whip up this fruity treat that’ll entice crowds of colorful cardinals to your feeder this month: Combine 4 parts black oil sunflower seeds, 1 part cracked corn, 1 part chopped dates, and 1 part chopped dried cherries, and stir to mix thoroughly. Serve it in an unroofed tray feeder so the cardinals can spot the sweet stuff as they’re flying by.
  
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Are you hanging on to a pile of sewing scraps just because the fabric is too pretty to throw away? If so, don’t toss ‘em in the trash—‘tis the season to think about creative ways to reinvent those scraps. Here’s a trio of festive possibilities:

1. Trim the Christmas tree. Cut out two identical pieces in the shape of trees, snowmen, or other seasonal shapes, and sew them together front to front, leaving one end open. Flip the little pouch right side out, stuff it with cotton batting or panty hose, and stitch it shut. Attach color-coordinated ribbons and hang the decorations on the tree.
2. Wrap presents. Use larger scraps in place of wrapping paper and tie them with braid, rickrack, or high-quality ribbon—thereby delivering a bonus to the lucky gift recipient: the makings of a decorative pillow!
3. Tag it. Cut shapes out of smaller remnants, and glue them onto sturdy, solid-colored paper. Write messages on the tags with permanent marker, punch a hole in one end, and secure them to gifts with colorful ribbons.

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Here’s a terrific recipe for pumpkin muffins that’s sure to be a hit Thanksgiving morning. They taste and smell sinfully delicious, but they’ve only got 159 calories each—so you’ll have plenty of room for turkey and all the trimmin’s later in the day! Truth is, these muffins are good enough to be a part of your healthy, whole-grain diet any time of year, so you can skip the sugary, processed snacks.

Ingredients:
1½ cups white whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup honey
3 tablespoons canola oil
½ cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a large bowl, mix the flour, spice, baking soda, and baking powder. In a small bowl, combine the egg, pumpkin, honey, and oil. Stir until well blended. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir just until mixed. Fold in the raisins, and ladle the batter into the paper liners. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As you’re making one final cleanup in your yard and garden this weekend—and let’s face it, this is probably the last chance you’ll have to do yard work before temps start to plunge—don’t be so quick to clear away everything in your flower beds. While it’s tempting to cut down flowers after the first frost, take my advice this year and leave some of the seedheads standing. That way, you’ll have more to look at during the winter. Even without their colorful petals, seedheads have a subtle beauty all their own. Plus, they catch falling snowflakes, creating fun snow sculptures that change with each flurry. Standing seedheads also provide a great natural source of seeds that’ll attract winter birds to your garden without the bother of filling feeders!

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The chill in the air means it’s that time of year again—so fire up the ol’ furnace and let the indoor heating season begin. But before you start cranking up the heat, you’ll need to clean or replace your furnace’s filters. After all, maintaining your heating system properly is one of the best ways to put a lid on sky high fuel bills.

If your filters are permanent, simply remove them and hose ‘em off outside. Let them dry completely before sliding them back into the furnace. But if your filters are disposable, don’t clean and reuse them—toss ‘em out! Then, head to the nearest hardware store to purchase a few new ones.

Just keep in mind that “bargain” filters are less efficient and need to be replaced more often, so don’t automatically reach for the cheapest one on the shelf. And if allergies are a problem in your family, then spend the extra money and buy filters that have the highest MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) you can find. You’ll breathe a whole lot easier because these hardworking helpers will trap lots of sneezy, wheezy pollen and dander.

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