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NEW YORK (AP) — Many trav-elers have a favorite item or gadget they can’t leave home without — the equivalent of a teddy bear for grown-ups. Maybe it’s the GPS, or the inflatable neck pillow, or the Kindle, or the wheeled bag. At holiday time, as we struggle to come up with the perfect present for everyone on our list, it’s worth considering which of our treasured travel bring-alongs might make a good gift for someone else.

Here are some favorites from folks who spend a lot of time away from home, as well as a look at a few new and interesting items from retailers that just might become tomorrow’s must-haves.

Caroline Costello of IndependentTraveler.com recom-mends the Sittin’ Bag, which she describes as “a wonderful gift for an older traveler or someone with an injury or disability.” It’s a carry-on-size rolling suitcase with a fold-out seat attached to the side. Costello says it “provides a convenient place to rest in long airport security lines or busy train stations,” available at http://www.magellans.com/ for $155.

“I love my XShot, an extender rod to take self-photos/video, which I do often on my portable video camera,” says Robert Reid, U.S. Travel Editor for Lonely Planet. “Everytime I use it, I get comments. ‘Hey what is THAT?’ So it’s an ice-breaker too.” XShot — http://xshot.com/, $30 — is a telescopic rod that attaches to digital cameras or handheld video cameras, allowing the shooter to be in the frame without stretching an arm out or asking a stranger to take the picture.

Pauline Frommer, travel guide-book writer and founding editor of Frommers.com, says one of the “best travel gifts” she ever got was a Tumi plug adaptor that came from fellow travel writer and edi-tor Adrien Glover. “It comes in a little black case and it has prongs that can be pushed in and out, so it works everywhere!” she said. “Really great when you’re travel-ing to two parts of the world in one trip, as I did recently. I used one setting for Ireland and another one for Poland.” The electric adap-tor is $50 from http://www.tumi.com and offers four different plug configurations in one unit, good for 150 countries for powering devices like MP3 players, digital cameras and mobile phones.

Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of CruiseCritic.com, who spends about as much time on ships and planes as she does at home, is an unabashed fan of J. Peterman’s Counterfeit Mailbag — http://www.jpeterman.com/Counterfeit-Mailbag, $349, leather. “There’s plenty of room for my laptop, iPad and other assorted key items” and it can “easily fit everything I need for a long-haul flight,” she said in an email from her latest destina-tion, New Zealand.

George Hobica of AirfareWatchdog.com identifies the popular Bose Quiet Comfort Noise-Cancelling headphones, $300, http://www.bose.com, as “the only gadget I can’t live without ... drowns out screaming babies and screaming cell phone users.”

Bags and gadgets are also among the items retailers are recommend-ing this season. The “Pan Am” TV show has gotten a mixed reception, but whether or not you like the show, it’s hard not to love the retro style of a blue and white Pan Am airline bag, $74, from http://www.wayfair.com.

Wayfair.com also sells Smart Tubes, $19 for a set of two two-ounce containers in pretty pastel colors. They’re the perfect solution for travelers who want to decant a small amount of a favorite liq-uid or gel product for hair or skin from a large bottle at home into a small portable container that meets Transportation Security Administration regulations for air travel. The light bulb-shaped containers are extremely well-designed, with a tight closing cap that prevents spills and offers a wide mouth for filling up as well as a small squeeze hole for dis-pensing.

Practical and stylish, Safe Skies Locks is selling TSA-approved lug-gage locks that turn any generic black bag on a luggage carousel into an instantly recognizable fash-ion statement. The locks come in a variety of patterns and colors, including zebra stripes, leopard spots, and colorful floral prints, $13-$15, http://www.safeskies-locks.com/store/.

Here’s a clever gift idea from the B&B industry: The Getaway Gift Card from BedandBreakfast.com, available for $25 to $1,000 and good at more than 4,000 B&Bs in the U.S. and Canada. The web-site promises that the card won’t expire or reduce in value and has no blackout dates or hidden fees. It’s free to customize the card with your own photo and is ideal as a last-minute gift that can be deliv-ered instantly online via email or printed out at home for presenta-

tion in person. You can also have it shipped to the recipient for free. Now through Nov. 22, when you buy a gift card of $250 or more, you get an additional free $50 gift card with the promo code GCBELLS50 at checkout.

Flight 001, the fun and trendy travel retailer with stores in California, Chicago and New York as well as online at http://www.flight001.com, offers a colorful variety of luggage, gadgets and many other travel goodies for the holidays in wide range of prices and styles, but one of its best offer-ings this season makes a great gift for travelers who vacation in wine country and like to bring home a bottle. The VinniBag, $30, is a reusable bag with inflatable air chambers designed to protect and insulate fragile items. Wine bottles are a perfect fit but the bag can accommodate many other shapes and sizes, and it’s covered with transparent material for visual inspection without opening.

Anne Banas at SmarterTravelMedia.com says she’s hoping Santa brings her a Solio

Bolt charger. “I tried it out a couple of weeks ago,” she said. “It’s cute, seems to be well made, is compact and it works as described,” and is eco-friendly, versatile and pack-able. The charger has an on-board battery and rotating solar panels, and it can juice up from the sun, a USB port or the wall to power your phone, MP3 player, e-reader, GPS or camera, $70 from http://www.store.solio.com.

They’re not solar-powered, but Duracell also has a variety of portable chargers — the Instant Charger, Powerhouse Charger and Pocket Charger — to provide hours of extra power when the battery runs out on an iPhone, BlackBerry or iPod. They connect via USB cords to the devices, and recharge via USB cord from a computer. They’re compact, lightweight and starting at $20, may be cheaper than extra batteries for gadgets. They’re also getting rave consumer reviews online from folks who are on the go all day or are facing long trips and dreading the prospect of an iPod or cell phone that’s run out of juice.

Page 2 – Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - BLACK FRIDAY

Ooh La La has rapidly become the premier spot for all of your Spa Services & Anti-Aging treatments in the Metro East and St. Louis area! Dr. Kristen Jacobs, Owner & Medical Director, is a Family Medicine Physician specializing in Aesthetic Medicine. “I help patients look years younger in a natural looking way. It is very important to me to give my patients a refreshed version of themselves, not change their appearance into someone they are not! The best compliment I can get is when a patient says, ‘everybody could tell something was different but just couldn’t fi gure out what!’”

With the Holidays right around the corner, Dr. Jacobs & Ooh La La can offer you anything from fi nding the right shade of lipstick for that Holiday Party, to a complete transformation of your skin and body! Ooh La La offers a wide variety of products and services for every age, skin type, and budget! If you’re looking for the perfect gift, look no further, the best Holiday Gift is a Gift Certifi cate to Ooh La La!!!

Ooh La La has 4 Aestheticians and 2 R.N.’s who work closely with Dr. Jacobs, they specialize in Skin Care and provide Spa Services including Facials, Massage, Microdermabrasion, and Microcurrent. Dr. Jacobs states “We certainly want our patients to be pampered because relaxation is essential for overall health and well being but we also want our patients to see a difference in their skin after the treatment. What sets us apart from non-medical spas is the quality of our products. We only use Medical Grade Skin Care that actually produces results.”

Ooh La La’s Medical Spa Services include Botox, Dermal Fillers, Laser Treatments, Chemical Peels, and Weight Loss. One of Dr. Jacobs’ favorite treatments is a Liquid Face Lift, a combination of Botox and Dermal Fillers. Using these treatments is

actually a form of art; there’s a difference between simply learning the basics of injections and an artist’s approach to injecting. Dr. Jacobs’ natural artistic ability allows her to adapt each individual treatment to each patient’s individual needs, no two faces are exactly the same therefore; no two patient’s treatments should be done the same.

Ooh La La’s Laser Services include Hair Removal, Vein Treatment, Skin Rejuvenation that stimulates collagen, decreases pore size, and improves Acne and Rosacea, IPL Photofacial for brown spots and pigmentation, Skin Resurfacing to improve fi ne lines,wrinkles, tone, and texture of the skin.

Ooh La La’s Weight Management Program is not only a medically supervised weight loss program; it is a program that helps you achieve Optimal Health and Wellness. The program incorporates prescription strength HCG and other pharmaceutical grade supplements with a food plan that stimulates and resets the metabolism to give ultimate weight loss results. It is a simple protocol that allows you to lose up to 1-2 pounds a day. Ooh La La’s patients who are dedicated and follow the program are experiencing tremendous

weight loss! The motivation remains high and the results are amazing! Ooh La La’s HCG specialists under Dr. Jacobs’ supervision are able to provide you with the support and correct information that you need to REACH all of your goals.

Mineral Makeup is the new craze in cosmetics! Jane Iredale Mineral Makeup has many benefi cial properties to make your skin fl awless and healthy! It speaks for itself that Jane Iredale Mineral Makeup is known as The Skin Care Make Up. It was the fi rst mineral make up ever created! It is virtually allergy free and is non comedogenic, meaning it will not give you blackheads or breakouts. Ooh La La has Expert Makeup Artists that can help you fi nd the exact color and products for your skin type and help you fi nd the right look for your night out on the town, wedding, or casual everyday wear!

Beautiful results start with fi nding the right place! Ooh La La is Defi nitely the RIGHT place! ! ! Dr. Jacobs and Ooh La La’s staff undergo extensive training and continuing education to stay up to date in this ever changing world of Aesthetics. They are dedicated to their patients, Dr. Jacobs states “We strive to develop relationships with our patients, to become a partner in not only their beauty but their health and wellness; we treat them like our family.” Ooh La La believes in educating their patients and provides a comprehensive approach to give their patients the best possible outcome and help them LOOK and FEEL GREAT!

“I am fortunate everyday to see the difference that my treatments make in my patient’s lives, helping them feel better about themselves is extremely rewarding!”Kristen M. Jacobs, M.D.Skin Care Specialist

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The Perfect Holiday Gift!

Holiday gifts for travelers – from bags to gadgets

Associated Press

This product image, at left, courtesy of Magellan’s shows their Sittin’ Bag. The Sittin’ Bag is a car-ryon-size rolling suitcase with a fold-out seat attached to the side. This product image, at right, courtesy of Flight 001, Inc. shows the VinniBag. The VinniBag is a reusable bag with inflatable air chambers designed to protect and insulate fragile items.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - BLACK FRIDAY – Page 3

NEW YORK (AP) — To the unini-tiated, buying gifts for kids can feel like a treasure hunt without a map through store aisles and websites packed for the holidays. But sussing out clues may not be as difficult as it looks.

Has the young recipient ever offered you one of his homemade cupcakes? Have you seen her tear around on a little ride-on bike? Is the living room often strewn with building bricks or stacking blocks?

Casual buyers looking for pres-ents for children they don’t know well need only focus on general interests. Mom and dad will likely take on the “it” gift of the season, or farm it out to grandma, leaving lots of room for other shoppers, whether the giftee is a builder, baker or bookish.

If that sounds too complicated, reach for the classics — in books, apparel or toys, said Rachel Jarrett, general manager of the children’s department for the sale site Gilt Groupe. A sweater with room for size variation, or mittens or hats, for example. Try toys in wood, includ-ing eco-friendly bamboo.

“We do incredibly well with wooden toys,” Jarrett said.

Anne Keane, fashion director for Lucky magazine, suggests keeping it simple. “Generally, staying with moderately classic, small gifts is the easiest route to take for all age groups,” she said. “Especially if you don’t know the kids that well.”

The handcraft site Etsy.com has unique felt toys, Keane said. And Plan Toys makes a fun wood-and-canvas shopping cart on three wheels for toddlers.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box, Jarrett urged. Wall decor may not feel terribly gifty, but Wallcandyarts.com has chalkboard decals in the shapes of elephants, apples and circles that would please lots of kids. Room organizers that play into a favorite theme can also be fun.

And there’s nothing wrong with asking your giftee’s parents for a suggestion.

“I think parents do appreciate it when you ask what might make a nice gift,” Jarrett said. “They want to make sure you’re not getting something that maybe somebody else is also getting. It’s a lot to return a toy.”

A few suggestions by interest:HARRY POTTER KIDS

Wands: What might the young fan not already have? A beautiful, nearly $40 replica of his favorite character’s wand, perhaps. The HP area of the Warner Bros. site, Wbshop.com, has a nice selec-tion of collectible wands complete with fancy boxes straight from the Ollivanders shop. Warning: While fun to hold, they’re true collectibles and could break if treated roughly.

Harry Potter Lego: HP sets abound. Reach for the Knight Bus. The purple triple-Decker bus set just out over the summer includes three mini-figures, of Harry, Stan Shunpike and Ernie Prang, along with Harry’s owl Hedwig. It can be rebuilt as a regular bus and kids likely won’t grumble at having more than one. From Lego.

“Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7”: For Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, PSP, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Games for Windows PC. Continues the saga of “Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4.” Recommended for ages 10 and up as the HP world turns darker. From Warner Bros.

T-shirts: Chances of you buying a different one than your young HP fanatic already has are in your favor. Look around for quality and sales. A call to mom or dad for the child’s favorite house at Hogwarts will help you drill down to just the right crest, robe or scarf, and lead to more token HP-by-house gifts like key chains, magnets and writing journals.

LEGO KIDSLego lunch set: Licensed Lego

lunch box in the shape of a brick,

with two mini-boxes also made to look like the real thing, along with a drinking bottle topped by an iconic yellow Lego head for the cap. From Plast Team.

Giant Lego brick for room stor-age: Also licensed, storage boxes with lids that stack, wastebaskets with yellow-headed lids included. Heads also come as storage in two sizes. From Plast Team.

Lego Life of George: For use with iPhone and iPod Touch. A new, 122-piece building game in a box featuring a little dude named George that’s interactive with the two devices. One or two players build models based on challenges received on phone or Touch using a building base included. Various dif-ficulty levels. Works with iPhone 4, iPhone 3Gs and iPod Touch fourth generation. Marked for ages 14 and up due to social media tie-ins, the game would be good for kids as young as 8.

Lego calendar for 2012: 28 pages, wall-size, features constructions from top Lego designers, including a space shuttle, the White House and an entire city block. From Workman Publishing.

Lego watch: Lots and lots of Lego-themed watches are out there. There’s one called the Lego Make-N-Create with links that look like brick in the brand’s classic blue, yel-low, red and green. The set includes 22 links in assorted colors and two bezels. From Lego.

“The Lego Ideas Book”: Tips from master builders on taking what a child already has and making some-thing new. Divided into six themes, including transportation, buildings, space and kingdoms. By Daniel Lipkowitz. From DK Children.

GO-GO KIDSBIT Bikes: Curved wood bodies

and two wide wheels in neon pink, blue, orange and green with seats to match for new walkers or toddlers who love to roll. Handlebars built into front of the unusual design. From Glodos.

Go Cars: Easily graspable rolling hand toy for toddlers with a shiny, sleek design that includes eyes and rubber-coated wheels. In blue, red and green. From Kid O Products.

“Meet the Cars”: Colorful but not too wordy hardcover encyclo-pedia featuring 200 characters from the Disney Pixar movies “Cars” and “Cars 2.” With a poster. From Disney Book Group.

Play-Doh “Cars 2” Mini Box Playset: Molds to create 12 charac-ters from the movie, includes four, 2-ounce cans of Play-Doh. From Hasbro.

Tip Trucks: Minimalist but high design trucks with hinged beds. Small enough for little hands. Rubber wheels and a face-like front.

From Kid O Products.Red Bullet Balance Bike: Looks

like a regular bike, only there are no pedals or training wheels. Children learn how to ride a two-wheeler through balance. Seat adjusts to keep feet low to the ground. By Chicco.

EARTHY KIDSTegu: Magnetic blocks made from

sustainable hardwood harvested in Honduras. Buyers can send a child in Honduras to school for a day or plant a tree there to replenish rain-forest with every purchase. Candy-colored sets finished with nontoxic, water-based colorings. Good for a range of ages. Made in Honduras.

Eco-kids: Art supplies from a Portland, Maine-based mom and pop company with nontoxic, natu-ral ingredients and environmentally friendly packaging. Handmade molding doughs, finger paints, crayons and paste. Kids will love the packaging — a set of doughs comes in a cardboard tower and the crayons in rocklike shapes in little tins.

Futbol: The One World Futbol Project sells a durable, no-stitch blue ball designed like a traditional soc-cer ball but for all terrains, and has a “give one, get one” offer to donate a second ball to partner organiza-tions around the world. Online only at Oneworldfutbol.com.

Rock Paper Notebooks: Spiral-bound sketchbooks with slick, strong paper made from chunks of limestone ground to dust (80 per-cent of content) bound with a non-toxic resin (the other 20 percent). No trees chopped, no water used in the manufacturing process, no bleach, no post-production waste.

Actual earth: Put together a plant-er kit of your own with seeds, soil, pots and any of a variety of small-handled tools on the market.

FOODIE KIDSEasy-Bake Ultimate Oven: Sure,

cooking on the real thing is great, but this version of the classic is space-agey in purple and doesn’t require a light bulb. The baking pan is bigger and it also comes with a cupcake pan. Two mixes included. From Hasbro.

Nest kitchenware: Go with real tools that kids and parents can both enjoy. These sets from Joseph Joseph of six or eight pieces include durable measuring cups and mixing bowls in bright, child-friendly colors.

Go Anywhere Grill: Parents look-ing to keep their 3-year-olds away from the hot backyard grill will appreciate this 33-piece wooden hibachi-like play grill set. With charcoal bits and two play shish-kabobs. Add on the My Backyard BBQ Fix-ins Starter Set with condi-ments, also wood. Both by Hape.

Kid cookbooks: Many exist. Find one with step-by-step instructions and color photos of the finished dish. Have a kid-size apron per-sonalized or wrap up a play food set. Melissa and Doug make a great selection in wood, but more real-looking play food is widely avail-able.

BOOKISH KIDS“Every Thing On It”: More

than 100 never-before-published poems and drawings from Shel Silverstein’s personal archives. The second original book published since Silverstein’s death in 1999. Parents and little kids love him for read-alouds. HarperCollins, ages 9-12.

“Wonder Struck”: In the style of “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” Brian Selznick’s newest mystery alternates two stories focused on the American Museum of Natural History in New York. One, that of a boy struck deaf, is told in words. The other, of a girl named Rose who lived 50 years earlier, is told in pictures. Scholastic, ages 9-12.

“The Hunger Games”: A cloth-cover collector’s edition of the runaway best-seller by Suzanne Collins in a gifty slipcase. Scholastic, ages 12 and up.

“My Name is Mina”: David Almond’s prequel to his “Skellig” from 1998. The new book focuses on the girl who lives next to Michael, the narrator of “Skellig” who finds a mysterious man in his garage. Random House, ages 10 and up.

“Dork Diaries Box Set”: First three books in the heavily illus-trated Rachel Renee Russell series chronicling the not-so-fabulous life of middle schooler Nikki Maxwell. Good for reluctant readers or more enthusiastic ones just growing into the age range. Aladdin, ages 9-12.

“The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories”: Collection of seven original stories written and illus-trated by Dr. Seuss. Originally published in magazines in 1950-51 but never in book form. Looking to impress the parents, much? Random House, ages 6-9.

“The Betsy-Tacy Treasury”: The first four books of the Maud Hart Lovelace classic series in highly portable trade paperback. Bonus material at end includes photos of the real people on which the series is based, and details on the life of author and illustrator Lois Lenski. HarperPerennial, ages 4-8.

“Steampunk!”: Beautiful new

anthology from 14 writers in the quirky science fiction-fantasy and very ‘80s genre of steampunk. Edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant. These are, as the book’s sub-title notes, “fantastically rich and strange stories.” Candlewick Press, young adult.

“Bumble-Ardy”: A new one from Maurice Sendak featuring a pig and a belated birthday bash. It’s the first book in 30 years both writ-ten and illustrated by the 83-year-old Sendak, though he first created it in the ‘70s. HarperCollins, ages 4-8.

“Goodnight iPad”: Yes, a board book parody in the style of the Margaret Wise Brown classic “Goodnight Moon.” The little bunny characters are tech-crazed and the old lady in the rock-ing chair is overwhelmed by the “bings, bongs and beeps of e-mails and tweets.” By Ann Droyd, a cheeky pseudonym for David Milgrim. Penguin, all ages.

“T is for Titanic”: In time for the 100th anniversary next year of the sinking of the luxury liner. Co-authored and well researched by husband-and-wife team Debbie and Michael Shoulders. Sleeping Bear Press, ages 6-10.

By DEAN FOSDICKAssociated Press

For Daniel Gasteiger, the holiday season begins in May when the rhubarb and strawberries ripen. That’s when he starts putting foods by for the many people on his gift list.

The process continues with cherries, tomatoes, sweet corn, cucumbers, apples, melons and a variety of successive garden crops.

“If you don’t deal with them when they’re fresh, you’re not preserving them,” said Gasteiger, author of “Yes, You Can! And Freeze and Dry It, Too” (Cool Springs Press). “Then they can sit on a shelf until wrapped as presents for neighbors, teachers and others.”

Hear the word “preserving” and people gener-ally think canning or freezing, said Gasteiger, of Lewisburg, Pa. But there also is dehydrating, sugaring, fermenting, quick pickling, smoking, salting and cold storage.

“The way we go about it hasn’t changed much over the years, but the technology is better,” he said.

All food preservation techniques delay or stop

spoilage while sealing in flavor and nutritional value. Yet each does something different. In some cases, new foods are even created - raisins from dried grapes, for example.

Here is a sampling of the most common meth-ods and how they compare:

• Canning: preserves fruits and vegetables, jams and jellies, pickles, relishes and meats so they can be stored for months without refrigera-tion. Canning cooks food, however, changing its makeup and flavor.

• Freezing: leaves you with fresher flavors but transforms textures. “Produce tends to become mushy,” Gasteiger said.

• Dehydrating: gives fresh foods remarkable longevity, with vegetables rehydrating especially well for cooking. “Having a dedicated dehy-drator can reduce the amount of produce you waste,” he said. Think bananas, or those fruit and vegetable remnants that ripen so quickly in the kitchen.

• Fermenting: Submerging vegetables in salt-water brine produces lactic acid, which is a food preservative. But: “Vegetables soften and devel-op a tangy flavor that some people don’t care for,” Gasteiger said.

• Cold Storage: Root crops, including pota-toes, carrots, yams, beets and turnips, have tremendous staying power under the right con-ditions. They will remain fresh for months in a dark, dry environment. Potatoes prefer a place maintained at around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Carrots, beets, rutabagas and cabbage keep lon-gest when cooled to 34 degrees, Gasteiger said.

You don’t need a garden if you want to put up fresh, flavorful foods year around. Shop the sales. Seek out farmers’ markets and roadside stands. Buy in bulk. Patronize U-Pick operations and orchards.

“Picking your own makes for great family outings, and prices generally are about a third of what they’d be if someone did it for you,”

Gasteiger said.Interest in home canning products has risen

35 percent over the past three years, said Lauren Devine-Hager, a product research and test-kitch-en analyst with Jarden Home Brands, which man-ufactures the classic Ball home canning Mason jars.

“The face of canning is changing,” she said. “It’s not driven by grandmothers in rural settings anymore. It’s becoming especially popular among women (ages) 27 to 45 in urban and suburban areas. They want to enjoy it all year long.”

Few crafts offer as much payback as food pres-ervation. It saves money, encourages creativity and puts a quality product on the family table, Gasteiger said. Small batches of preserves done up in decorative jars and wrapped in ribbons make tasteful and inexpensive holiday gifts.

“There’s also an ecological component,” Gasteiger said. “I’m gradually replacing my lawn with edibles.”

This book cover image, above, courtesy of Sleeping Bear Press shows the cover of “T is for Titanic,” by Debbie and Michael Shoulders. In time for the 100th anniversary next year of the sinking of the luxury liner This product image, top right, courtesy of kid o shows the BIT Bikes by Glodos. These bikes have curved wood bodies and two wide wheels in neon pink, blue, orange and green with seats to match for new walk-ers or toddlers who love to roll. This product image, lower right, courtesy of Hape Toys shows the My Backyard BBQ. Parents looking to keep their 3-year-olds away from the hot backyard grill will appreciate this 33-piece wooden hibachi-like play grill set.

And what will you get for the little ones?

Preserve holiday traditions with gifts from natureCanning expands the possibilities for both gardeners and foodies

Page 4 – Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - BLACK FRIDAY

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just over half of American pet owners will buy gifts for their pets this holiday season, and they’ll spend an average of $46 on their animals, with toys and treats topping the list, according to a new AP-Petside.com poll.

Sixty-eight percent of pets getting gifts can look forward to a toy, 45 percent to food or another treat, 8 percent new bed-ding, 6 percent clothing, 3 percent a leash, collar or harness and 3 percent new groom-ing products, the poll showed. (Some pets will get more than one gift.)

“Christmas is about the pets,” said Gayla McCarthy, 58, of Kekaha, Hawaii, whose Australian shepherd, Echo, will find a toy under the tree. McCarthy even got a shirt for her husband as a gift to him from the dog, and she’ll be giving collapsible bowls that she ordered online to all their friends’ dogs.

Although the average budget for pet gifts among those surveyed was $46, 72 percent of those polled said they’d spend $30 or less. Those who bought gifts for their pets last year said they spent $41 on average.

Overall, 51 percent of those polled this year said they would buy holiday gifts for their pets, a figure that’s been relatively stable in the last few AP-Petside.com polls. It was 53 percent last year, 52 percent in 2009 and 43 percent in 2008.

Income does matter. Those making $50,000 or more say they plan to spend an average $57 on their pets. Those making under $50,000 say it will be $29.

Major pet retailers have been taking part in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday frenzy for a few years. Petco Animal Supplies Inc. plans a 72-hour “Black Friday Weekend Blowout,” said Greg Seremetis, vice president of marketing.

Products for both pets and pet owners will be available, he said. “Including pets in holiday gift-giving has been a growing trend in the last few years. More and more pets are being treated as family members and being included in holiday traditions, including having a gift waiting for them under the tree,” he said.

PetSmart Inc. plans to open stores at 7 a.m. on Black Friday, followed by a “Countdown to Christmas” sale beginning on Dec. 16, said spokeswoman Stephanie Foster.

Online retailer Foster & Smith Inc. plans a live, streaming, four-hour (11 a.m. - 3 p.m. EST) webcast full of sales and give-aways on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, spokesman Gordon Magee said. “As far as we know, with the exception of QVC ..., no other retailer has done a live broadcast like this on Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” Magee said. “We are going to give it a go.”

Younger pet owners are more apt to say they’ll buy their pet a holiday gift, includ-ing 56 percent of pet owners under age 50. Among those ages 50-64, it’s 47 percent, and among seniors, 39 percent, the poll showed.

Lauren Beard, 22, of Felton, Pa., and her family lavished their dog Groovy with gifts last year — including treats and bones — because it was the chocolate lab’s first Christmas. “We still love her but it’s a

little less exciting this year,” Beard said. So she reduced her budget of $70 last year to $50, and hopes to get some things on sale. She’ll also buy a gift for Groovy’s best friend and neighbor, a golden retriever named Tessie, Beard said.

Ronda Singleton and her husband live in Elk, Wash., and raise and show standard poodles. But they don’t plan to get gifts for their dogs or for each other. “If we need something, we go get it,” she explained, adding that the dogs get treats all the time. She and her husband like to celebrate holi-days with traditional dinners and church services.

Thomas Koch, 69, in Raleigh, N.C., has something special to celebrate this year

— adoption of his adult son should be finalized, he said.

The two will spend the holidays with their dog, Jessie, a Sheltie-chow mix, and two cats, Tanz and Callie.

Last year, Jessie got toys and the cats got play mice and a large bag of catnip. “They liked it so much we just threw it on the carpet and let them roll in it,” Koch said.

He covered the goodies last year for a mere $8, but is setting aside $10 this year just in case prices have gone up.

George Smith, 43, a father of three in Adams County, Colo., says pets are “part of the family, just like our kids.” But they keep the holiday gifts for Miley, a golden

retriever, and Zippity, a cat, low-key: no fancy wrapping or stockings, just $10 worth of toys and treats.

Steve Gottula’s budget was $100 last year and he figures it will run about the same this year for his two dogs and seven cats. Odie, a dachshund, and Sky, a Dalmatian, will get special bones, and the cats will get catnip and mouse balls.

Gottula, 48, his wife Leigh (she’s the one who brings home the strays) and five kids (ages 6 to 16) live with the nine pets in Spring, Texas.

His daughters have made stockings for the pets — with their initials — and they are always part of holiday celebrations, Gottula said.

“The cats like to play with the paper and ribbon and get lost in the boxes and wrappings,” he said.

What do his pets mean to him? “They are entertaining, they are companions. They have little senses of humor. They all have personalities. If you give love to them they give it back — it’s uncondi-tional,” he said.

The AP-Petside.com Poll was con-ducted Oct. 13-17 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone inter-views with 1,118 pet owners. Results among all pet owners have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.6 per-centage points.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - BLACK FRIDAY – Page 5

NEW YORK (AP) — Teachers, tutors and baby sitters are among life’s golden helpers, and at holi-day time, many of them get thank-you gifts from the kids and fami-lies they serve.

A few may be lucky enough to get cash tips or pricey group presents organized by the team or class mom. In some affluent com-munities, in fact, cash or expen-sive gift cards for teachers have become a bit of an ethical issue.

But many teachers and caregiv-ers end up with a load of small gifts bought on the fly — things like scented candles and cutesy coffee mugs. We asked a few what they’d rather have.

Selena Yang, 22, in East Brunswick, N.J., is a former sitter and teacher’s assistant at a pre-school. Edible arrangements were fun, she said, but her best gift was a personalized cover for her Kindle in a white fleur-de-lis pat-tern against a background of baby blue, her favorite color.

“It had my initials on it,” she said. “Not only was it thoughtful but it was unique.”

The gift also required the givers, the family of one of her charges, to know a little something about her life outside the classroom. That’s a good place to start if you’re look-ing to up the significance factor.

Another of Yang’s favorites: A family with three kids she once sat for gave her a simple charm brace-let with a heart, a star and a ballet slipper, the latter marking the 17 years she spent dancing.

Some helpers cherish handmade gifts, cards and drawings, keeping them for years. The simple gesture means a lot to high school teach-ers, one said, because it indicates a busy, hormonally challenged teen put in some time.

Does the helper drive a lot? One baby sitter touted an emergency car kit as THE best gift ever.

In San Francisco, Juan Bunci, 31, is a part time SAT tutor. His best ever was a $250 gift card to a website offering harbor cruises, dinners out and a variety of other

outings in the Bay Area. There are many sites filled with

fun classes, trips, restaurant deals and other amusements and ser-vices around the world in a broad range of prices, so look around.

“I used it to go sailing in the bay and also took rock-climbing

classes,” he said. “I’m hoping more of my clients give me these because I really don’t want more crappy stuff.”

Candi Wingate, president of the nanny search site Nannies4hire, said a variety of variables are at play when considering holiday

cash or other gifts for sitters, including years with the fam-ily and the number of children involved.

For Jan Fogel, 59, in Washington, D.C., a generous check meant a lot from one Chevy Chase, Md., fam-ily that had one toddler when she

began and three kids by the time she left seven years later.

“It was my first Christmas with the family and they’d given me an envelope just before I left the house,” she said. “While waiting for the metro train home, I opened the envelope and found a check

for $1,000. I started to cry. No one had ever been that generous to me before.”

Wingate suggested tracking down a caregiver’s favorite cloth-ing store for a gift certificate, or offering tickets to the movies, theater, opera, ballet, concerts or sporting events.

She also urged employers to think seriously about how much they can afford and how little the caregiver might have.

Are you rolling in it? Then up the offering to a gym member-ship or several trips to a day spa in addition to cash. How about paid vacations, paid trips home to a nanny’s community of origin or use of your family’s summer cot-tage?

If that sounds like a lot, con-sider a cell phone or cell phone upgrade, a netbook, DVDs or books, scrapbooking materials, a designer purse, or a pair of fancy boots. Does your sitter like to bake? Wrap up a high-end electric mixer.

There may be others in your life for whom a very personal gift is not appropriate, but a grand ges-ture might be.

Heather Gunn, 30, a fitness trainer for kids and adults in New York, said a client once gave her a full work-up for herself with a nutritionist she admired. “It was by far my favorite and most gener-ous gift,” she said.

New York family nurse prac-titioner Noreen Mulvanerty, 50, used to work in emergency rooms. She says she’s received plenty of memorable gifts over the years but there’s one she’ll never forget. It was from a young, out-of-town house painter who had fallen 10 feet from a scaffold, lacerated his liver and landed in intensive care with no friends or family around.

“I visited him every day,” she said. “Finally he was released and a week later he returned with a dozen red roses and chocolate. He came in and picked me up and said, ‘I love you like my mother!”’

What will Santa bring your pet this year?

Associated Press

Sky has his toe nails painted by 13-year-old Kourtney Gottula Nov. 7 at her home in Spring, Texas. Just over half of American pet owners will buy gifts for their pets this holiday season, and they’ll spend an average of $46 on their animals.

Teachers, tutors and sitters describe favorite gifts

Associated Press

In this Nov. 1 photo, Selena Yang, 22, a recent graduate of Purdue University, reads her Kindle at her parents' home in East Brunswick, N.J. Yang, a former teacher’s assistant at a preschool and a part-time baby sitter, received the personalized cover for her Kindle and the bracelet that she’s wearing as gifts from people she has worked with in the past.

Page 6 – Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - BLACK FRIDAY

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By MICHELLE LOCKEAssociated Press

Trendy, tasty and one-size-fits-all, wine is a versatile holiday gift, whether you’re on your way to a house-warming or looking out for something for the in-laws. But navigating the world of wine can be a trial for the novice vinophile.

Enter wine experts, who have a few tips on how not to send the wrong message in a bottle.

RECON THE RECIPIENTA good starting place when buy-

ing wine as a gift is to figure out what you know about the recipi-ent, says Natalie MacLean, editor of the widely read wine website, NatalieMaclean.com. Even if that’s only whether they like a full-bod-ied wine, a light red or a particu-lar region, a little know-how can help to personalize the gift. (And, of course, you do need to know if they like wine. Splurge on a pricey cab for a teetotaler and you’ll miss the boat completely.)

Interests are another way to per-sonalize the selection, says Jordan Salcito, a sommelier and wine director of Crown Restaurant in New York City. Did the person just come back from a trip to Sicily? A bottle of Sicilian wine might be a nice touch. Or, if you know the person doesn’t like shellfish but loves steak, buy a hearty red.

“Create a story or connect some dots,” says Salcito.

READ BETWEEN THE (LABEL) LINES

In general, the front label of a wine bottle should tell you where a wine is from and what grapes it predominantly is made from. So, if you see an Oregon pinot noir labeled “Willamette Valley,” then you know the grapes came from that region, which is known for pinots. Words like “reserve” and “vintner’s select,” can denote higher quality, but that’s not a given, especially on New World wines. Ditto for medals and other awards, which have become quite prolific.

The back label is a bit less help-ful because it’s often rather flow-ery, but you can pick up clues to the style of the wine. “If they’re describing it as zesty, mouth-watering citrus fruit, you know that’s going to be a wine that does have a lot of acidity,” says MacLean. “If it’s a red wine and they’re saying fleshy, dark plums and berries, it’s probably full-bod-ied.”

Alcohol content also is a clue. A white wine such as riesling at 8 percent alcohol is going to be lighter than a big red at 14 to 15 percent.

Salcito decided to help consum-ers figure out wine after realizing she was getting a lot of questions from restaurant customers. So she cofounded Bellus, a line of wines with labels that spell out what’s inside. The also label includes fla-vor icons that highlight the wine’s taste profile, such as a picture of a cherry to denote that flavor in the wine.

DON’T FALL INTO THE MONEY PIT

One piece of information on

the bottle that isn’t particularly helpful is price. More bucks don’t necessarily translate to better bottles, says MacLean, whose second book, “Unquenchable: A Tipsy Search for the World’s Best Bargain Wines,” was recently released.

Bargain hunters would do well to look at places that are known for good value, such as Chile. Another thing to look for is a less-er-known grape, like Argentina’s malbec, a delicious red wine that doesn’t yet have the cachet of a better-known red grape variety like cabernet sauvignon.

Other places to hunt for value are regions that are trying to rein-

vent themselves, such as table wines from Portugal, where pro-ducers are working to let consum-ers know they make more than their famous port wines.

IF ALL ELSE FAILSWhat if you know next to noth-

ing about the person you’re giving the wine to?

“My tip is to go with what I call a switch-hitter wine that has lots of flavor but isn’t heavy on oak, alcohol and tannins,” says MacLean. Two suggestions here are riesling, a light white wine, or, for a red wine, pinot noir. “That’s what I usually recommend as a go-to wine if you’re not really sure and you don’t want to choose

something that’s off the scale one way or the other.”

Sparkling wine is another crowd-pleaser. It doesn’t have to be Champagne if you’re on a budget, says Salcito. There are some good, low-priced cavas from Spain, as well as cremants from France, which is wine made in the same method as Champagne but not from that specific region of France. “Almost everyone loves sparkling wine,” says Salcito.

AND FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF GO BIG OR

GO HOMEThe London-based Antique

Wine Co., which specializes in rare and fine wines, is offering a spe-

cial holiday package of melchiors — really big wine bottles that hold the equivalent of 24 regular bot-tles. Two collections were offered, with one being five melchiors of the Napa Valley’s Colgin Cellars highly regarded cabernet sauvi-gnon.

Price? Three hundred thousand British pounds, or about $480,690.

Now that would be a stocking stuffer to remember.

Here are some online resources: MacLean’s site: http://www.

nataliemaclean.comBellus wine: http://belluswine.

comAntique Wine Co.: http://www.

antique-wine.com

Experts offer help for choosing the perfect wine

Associated Press

The photo at left shows, from left to right, Tempra Tantrum cabernet, Voga pinot grigio and Project Paso zinfandel wine. The photo at right shows a bottle of Candia Vineyards wine, left, and Red Truck wine. Trendy, tasty and one-size-fits-all, wine is a versatile holiday gift.

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By SHIRLEY O’BRYAN SMITHAssociated Press

It’s a scene played out all over Europe as the holidays approach: The air is cold, the sky is bright and snow crunches underfoot as crowds make their way through rows of little wooden structures that look like storybook houses with sloping roofs and rustic trim, each one offer-ing some treasure that’s beautiful, fun or delicious.

Chatter, laughter and music waft through the air, mixing with the smells of gingerbread, grilled meats and cookies as shoppers browse among the carved toys, small musi-cal instruments, ornaments, hand-crafted clothing, homemade soap, candles and hand-blown glass.

Millions of people — both locals and visitors — attend annual Christmas markets in cities all over Europe each year. They’re not only tourist attractions, but they’re also big business for local economies. But will the European financial crisis be the Grinch that steals the holiday spirit from the continent’s Christmas markets?

Slovak economist Vladimir Vano, in Bratislava, says probably not. The Volksbank Slovakia chief finan-cial analyst says if anything, it may enhance the experience because “the main draw of these markets isn’t just the buying and selling of wares.”

He says they’re really an old ver-sion of our modern online social networks — a place to connect. In times of trouble, he adds, people want that connection to be more per-sonal. They want to hold hands or talk face-to-face as they enjoy activi-ties with their family and friends. If you add in the nostalgic spirit of the holidays, you have what he calls “behavior economics,” and that could keep the Christmas markets strong this year.

But that’s not the only factor. Vano says some potential vendors may decide it’s more important than ever to invest the several thousand dol-lars it takes to rent a seller’s stall. According to Jozsef Molnar, manag-ing director of the Budapest Tourism office in Hungary, vendors pay about $3,500 to set up for six weeks at his city’s main market and they usually take home something in the neigh-borhood of $14,000.

Spaces are limited, but some municipalities across Europe are opening up a few more this year, hoping that more vendors offering a greater variety of merchandise may in turn attract even larger crowds.

Of the nearly 600,000 visitors who attend the Budapest Christmas market at Vorosmarty Square each year, 30 to 40 percent are foreigners, according to Molnar. That means revenue for hotels, restaurants and other segments of the travel industry in addition to income for the ven-dors and the markets.

Vorosmarty is a lovely location that offers a giant Christmas tree, nativity scenes and a unique Advent calendar that opens up in the win-dows of the historic Gerbeaud con-fectionary. The merchandise is quite good. Sellers are judged by experts representing craftsmen and folk art-ists, and only those of high skill are allowed to set up shop. But quality

doesn’t come cheap. You could pay hundreds of dollars for a nativity set, $40 to $60 for a woman’s hand-styled woven hat or less for small trinkets.

Food is also top notch. One favor-ite is the chimney cake, a delicacy once made by wrapping dough around actual chimney pipes. Now the dough is wrapped around some-thing that looks like a large, slightly V-shaped rolling pin. It’s sprinkled with sugar or slathered in butter or honey, cooked on hot coals, then twisted off the pin, wrapped in paper and devoured by appreciative customers.

Another outstanding market is Vienna’s huge Christkindlmarkt,

which usually ranks as one of Europe’s best. It’s well-organized, beautiful, set in Rathausplatz, the plaza in front of the Rathaus (city hall) and the quality of goods is first-rate. You’ll find excellent hand-blown glass, cute carved toys and musical instruments, ceramics, and lovely clothing items.

Space is set aside inside the Rathaus for special children’s activi-ties like cookie-making and crafts, including handmade Christmas ornaments. Outside, sellers offer warm handmade clothing, toys and Christmas decorations. Shoppers sip hot punch made from fruit, rum, wine and spices as they browse.

Herbert Gindl, with the Vienna

Chamber of Commerce, predicts the event will attract a few million visi-tors, 500,000 of them from abroad.

Salzburg, Austria, offers a differ-ent look for its market. The city, located at the foot of the Alps, is Mozart’s hometown and his image appears all over — including on Mozart chocolates. “The Sound of Music” was filmed here and there are movie-themed tours available.

Salzburg’s Christmas market, located along the streets of the his-toric part of town, can get very crowded, but it’s a fun kind of hus-tle and bustle that includes street musicians, guided tour groups, and formal choral presentations. Painted tins, homemade soaps and snow

globes are mixed in with the usual crafted items.

The main Christmas markets in Bratislava, Slovakia, are located in beautiful public squares around the city. You’ll find handmade pottery and wooden decorations often in the design of fish. That’s because carp is a traditional dish during Slovak Christmastime. Food and drinks served at the markets include tasty potato crepes with jam and poppy seeds and a honey wine similar to mead.

In Paris at Christmastime, it seems like the whole city twinkles with 300 illuminated sites, including lit-up bridges and the Eiffel Tower. Markets are scattered all over the various districts, but one of the prettiest is found along the Champs Elysees, where decorations, handcrafts, food, clothing and mulled wine can be found in dozens of wooden chalets.

Germany is famous for its many markets, including those in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Dresden and Nuremberg. But markets in small towns like pretty Passau also have charm.

Passau is where I had my first cup of gluehwein, a traditional hot spiced wine drink that’s perfect for warming up cold hands and bellies. In many places, it’s served with an extra shot of rum. Mine came in a souvenir mug. You’re charged a few euros for the drink and container. You can either keep the mug or get a refund for turning it back in.

The Passau market isn’t as large as some others but it isn’t as crowded, either. It’s in a beautiful historic set-ting near St. Stephen’s Cathedral, known for its enormous pipe organ and holiday concerts.

As I sipped my gluehwein and walked among the stalls, I found a mixture of items for sale. Some were obvious cheaper imports, but many were handmade, such as the carved wooden “smokers” — incense hold-ers designed to look like little men smoking pipes.

In Britain, like other places, each market has its own personal-ity. There’s a “Dickens Christmas at Rochester Castle” in Kent that’s small but nice. The castle lit up at night makes a pretty backdrop. Other markets use a Victorian theme and some specialize in German or other European goods; some have street performers in costume. The merchandise can be very good, espe-cially textiles, artwork and jewelry. Food and drink includes spiced wines, teas, roasted chestnuts, sau-sages and baked goods.

The season for European Christmas markets

Associated Press

This December 2010 photo shows the crowded Christmas market in Budapest, Hungary. The advent calendar days can be seen in the windows of the Gerbeaud confectionery in the background.

Page 8 – Wednesday, November 23, 2011 - BLACK FRIDAY

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Breakfast cereal as a holiday gift?It may sound unusual, but it tastes won-

derful. Granola is a practical, beautiful and delicious gift. It’s also easy and inexpensive to prepare. It can be packaged attractively yet simply in glass canning jars or cello-phane bags tied with ribbons. And granola is easy to tailor to your recipient’s tastes.

And unlike many edible gifts, it has a long shelf life and doesn’t need refrigera-tion.

We’ve started off with a basic granola recipe, then added flavors to mix in before and after the baking step.

If you want to come up with your own

flavors, here’s the basic idea — spices and nuts are mixed with oats, then baked in the oven. Dried fruit gets mixed in after baking so it doesn’t get over-dried and bitter. If you choose to add chocolate, cocoa gets mixed in with the oats. But chocolate chips should be added only after the granola has been baked and thoroughly cooled.

HANDMADE HAVE-IT-YOUR-WAY GRANOLA

Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes (15 min-utes active)

Makes about 5 cups3 cups old fashioned oats1/3 cup packed brown sugar1/2 teaspoon salt1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil2 tablespoons water

1/3 cup maple syrupFlavorings of your choice (see below)Heat the oven to 250 F. Line a baking

sheet with parchment paper.In a medium bowl, combine the oats,

brown sugar and salt. Set aside.In a small saucepan over medium heat,

combine the oil, water and maple syrup. Bring to a boil, then pour over the oat mix-ture. Stir until thoroughly coated. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, or until dried and lightly toasted. Allow to fully cool before packaging.

FLAVORINGS:— Dutch apple: Stir 1/2 teaspoon nut-

meg, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1 cup of walnut halves into the dry oat mixture

before baking. After baking, add 1 cup chopped dried apple and 1 cup golden rai-sins.

Nutrition information per 1/2 cup serv-ing (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 370 calories; 150 calories from fat (40 percent of total calories); 17 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cho-lesterol; 51 g carbohydrate; 6 g protein; 5 g fiber; 110 mg sodium.

— Jamaican: Stir 1/2 teaspoon ground mace, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, 1 cup cashews and 1 cup large flake unsweetened coconut into the dry oat mixture before bak-ing. After baking, add 1 cup chopped dried pineapple and 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger.

Nutrition information per 1/2 cup serv-

ing (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 390 calories; 180 calories from fat (45 percent of total calories); 20 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cho-lesterol; 48 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 4 g fiber; 110 mg sodium.

— Chocolate cherry: Stir 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder into the dry oat mixture before baking. After the dry mix-ture has baked and cooled, add 1 cup dried cherries and 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips.

Nutrition information per 1/2 cup serv-ing (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 320 calories; 110 calories from fat (34 percent of total calories); 12 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cho-lesterol; 49 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 7 g fiber; 100 mg sodium.

The gift of breakfast brings more smiles than you might think

By BETH J. HARPAZAssociated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — It would be so easy to give holiday parties if it weren’t for the guests.

Guests who fail to RSVP, then show up with friends. Guests who arrive late and stay past your bedtime. Guests who clean out your shrimp cocktail but won’t touch your pasta salad. Guests who knock over drinks and nearly set their sleeves on fire reaching over your candles.

And the worst guest of all: the one who’s busy the night of your holiday party and can’t make it.

But you can outsmart them all and host a party as carefree for you as it is fun for them. Here are some tips for Party Management 101, from the invite to the “Goodnight!”

TIMING: Send the invitation for a holi-day party too early and people forget. Wait too long and everyone’s booked.

Kaity Eagle, a marketing specialist with InvitationConsultants.com, recom-mends sending invitations “no later than one month before the party. November and December are busy months.”

Sunday evenings are a good alterna-tive to busy Friday and Saturday nights. Yes, everyone has to go to work or school the next day, but if you schedule your party for late Sunday afternoon or early evening, you could end up with a crowd. Friends might welcome a way to relax after a busy weekend of shopping and chores, especially if you offer a dinner buffet and save them the trouble of pre-paring a meal.

INVITES AND RSVPS: Paper, electron-ic or phone invitations? So many options, and yet so few result in RSVPs.

The paper invite makes an impression, but it’s more work for you. It also may suggest an unintended formality or level of fuss for your party.

On the other end of the spectrum is the phone or text invite. That may be a little too casual and easy to lose track of, especially if you’re sending them several weeks out.

Electronic invitations — Evite, email, Paperless Post, Facebook and other sites — have become the default for many people, and may yield the most respons-es in our no-RSVP culture simply because responding requires just one click.

But there are always a few who never RSVP. Some have no intention of coming; others may show up unannounced with uninvited friends. And a few will pledge their attendance, then never show, or cancel last-minute. How’s a hostess to cope?

Jennifer Gullins of the Boston-based Saphire Event Group suggests pinning down commitments from a few BFFs. “It’s OK to take a pulse on your core group of invitees well in advance. ... This will ensure that you already know a good handful will be attending even before sending out the official invite.”

Should you make follow-up calls to those who don’t respond? Debi Lilly, entertaining expert for the supermarket chain Safeway, says a gracious call or email to sincerely say, “I wanted to make sure you got my invitation,” is always appropriate.

Another way to go is to send out a single email reminder a week before the event to everyone you haven’t heard from. If that too is ignored, they’re prob-ably not coming.

I’ve had luck over the years get-ting RSVPs to my annual Hanukkah party by including a special plea on the grounds that I want to have enough homemade latkes for everyone. Threatening that a tantalizing treat might disappear if you don’t have a reliable head count might be enough to shake the RSVPs out.

Patricia Mendez, who offers tips at ezentertaining.net and wrote a book called “Easy Entertaining for Beginners,” says it’s prudent to assume that a few surprise guests will show up. “If you have 12 that RSVP, then plan for a few more just in case — 16,” she said.

She also suggests inviting a third more people than your space fits: “If your space will fit 12 to 16 people, send invitations to 20 to 24.”

FOOD AND DECOR: Food that’s good at room temperature is easiest on the host, though it limits the menu.

See what prepared foods your super-market is offering before you splurge at specialty stores; you might be surprised

by the selection and quality of cold party platters and easy-to-bake frozen hors d’oeuvres. Safeway’s Lilly says it’s easy to dress up frozen puffs with fresh herbs, fruit slivers, a drizzle of bal-samic cream or shaved parmesan. “The trick,” she said, “is to elevate them.”

And remember that variety is a vir-tue. I used to offer pasta salad as a side dish for potato pancakes until someone pointed out that it was just too many carbs. Fruit platters with berries, tooth-picked pineapple chunks and melon balls, on the other hand, proved much more popular, as did chicken wings.

Many people have dietary issues these days, so consider offering some-thing for the vegetarian and for the low-salt, low-fat crowd, along with holiday treats that may be high-calorie or high-sugar.

Lilly also advocates a self-serve drink area with a couple of fun choices in labeled pitchers so you’re not stuck making cocktails all night. Keep a few dishtowels or rolls of paper towels in

easy reach for the inevitable spills.Lilly’s suggestions for easy, inexpen-

sive decor include covering the table with wrapping paper instead of a table-cloth. Or decorate the table in classic holiday colors by layering evergreen boughs across the edge and scattering red rose petals over the rest.

She also fills large glass vases with layers of dried beans and nuts for a chic, organic look, then plops a candle inside. Both the vases and the candles are available at Safeway stores through the debi lilly design collection.

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES: Some folks will come early; some will stay late. Minimize stress by having every-thing ready a half-hour before your start time, and deputize someone else to answer the door and take coats.

Set the tone by listing a clear start and end time on the invitation. Open house is nice and informal, but it also means some folks will drop by just when you were hoping everyone would leave. If you’re planning on serving

real food and not just chips and cook-ies, a window of a couple of hours also makes it easy to keep food fresh.

Exact times also are “helpful for guests that might be double booked that day and may want to try to make both parties,” said Gullins, of the Saphire Event Group.

To manage lingerers, Gullins recom-mends planting someone among the guests to help. “This friend could make casual comments to the crowd such as, ‘Wow, I can’t believe how late it is already,’ or ‘I really should get going soon, I know you have an early day at work tomorrow’ or ‘Let me help you get this place cleaned up a bit.’ These type of comments make others take notice and follow suit without you looking like a lame party host.”

Eagle, of InvitationConsultants.com, suggests preparing take-home favors. “Passing out these favors — perhaps small bags of cookies or candy — at the end of the night is a subtle and sweet way to say goodnight,” she said.

Holiday parties are all about the guests

Associated Press

This undated photo courtesy of Safeway shows a holiday table. Entertaining expert Debi Lilly recommends simple decorating tips to achieve a classic red-and-green color scheme for a holiday party buffet, including scattered red rose petals, evergreen boughs, red ribbon and red candles.

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