Anyone who knows me will tell you that I love to cook and bake and those who have been to my house can tell you how much smaller it looks when it’s packed to the rafters with Christmas decorations. For me, the holidays are an exciting and fun, albeit busy, time. (Please keep reading; I promise you’ll find reasons not to hate me in this post.) I know this isn’t the case for everyone. For some, the holidays are a stressful experience with pressure to present your “best self” to family, friends, acquaintances and, sometimes even total strangers. Holiday entertaining can be a big part of that. Whether you’re trying to find the perfect dish to bring to someone’s house, you’re putting something together for people coming to you, or making sure the house is appropriately festive, it can be stressful prepping for a holiday celebration.

Over the years, I’ve amassed a few tricks that have helped me cope with the extra demands the holidays add, so in the spirit of giving synonymous with the holidays and with the spirit of sharing resources, synonymous with libraries, I thought I’d share a few tips with you here. DISCLAIMER: I am not Martha Stewart, Ina Garten or any other household maven with unlimited space and resources; therefore, these tips haven’t been tested and re-tested by teams of staff. They’re what’s worked for me in the past and hopefully will be able to help you in the future, but they’re not set in stone. Take them or adapt them to your individual needs as you see fit.

Start Early

You may be saying “it’s a little late for that now,”  but it’s still fairly early in the holiday season and people (both shoppers and sales clerks) haven’t yet reached their tolerance limit for holiday cheer. This is also a great time to pull together recipes that you’ll be needing for your celebrations and make shopping lists to minimize the last-minute runs for eggs or pumpkin.

Cookie Dough Refrigerates and Freezes Beautifully!

If, like it does for me, the holidays mean trays and trays of cookies, know that you don’t have to spend an entire day making batch after batch. I’ve yet to meet a cookie dough that doesn’t freeze exceptionally well. Start small and make one or two batches of dough at a time. If the dough calls for refrigeration (you know the instructions: refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight), who says you have to stop at overnight? If your dough needs chilling, make it and leave it (well covered) in the fridge for a few days. Or, put it in the freezer for  weeks and  your dough will be ready when you’re ready to bake, not the other way around.

Take Stock of What’s Important to You

Aside from wrapping paper, I don’t fancify the gifts I give. My cat thinks ribbons and other “present garnish” are delicious, so I decided it’s not worth the time and effort to make gifts extra-pretty only to have to shoo my kitty away from the tree for nearly a month.  I channel that time into baking, instead. A long time ago, my mom changed Christmas dinner to a make-ahead and bake-on-the-day lasagna, instead of a big, fancy meal. She realized that what was important was time to open gifts and focus on the desserts (see above re: lots and lots of cookies) without being rushed or pulled away to make the food. When it comes to easing holiday stress, decide what will make the best memories for your holiday and focus on that.  As long as you keep your focus on the important stuff, the smaller stresses of the holiday tend to seem like less of a big deal.

For more hints on holiday entertaining by people who are definitely more qualified than I am, givethese selections a try:

The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook

Let’s not kid ourselves here. Whatever you may think of Martha Stewart, she’s had the market cornered on holiday entertaining for some time now. This book is comprehensive but well organized with recipes organized by course, plus a menu guide, an extensive array of full-color photos to give you an idea of how the food should look and a source guide for where to find some of the somewhat more obscure items (though I think more of the items are readily available since this book was first published).

The Year of Cozy by Adrianna Adarme

This book is arranged seasonally throughout the year and as such only has a small section on the holidays, but those small sections are worth exploring. Taking more of a “whole life” approach, rather than focusing on individual tasks, Adarme offers tips that are unusual in the “I never would have thought of that; what a cool idea!” kind of way, helping to make your holiday contributions stand out and be a little more personal. Her focus on simplicity and wholesomeness is bound to ease just a little bit of stress.

Sweet Treats for the Holidays by Noreen Cox

This book has a cuteness factor to the power of 10, so if you’re more into mainstream or monochromatic simplicity, you may want to give this one a pass. If you’re like me, though and love new ideas that are both creative and adorable, you’re guaranteed to find something you like in here. Cox covers holidays from Halloween through to New Years, including an impressive array of Hanukkah treats, and all of them are adorable, professional looking treats from pre-made ingredients. Her tips, tricks and organization techniques will make you the hit of the party in no-time. So if you’re not a from-scratch person, this book is a must-try.

The 12 Bottle Bar by David Solmonson and Lesley Jacobs Solomonson

If you’re more of a cocktail party person, this book is a great guide to setting up a minimalist bar that can make hundreds of cocktails with tested recipes and good, old-fashioned standards like the martini, sidecar and gimlet. The book offers both budget and high-end bottle options so you can stock up and save or make splurges where you choose. If you are lacking space or inclination, they also have chapters devoted to creating your own 1-bottle, 3-bottle and 4-bottle bar so you can test the waters a bit. With the inclusion of hundreds of drink recipes, you’d think this would be a massive brick of a book, but it’s actually compact and well-designed, so you can easily scan a recipe while holding your cocktail shaker.

Wine Bites by Barbara Scott-Goodman

If you prefer more of a wine-and-appetizers, low-key affair, Scott-Goodman’s book is perfect for creating just that type of party. She offers tips on stocking your pantry so that you’re ready for any type of impromptu gathering (or one that was pushed upon you last-minute; we’ve all been there…) She then proceeds to take the reader on a tour of snacks, dips and small dishes (think tapas but with less fuss) pretty much all designed to be eaten with your hands and pair perfectly with a glass (or more) of wine. What makes this book stand out for me is that she doesn’t recommend a specific bottle of with each dish, just one or two types of wine, which means you don’t have to be a sommelier or even a wine-enthusiast to pull of a delicious party. If you have a few bottles on-hand you can tailor your menu to the types of wine you already enjoy and put the focus where it belongs – on having fun!

I hope these tips and resources will make the holiday season a little happier for all of you. Till next Saturday, dear readers, I’m off to make some cookie dough…