A stockpile of frozen dinners is a seasonal stress-buster during the month of December. This week, add a few ready-to-cook meals to the freezer to prepare for the busy weeks ahead.

Whether you try traditional once-a-month cooking methods, buy premade meals at the warehouse store, or pay a visit to one of the new freezer cooking franchises, setting aside a stock of easy family dinners will cut stress during the Christmas season.

Feed the Freezer: Complete Freezer Cooking Guide

The tastes of the season: they're unforgettable! What special holiday flavors help you find the holiday spirit, even in November?

The tangy sparkle of cream of tartar and crushed candy canes in Candy Cane Cookies. Mom's cornbread dressing, redolent with sage and onion. The sheer decadence of chocolate and whipped cream in my favorite Christmas dessert, Buche de Noel.

Think of the unique flavors most strongly associated with this time of year. Cranberries and pumpkins. Turkey and savory stuffing. Gingerbread men.

Who needs motivation when we have the sense of taste? Holiday cooking chores turn to sheer sensual pleasure when you consider the flavors of the holidays!

to do today ... clean out the freezer!

The secret to dinner-hour organization during the holiday season? A well-stocked, organized freezer! Today's the day to clean out the freezer in anticipation of holiday goodies and freezer meals to come. Add a free printable Freezer Inventory Form, and you'll sail through holiday cooking chores.

Inventory the freezer, and record contents on the Freezer Inventory Form. Plan to eat from the freezer this week and next week, making room for holiday meals and holiday goodies. Use food budget savings to stock up on holiday staples.

to print today ...

Freezer Inventory

Looking for an easy, inexpensive holiday gift? Pretty layered bath salts make a perfect gift for teens, co-workers or teachers. Sparked with the holiday scent of peppermint, Candy Cane Bath Salts are a seasonal treat.

Makes 12 gift jars at a cost approximately $1.50 per jar.

Includes free printable gift tags.

Brace yourselves! Holiday cooking season is upon us. From now until January, busy kitchens are the norm, like it or not. What better time for a quick refrigerator declutter?

to do today ... clean out the refrigerator!

Right now, today, and absolutely before you shop for the holiday, tackle the refrigerator, top to bottom. Starting on the top shelf, remove all leftovers, past-the-shelf-date foods, shriveled fruits and drooping vegetables.

Take a hard look at what's left. A jar of pickle spears holding one leaning pickle? A bottle of barbeque sauce with one scanty inch in the bottom? A down-to-the-last scrape mayonnaise jar? Lay down the law: eat them today, or toss them NOW.

Goal: make room for holiday cooking. Just like our waistbands, our refrigerators overflow during this time of year. Get a step ahead and declutter that refrigerator before you shop!

Pitching in to share the work makes a lot of sense when it comes to holiday meals--but without a bit of planning, you can end up with six different versions of Green Bean Casserole--and no rolls!

Bring order to potluck dinners today. Our free printable form makes it easy to plan, delegate and coordinate a shared menu:

Potluck Menu Planner Form

With Thanksgiving Day coming soon in the USA, there's no better time to organize holiday meals, menus and baking. Welcome to Get Cooking week!

It's all things food at the Countdown this week. Tighten your corsets! We're going to Get Cooking ... for the most delicious holiday season ever!

to do this week ...

This week in the Christmas Countdown, we'll explore frugal strategies for holiday meals, plan family dinners, clean out our freezers and get the goods on those sneaky Grocery Guys.

Get Cooking Week Assignments

If your shopping pulse races at the thought of post-Thanksgiving sales, heads up! Try these tips to get the most bang from your Black Friday buck, from Consumerist.com:

Black Friday Shopping Checklist

To make your list and plan your shopping strategy as information comes to light, try our free printable Black Friday sales planner:

Holiday Sales Planner

America celebrates Thanksgiving next Thursday, gathering family and friends around the dining table. This week in the Houseworks Holiday Plan, we'll see to it that the celebration takes place in a clean and organized dining area.

Holiday prep chores observe the holiday, together with the traditional Black Friday sales. We'll prepare for the holiday meal, celebrate Thanksgiving, then shop! Finally, this is the week we plan holiday entertaining, so put on a festive mood as we follow the Houseworks Holiday Plan.

Dining Space Week Assignments

snowman soup gift tag

If good little boys and girls get Snowman Soup, what do the naughty ones deserve? Snowman Poop! This inexpensive holiday gag gift is easy to make for office gifts, Secret Santa exchanges or stocking stuffers.

To make Snowman Poop, place a handful of mini-marshmallows in a small zipper food storage bag or decorated cellophane treat bag, then attach a gift tag with one the following poems.

Print a free printable Snowman Poop Gift Tag.

New! Print this Snowman Poop gift tag in .PDF format.

Or hand-write this message from Santa and attach to the gift bag:

I hear you've been naughty,
So listen, here's the scoop...
I'm running short on coal this year,
So you get "Snowman Poop"
Love, Santa

Warm the hearts of good little boys and girls with a packet of Snowman Soup!

Take a packet of hot chocolate, chocolate kiss, marshmallows and candy cane, package in a mug or holiday-themed goody bag, then add a free printable gift tag for a cheery winter gift.

Easy enough for children to make, Snowman Soup is perfect for stocking stuffers, office gifts, Secret Santa presents or 12 Days of Christmas gifts.

New! Add a Winter Warmer Jiffy Pop® Popcorn Topper for an easy, cheery winter gift basket.

Click the read more link below for instructions, gift tags and the Snowman Soup poem.