To avoid putting on the extra pound or two during the holidays, which are notorious for making large quantities of tempting and sometimes fattening foods readily available, all you really need to do is apply some common sense and avoid giving in to the excuses that the season offers.

• First and foremost, make sure to drink plenty of water. Not only will it offset the extra calories that you might consume if you were to drink only holiday drinks (eggnog, cider, cocktails, wine), but it will help fill you up and make you less likely to overeat in general.
• Don't stand near the buffet and nosh at parties. Take one plate full of what you feel that you should eat, then let it be. Try eating slowly over the course of the evening. It'll make you feel fuller.
• Before going out, especially if you know that your favorite fried latkes and other high-calorie favorites will be on the menu, eat a healthy snack to fill up. Try not to skip meals before on the excuse that you're going to eat a lot later. You'll eat less if you're not hungry when you walk in the door.
• If you're the one entertaining, make sure to have plenty of healthy snacks - low fat dips, veggies, etc - in addition to more decadent options so you give yourself and your guests a few good options. Look for lightened versions of favorite recipes (Cooking Light and Eating Well are good places to start), too.
• Last but not least, don't panic if you "give in" and have an extra slice of cheesecake or a few too many holiday cookies. One meal on one day is not enough to ruin your diet or your health, so it's not worth beating yourself up over. Keep a positive attitude and try to make better choices next time. • Be the designated driver. Stick with nonalcoholic drinks during a party and you'll save your friends and your waistline

It's unlikely that you're going to find all the gifts that you want to give on one list in the same way that you're unlikely to find everything all at one store (with the possible exception of Amazon.com), so it's in your best interest to look at as many sources as you can for inspiration. Food & Wine's 40 Divine Gifts list definitely has some inspired choices on it. Their choices run from under $25 up to $250, so they've tried to cover every budget in addition to picking a wide variety of foods, kitchen tools and decorative items. On the low-end of their gifting spectrum, they recommend the Cool Jewels ice tray, which pops out ice shaped like giant gems and is great for making a splash at parties, the cookbook Cooking Up A Storm for culinarily inclined kids and the Life of the Snowman sugar dispenser. The higher end includes Emeril's Deep Fryer and gold-plated serving spoons.

If you know someone who loves to bake, chances are good that you frequently enjoy the fruits - or cookies, cakes breads, etc - of their labors in the kitchen. While they do enjoy what they're doing, why not use the holidays as an excuse to pay them back with something that every baker either wants or needs? This list has eight of our top ideas for the baker in your life and, even though some of them are on the expensive side, keep in mind that you'll probably have a chance to enjoy anything that the create with these tools, too.

Topping the list of great gifts is a stand mixer. They're great for mixing up just about anything you could want to bake, from cookie dough to bread dough. The standard is the KitchenAid 4 1/2 quart mixer, which is a great choice for the casual baker, but if you're really serious, you might prefer to get a more powerful machine, like the 7-qt Viking mixer.

The start of Hanukah is just under two weeks away and there are a lot of food traditions associated with it, as there are with most Jewish holidays. Any holiday that has a food tradition is worth taking note of as far as we're concerned, whether it is one you usually celebrate or not, if for no other reason than to expose yourself to some new food. In the case of A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking, the foods probably aren't all that "new" to most of us, but that only makes learning the history behind the recipes more interesting. The author discusses dietary laws, the symbolism of particular foods and how Jewish cooking has been influenced by other cultures. The recipes include NY Style Water Bagels, Traditional Friday Night Challah, Frozen Cheesecake and My Trademark, Most Requested, Absolutely Magnificent Caramel Matzoh Crunch. The instructions, even for the most complex breads and pastries, are easy enough for the the "baking challenged" to follow without problems