Instructions: Be ready for the holidays this year, so you can celebrate in style without becoming a grinch.*

Plus:
A room-by-room guide to easy home improvements your guests will be sure to notice.
Show off the city: Where to take your holiday visitors between Dec. 20 and Jan. 1

*And since you don’t have a robot to do it all for you, we’re guessing you might need a little advice.

Everything new gets old fast, so check out these perennially popular toy ideas to keep young minds stimulated (and the beeping to a minimum).

Nine Cleveland-centric ways to entertain your guests (and get them out of the house) during all that holiday season downtime when you're not opening gifts, eating gut-busting meals or watching "A Christmas Story" for the 3,000th time.

Picking up a prepared Thanksgiving dinner at the local supermarket. Hiring an interior designer to decorate the house — including the tree. Calling the caterer to supply all the food and beverage for your annual holiday bash. Ordering gifts online. Convenient? Yes. But hardly greeting card-worthy. No, unless you want the children and grandchildren telling tales of how you dialed up the fixings for every holiday gathering, you’ll have to reinstate a tradition or two from bygone days. We’ve come up with a dozen ways to do so in your own home or just a short drive from your front door.

You're ready to hire a cleaning service to get your home in shape for all that holiday foot traffic. Here are 10 questions you should ask before making the hire.

Need to freshen the look of your home before guest arrive?  Check out these seven ideas that can each be tackled in the span of a single weekend.

'Tis the season of frayed nerves. But being prepared for the holidays can help - a lot.  Local organizing expert Sandra Einstein offers 10 strategies for conquering chaos.

How to keep your mood light during the shortest and busiest days of the year.

Same gift, different holiday? Not this time around. If you're stumped when it comes to unique presents for the special people in your life, keep reading. We reached deep into our mailbag and found a dozen distinctive ideas we guarantee they won't soon forget.

Where to go next holiday season (and how to break the news to your family).

Six strategies for making sure your pants still fit by the time Jan. 2 rolls around.

Five simple ways to maximize space and make your visitors feel at home this holiday season.

It's the most wonderfully stressful time of the year. But when things go wrong, don't turn into a Scrooge. Turn to our handy guide for surviving holiday pitfalls.