One of the things I love most about food blogs is the amazing food photos. I know from personal experience that photographing food is a challenge, and I admire bloggers who can turn out beautiful photos no matter what they're cooking. Of course when Christmas comes, these talented photographers have beautiful Christmas food photos on their blogs to wish readers a Merry Christmas.

My most memorable family-related Christmas disaster came courtesy of my mother-in-law, the very first year that my husband and I were married. She flew across the country to spend the holidays with us, and then proceeded to spend the entirety of her stay reminding me that I was in no way caring for my husband adequately. The nadir of whole experience came Christmas Day, after I had spent the day slaving over a turkey dinner. I had set the table, put out the food, poured champagne into everyone’s glasses and invited my mother-in-law to toast the meal. Which she did.

If you are a journalist, or love someone who is, you know that most of us could use a little extra love this holiday season. As Elana recently noted we ink-stained wretches are high up on the growing list of industries that have had a rough year. So, here are a few suggestions for gifts that might bring a smile to your favorite (current, former, or aspiring) member of the Fourth Estate.For the backpack journalists

If there's a time of the year during which it's hard to be green, this would be it: the holiday season is a season of consumption. There's just no getting around it: regardless of what winter holiday you celebrate, you invariably spend December (and, if we include Thanksgiving, November) (and if you're Canadian, October) eating and drinking and shopping and eating and drinking and eating and did I mention eating? And odds are that you're not sticking to your locavore diet (because, my god: eggnog without rum?), and not restricting your shopping list to locally made goods.

It's almost that time of year again--"The Holidays"--and whether you celebrate Christmas (the cultural or the religious variety), Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Pancha Ganapati, or any other lovely holiday that I've neglected to mention, gifts are probably involved. In my opinion friends, it's time to get your craft on!Crafting gifts expresses care, makes a smaller impact on our world and our wallets, and just generally makes a person feel hygge. How does crafting promote soulcare?

Last week while I was on vacation, my Grandmother passed away. She was frail, and ill and ready to be released from this mortal coil. And so it is with both sorrow and contentment that we greet her passing and honor her memory. This means, that for the first time this year, her icon will join Grandpa's on our mantelpiece as we celebrate Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.

Halloween is a magical time for kids, the opportunity to leave reality behind and transform themselves into anything they desire for one evening of fun. Oct. 31 is just over two weeks away which means moms everywhere are scrambling to get costumes put together. Beyond making sure your children's costumes are adorable, unique, and/or scary (depending on what you're going for), its important to keep safety in mind as you assemble your costume.

On Writes Like She Talks, I have a series called What Do Jews Do. Each entry with that title has a subtitle about a particular Jewish tradition or holiday, or, in the case of Christmas or New Years or Ramadan or whatever, I will write about how Jews may or may not observe the same - you know, Chinese and a movie on Christmas and so on. :) Like me, the posts often combine seriousness, humor, food and pictures.

Habari gani! (That's Swahili for What's happening?) If you are celebrating Kwanzaa, the word for today is Ujamaa, which means "Cooperative Economics." It's a day for thinking about ways in which people of African descent can pool their resources to strengthen their families and communities. It's also the fourth day of the week-long celebration, and I've been asked to do a roundup of photos and reports from the festivities so far.

I spent a little time today searching the Net for New Year's traditions, both old and new. My little family needs the aura of stability created by tradition. If I had had more time, I would've celebrated Kwanzaa this year, a celebration with family-grounding traditions, but my life was a little too chaotic this December, which was par for the course in 2007 and previous years.

People all over the world have special traditions for celebrating the arrival of the new year, and often celebrations include the idea of eating lucky foods, thought to bring happiness and prosperity in the year to come. Just which foods are lucky depends on where you are, but there are some traditions that are pretty widespread. Here are suggestions for lucky foods from around the world, but if you have a New Year's Food tradition that brings you luck, please share your link or recipe in the comments.

Today is the first day of Kwanzaa, the celebration that honors African-American heritage. From December 26 to January 1, each day features a special principle symbolized by a candle placed in a kinara. While Kwanzaa has both fans and critics, here we'll stick to Kwanzaa food, around which there can be just one dispute: sweet potatoes or collard greens?