From Hecate: Since many of us Americans cannot avoid Thanksgiving, I thought I’d suggest a few items to help us all get through it. Even if you don’t celebrate that particular holiday, I hope you can add a few of these to your Holiday Prep Season lists

From Hecate: A wine decanter to make your dinner party fancier

I love wine decanters in general, but they really are a nice complement to a well-set table. This design is nice because it’s thinner than a Captain’s decanter so it doesn’t take up as much room on the table or in the cupboard. This wine decanter is just $21.99 and has 4.4 stars, 102 reviews and an A from Fakespot. Some reviews said, “Great table-space-saving shape, no flaws in the glass, and pretty lightweight.” And “The decanter is a nice design that’s easy to clean.” Actually quite a few said how easy it was to clean and cleaning can be a real issue with decanters so that’s good to know. If you don’t drink wine, you can also use it for juices or milk, at this price it’s still worth it.

From Hecate: A unique table runner that looks luxurious

Speaking of setting the table – what a pain! You want it to be festive and fun but linens can be so expensive. One solution I discovered was to get a couple of table cloths in neutral colors and then accessorize with runners. Or, you can forget the table cloth and just use the runner. This one intrigued me because of the texture and design. It’s made out of paper, so be careful getting it wet, but it’s available in Taupe, Silver, Gold and Black for $10 – $20 depending on color. There are also placemats in the same design if you wanted to match. Some commenters said, “Just what I needed to dress up the dining room table.” and for the look, “It actually gives the illusion of woven wire.” The brand has 4.2 stars, 193 reviews and a B from Fakespot

From Hecate: Infused oils make thoughtful gifts

Maybe you’re not hosting this year (yeah!) If you’re lucky enough to be invited to someone’s for a holiday meal and you need a hostess gift, infused oil is always a safe bet. These have a bad Fakespot rating but I love this brand and keep a tin of their walnut oil in my cupboard at all time. I recommend all their flavors, of which Amazon offers six sets of three varieties, for a total of 18 different flavors. If you want to jazz them up for a gift, wrap them in a flour sack tea towel and tie it with a wooden spoon at the knot, the whole thing will cost you about $6.50 per gift. And if you need something to wear for a dinner out, I highly recommend the dress I suggested last week with 3/4 length sleeves. It looks really nice on and is so easy, it barely needs any accessorizing.

From Hecate: Which brings us to our book of the month – Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom by Julia Child and David Nussbaum, offered in paperback for only $9.99. Yes, this book offers some good recipes but it also offers many tips and tricks to support a home cook. Julia’s always entertaining and what’s especially nice about her cookbooks is that they aren’t intimidating, even though she does offer some complex recipes. She’s known for French cooking but this book offers advice for any style of cooking and some great basics for your Thanksgiving or any holiday dinner. Don’t take it from me, one commenter said, “If you love to cook or want to learn how you need this book.” Plus, if you read it in her distinct voice in your head, it makes it much more fun.

From CB: Antisnoring nose vents

Can you tell that I didn’t read Hecate’s list before I came up with my own items? I snore and it’s an issue. Breathe Right strips can get expensive. I even bought those $25 nose blocking things at CVS and hated them. All they do is make it so you can’t breathe from your nose at all. These anti-snoring nose vents come 12 to a pack for less than $10. You don’t get that many because they’re sized differently so you can find the one that works best for you. These have almost 350 ratings, 4.3 stars and a B from Fakespot. Users call them “small but effective” and say they’re comfortable and you don’t notice them as long as you wear them when you’re awake for about 15 to 20 minutes the first couple of times to get used to them. People say they help them sleep better and they do really work to eliminate snoring and help them and their loved ones get a good night’s sleep. *adds to cart*

Cable keepers to keep iPhone cables from fraying

I really like my macbook air. I’ve had it for over five years and it still works pretty well. I don’t update the OS at all, which may be part of the reason I still like it and it hasn’t broken yet, knock wood. The power cord keeps fraying though and I’m on my third one now. This is a real problem with all mac products and I’m convinced they don’t fix it because they make a lot of money off replacement cables. (They keep changing the ports and headphones too, they do this on purpose.) These little cable keepers fix that by supporting the cable at the base where it’s more likely to bend and stop working. They’re just $6 for 24 of them. (There are also versions with very cute animal figures however they’re more expensive and reviews are mixed.) These have 4.3 stars, over 300 ratings and a C from Fakespot. People say they work well to protect cords and that they help coax a charge out of cords which were frayed and not working. Please check your cable type to make sure these will work for your device.

A gel-based stain remover to make your grout sparkle

I keep talking about trying to get the mold out between the tiles in my bathroom. That power scrubber is a good start, and I think I may need a new product for that area as well. (Clorox bleach gel toilet cleaner works pretty well, but doesn’t get everything.) I’ve read a lot of positive reviews of this gel-based mold and mildew remover by Skylarlife. It’s a clear thick gel that applies directly to the area you want to treat. People say this works well, that it only has a slight bleach smell and that you can just treat an area and leave it for few hours and the mold is gone. This has 4.3 stars, over 1,700 reviews and a C from Fakespot.

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