Five Tips For A Stress-Free Holiday Shopping Season (NAPSA)—The holidays can be could need or want, think about a hectic time of year. Between hol- making a dinner reservation to iday parties, shopping for the spend time with one another. Remembering The Holidays right gifts and spending time with Experiential gifts are a great way (NAPSA)—Like a whirlwind, Five Easy Steps To A New Countertop your family, the balancing act of to catch up with the people you the holiday season flies by in a sea (NAPSA)—Choosing a counter- getting everything done within love and show them you’re think- of chaos filled with family, friends, your budget or forgetting a gift ing about them. Spend time with top doesn’t have to be a daunting food, shopping and gifts. Before task. can be stressful. However, with friends over manicures and pedi- people know it, the holidays are the proper time management, cures, book a family vacation for To begin, you may want to visit over until the following year. Fam- a dealer to look at all the options money and budgeting tools, and a some quality time with your loved ilies are left asking themselves little creativity ones or plan a weekend of com- available to you. There may be where the time went and how the several types of materials that can sprinkled on top, gift munity service with friends and holidays were spent. As time givers can enjoy the family. give you the look you want at vari- passes, many people find it hard ous prices and with different holidays and stay Don’t forget your manners. to distinguish the events that hap- stress-free. This From holiday party etiquette to maintenance requirements. Some pened and the family members products, such as granite, tile and year, Visa’s Chief thank-you note writing, making a who were present from one year to Shopping Officer good impression over the holidays ceramic, are more expensive and the next. require more maintenance than and celebrity shop- is crucial. Make sure you never Discover some ways to preserve ping expert, Jaye come empty-handed to a holiday others. Products such as laminate your holiday memories this year come in hundreds of colors and Jaye Hersh Hersh, offers some party—whether it’s a casual cock- Choosing a countertop pattern and in the future. These ideas will patterns with many edge choices tips to help boost tail party or formal get-together. help many families remember and color that coordinate or con- your holiday cheer and maintain Contribute to the party by bring- and may be more affordable and trast with your kitchen floor and what happened in years past. easier to maintain. your shopping Zen. ing a CD of your favorite iTunes •Take pictures during dinners, cabinets helps pull the room Start early and plan ahead. playlist, a bottle of spirits or a After you’ve determined the together and adds style. parties, shopping, decorating, and material and pattern you like, try Plan your holiday shopping favorite dessert. As you’re opening gift exchanging. instead of squeezing it in between your own gifts, remember to track following these tips from Wilsonart to order bigger samples. The •Create scrapbooks using pho- Laminate, a leading manufacturer larger size may help you make a other obligations. November and your presents for postholiday tos and memorabilia collected over December see epic mall traffic, so thank-you-note writing. of decorative surfaces: decision. the holiday season. Step 1: Pick out samples. Step 4: Order your counter- allow plenty of time to accomplish For holiday shopping pro- •Compose a journal that what you need without feeling crastinators, give the gift of Pick out about a dozen take-home top. Find an installer to measure includes events and memories samples to get an idea of color and the area your countertop will rushed and stressed. Also, try hit- choice: a gift card. It’s Decem- from each day leading up to the ting the stores with a friend or ber 22. You’re scrunched in an pattern. Don’t forget that there is take up and place your order. New Year. a variety of edge treatments and Your installer should then be able loved one. Shopping with a buddy economy-class seat (middle, of •Record special moments on is a great way to spend time with course) on your way home for the backsplash options that dealers to schedule an installation date. video. will have samples of as well. Look To find an installer, contact the friends and family during the hec- holidays and you have one day to •Save cards and thoughtful tic holiday season, and a second shop once you’re off the at remodeling magazines as well company whose materials you are tokens from friends and family. as Web sites such as www.coun using or your dealer. Remember, opinion can be crucial when shop- plane...What do you do? Visa Gift These thoughts are from the ping for the perfect gift. cards are ideal presents because tertop.com for ideas. kitchen cabinets need to be in- Alliance for Affordable Services, Step 2: Narrow down your stalled before final measure- Make your list, check it they let recipients buy what they a not-for-profit organization ded- twice...and establish a budget. want, when they want, wherever options. Tape a sample at eye ments are made for the counter- icated to helping members live level on a wall cabinet to get a bet- top and before the material is Does Aunt Margaret really need Visa debit cards are accepted. better and save more. The an expensive gift this year? Those on your list will enjoy the ter idea of how the new countertop ordered. Alliance uses the power of the will look and contrast with the Step 5: Get your countertop Wouldn’t it be just as thoughtful security Visa’s Zero Liability pol- group to negotiate significant to bake her cookies or make her a icy gives them that protects recipi- existing cabinets. If your new coun- installed. Cutouts for sinks and savings on a variety of business, tertop is part of a larger kitchen stoves are usually made on-site CD of her favorite piano music? ents from unauthorized purchases lifestyle and health care benefits Prioritize your holiday gift giving if the gift card is lost or stolen—a remodel, make sure you have sam- during the installation, so if you’re for more than 150,000 members. ples of the new cabinets and floor- changing one of these fixtures, this year. Think about your gift level of security not afforded by For more information, visit recipients’ needs and loves when cash, gift certificates or other gift ing or paint you’re considering. make sure the new one is in your www.AffordableServices.org or Step 3: Obtain larger sam- kitchen so the installer can saw mapping out your holiday budget. cards. For more reasons to make call (800) 733-2242. Surprise the person who the Visa Gift card your card for ples to make a final selection. out the right size hole for it. has everything. For those on the holidays, visit www.visa.com/ Narrow down the samples to a few Assuming everything is in order, your gift list that have all they CSO. colors, obtain larger samples and installing your countertop should make a final selection. Sometimes be the quickest part of the process there is a phone number or Web if you choose laminate. It should site address on the back of the take about a day. smaller samples that you can use To learn more, call (800) 433-

Low-Fat Popcorn Considered Smart Snack Option (NAPSA)—When it comes to *** 100-calorie snacks, not all are cre- To love and be loved is to feel ated equal. While many offer por- the sun from both sides. tion control and convenience, they —David Viscott, M.D. might not have good nutritional *** value. Nearly 90 percent of sur- Finding Something To Scream About veyed dietitians consider most (NAPSA)—If you’ve ever seen prepackaged 100-calorie snacks to a horror movie, you may be sur- contain “empty calories.” Three- *** prised that people actually sign in-four dietitians believe the Where love reigns the impossi- up to be victims. But that’s products aren’t filling or satisfy- ble may be attained. exactly what’s happening across ing and almost half said they —Indian Proverb the country. likely wouldn’t recommend these *** Before you break into a cold products. sweat, know that “victim” is just a Many consumers have turned name FEARnet uses for horror to these 100-calorie products to Dietitians recommend low-fat fans when they chat online. It’s popcorn as a nutritious and sat- manage their weight. According to *** part of a larger trend creeping IRI Data, sales of 100-calorie isfying snack. into the mainstream that centers Love is blind; friendship tries snack foods went from $0 to $150 six cups of hot, fresh, whole-grain and on the $1 billion a year horror not to notice. million in less than two years. fiber-rich popcorn instead of 100 movie industry. Given this trend, food manufac- empty calories of less nutritious, —Otto von Bismarck In fact, fright fans now gorge Credit: Ralph Nelson, Columbia Pictures turers have created 100-calorie less satisfying fare.” *** on all-things-gore over the Inter- Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder packages of popular cookies, Some of the benefits of the pop- net, on TV and even on their cell in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. crackers and chip products in corn mini-bags include: phones. They use Web sites such And as horror fans grow more hopes of answering consumer • All SmartPop! products are as FEARnet.com to meet, down- high tech, they’ve found new ways needs. 94 percent fat-free, with zero *** load films and devour the latest to express their passion for horror. When dietitians recommend grams of trans fat per serving, Don’t judge each day by the har- rumors in the horror industry— For instance, if you suddenly snack options to their clients, not and are made with 100 percent vest you reap, but by the seeds and they access free films over hear a blood-curdling scream in only do they look for portion con- whole-grain popcorn, providing you plant. Comcast’s Fearnet on-demand ser- the grocery store, it might only trol and convenience, they also four grams of fiber per serving —Robert Louis Stevenson vice, which offers about 200 hor- mean the cashier has a cell phone seek products that are real food, and zero milligrams of cholesterol. *** ror, thriller and suspense films a call and downloaded one of FEAR- satisfying and have nutritional • The SmartPop! line offers year, as well as more than 70 net’s horror-inspired ringtones. value. The five most satisfying various varieties to satisfy crav- hours of horror programming a Similarly, people are accessing snack options recommended by ings for salty and sweet, from Ket- month. The channel’s collection horror-based games from the Web dietitians include: tle Korn to Organic Butter. *** covers the fear genre from slasher site for their PCs or mobile 1. A piece of fruit • Popcorn is a great way for Curiosity is, in great and gen- to “J-Horror” for kids and features phones, and this lets fans search 2. Vegetable sticks adults and children to get the erous minds, the first passion both Spanish programming and horror databases—in case you 3. Nuts whole grains they need on a daily and the last. High-Definition content. want to access a review of “The 4. Low-fat popcorn basis. Whole grains provide many —Samuel Johnson The New Culture Of Fear Werewolf” or you’re dying to know 5. Cheese of the essential vitamins and *** Horror movies have changed who directed “See No Evil” to set- “A better way to spend 100 nutrients that are low in many over the years and horror fans tle an argument. calories is by choosing a satisfy- Americans’ diet. Whole grains also have, too. Today’s fright films now Regardless of how it’s used, the ing, nutrient-dense option such as aid in weight management and feature A-list celebrities doing site may be a sign that horror is Orville Redenbacher’s SmartPop! reduce the risk of heart disease. battle with demons, monsters and here to stay—and that horror fans 100 Calorie Mini-Bags,” said For more information on smart, 7 attackers, a far cry from days now walk among us. Patty Packard, registered dieti- nutritious, 100-calorie snacking, past, when it was tough to name a For more information, visit tian at ConAgra Foods. “You get visit www.orville.com. horror actor. www.fearnet.com.