HSimas

With times already being tight, the advent of the holiday season can add even more stress to a household on a budget. In addition to the expense of family presents and holiday meals, showing your appreciation for the hairdresser, mailman, assorted teachers and tutors and anyone else who comes to mind can leave very little in your wallet to celebrate. Luckily, there are still some holiday traditions that don't cost a thing. I've gone on a virtual trip across Europe to gather some of the best ones for you.

Ah, Thanksgiving. Such a cornucopia of culinary delights. Such a delightful melange of seasonal flavors. So utterly impossible to match with wine.

You can pair each individual Thanksgiving dish with a wine, of course. But finding a wine to complement the whole meal is a different story. You may have herbal notes in the stuffing, buttery mashed potatoes, marshmallow-y yams, white or dark meat. And let's face it, one tart mouthful of cranberry sauce and the whole wine pairing plan gets shot to heck.

So what can you do, besides pretend you forgot to buy cranberry sauce? Choose a crowd pleasing favorite that goes with the widest range of flavors.

We've got your list here.

Readers of the Savings.com blog will of course recall my post from a few weeks back entitled The Sinister Six, in which I detailed six haunted destinations to visit this Halloween. Well, one reader was not completely pleased with my post. He would have preferred I write about a slightly different topic, namely haunted houses.

I quote:

"i have an idea for another Halloween article. you say the best haunted houses. I cant do the research thats your job but i have some suggestions. and by haunted houses i mean like the kinds that has people in it trying to scare you. not like with real ghosts..."

The displeased reader is my eleven-year-old nephew, and I would like to state unequivocally that I did not ask him for any research help, so I don't know why he has to go and take that attitude. But Haunted Houses is a pretty good idea. So, starting with my nephew's #1 choice, here are The Frightening Four Best Haunted Houses to visit this Halloween.