Today, whether you’re traveling, racing around your grocery store and kitchen, or just generally hurtling toward the Thanksgiving holiday, I hope you’ll take a moment to think about the people in America for whom Thanksgiving dinner is no celebration . According to Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, 49 million Americans live in food-insecure households. I don’t pretend to know how to fix the larger economic issues that have caused this situation, but the pressing issue at the […]

Family-centric holidays like Thanksgiving can be fraught with tension.  I doubt the original Pilgrims sweated the details the way we do today. Who carves the turkey? Do we need to wait for everyone to have food on their plates before we start eating? Who’s saying grace this year? And then there are the oddball friends and relatives whom we see once or twice a year. They ask invasive questions, take the day to let their passive-aggressive flag fly, or drink […]

As the holiday season approaches and we think about expressing appreciation to all the people who do nice things for us throughout the year, it seems like a good time to review some of the rules of tipping etiquette. As is the case with all things mannerly, the rules should be based in common sense. If you’ve received especially good service, it’s nice to show your appreciation by tipping well. Conversely, if the service you’ve received is surly or unpleasant, […]

Occasionally I come across young event planners doing creative, highly-individualized events that are so good I just have to tell you about them. Virginia Edelson runs Bluebird Productions, an event coordination and design firm based in Aspen, Colorado. She works throughout the West, specializing in innovative, personalized events, and she revels in making every detail of a party or wedding unique and memorable. Photo by Rebecca Sanabria Virginia manages all aspects of her events, from design to budget to selecting the […]