Happy Holidays from University of Missouri Extension!
However you celebrate these December weeks of light and gratitude — including Hannukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa — we have tips to share. Pull up a chair and start scrolling for our experts’ advice on safety, personal security, physical and mental well-being and more.
Food safety
Whether you’re traveling to Grandma’s house with favorite sides, flying cross-country with that one special dish or shipping cookies to faraway friends, our holiday food safety tips help ensure your food arrives intact and ready to enjoy and consume.
- Holiday food safety tips
- Cook and freeze now to avoid holiday stress
- Turkey tips: Buying and thawing
- Helpful hints on cooking turkey
- Safe travels for holiday food gifts
- Keep safety in mind when donating food
Holiday personal safety
Don’t let the Grinches ruin your holiday cheer! Here are common sense tips to keep you and your information safe from would-be scammers and thieves.
- Safer holiday shopping (YouTube video)
- Beware of post-holiday scams
- 10 steps to protect your identity this holiday season
Holiday health and well-being
Stress and sadness can be part of the holidays, too. These ideas can help find balance at work and at home and learning to celebrate in ways that are safer and healthier for you.
- Banish the holiday blues
- Beating the winter blahs at work
- Harm reduction for safer holidays
- Holidays can be lonely for some
- Tips for busting holiday budget blues
Other seasonal
Festive flowers and plants and more.
- Deck the halls with proper caution
- Holiday cactus can provide years of color
- Norfolk Island pine: A houseplant for the holidays and beyond
- Picking poinsettias (YouTube video)
- Take poinsettia off Santa's 'naughty' list
- Ancient scents of the season
- Spices fill the holidays with aroma and memories
- Give yourself the gift of a debt-free shopping season
- Holiday gift ideas to help build neighborliness
For even more winter holiday-themed content, visit our holiday resource library.