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I love hosting big holidays at my house but it would be a disaster without the right tools of the trade. Here are six of my favorite holiday hostess helpers to make your holidays easier to prep, make, share, and clean up after. And they’re all available right here at QVC! Help out your holiday host, whether it’s yourself or someone else so that time can be spent enjoying friends and family without stressing over the meal or cleanup.

The Key Ingredient 7" LCD Touchscreen Digital Recipe Reader with Wifi ($178) might seem a bit pricey but it will save all of your favorite recipes in one lightweight touchscreen device. You can load recipes from your favorite cooking websites and load your own recipes in there too! The surface is wipe-clean so you don’t have to worry about spills or damaging those delicate recipe cards. And it’s a lot harder to lose this than it is to lose an index card. I’ve lost a few of my favorite recipes...that never would have happened if I’d been using this.

Key Ingredient 7" LCD Touchscreen Digital Recipe Reader w/Wifi

No holiday kitchen is complete without a hand mixer like the KitchenAid Professional Digital Hand Mixer. Whether you’re mashing potatoes, whipping cream or mixing up cobbler batter, the hand mixer should be your go-to. Leave the big mixer and food processor for bigger jobs.

Besides, the big mixers take up a lot of counter space that might not be available as the meal comes together. Rescue your chef, or yourself, with one of these.

KitchenAid Professional 9 Speed Digital Hand Mixer w/ Bag&Attachments

I’m all for saving time and space whether I’m cooking for two or 20 so I’m a big fan of the Temp-tations 9"x13" Baker with Lasagna Server & Wire Rack for $36. Oven to table bake ware means that you don’t have to have a separate serving dish. You can just make your recipe in one of these fun pans and bring it right to the table. Place it in the included rack so it doesn’t scorch your table and you are in business.

Temp-tations 9"x13" Lid-it Baker with Lasagna Server & Wire Rack

When you are planning to have a lot of guests over for dinner you need to be ready to make a lot of coffee. But who knows what everyone’s tastes are? Some drink decaf, some only drink dark roast.  In order to keep everyone happy and you from losing your mind, you should invest in a Keurig Personal Brewer. It takes less than two minutes to make a cup of coffee!  And this one comes with 36 individual k-cups so you can make 36 cups of coffee before having to buy refills.

Keurig Personal Brewer w/ 36 K-Cups & My K-Cup Filter

Even though Thanksgiving and Christmas soirees are mostly about food, friends and family, there is one more key factor…ambience! Candles add that magic glow that seems to make every event seem more intimate and special. I love the look of candles but as the party moves from room to room, I can’t help but worry about the open flames that we leave behind. I have been obsessed with flameless candles ever since they came out. My new must-have is the Candle Impression Set of Tree Graduated Flameless Candles for $41. It comes with a remote control that makes it easy to turn the candles on and off from a distance. And you can set a timer so if you know guests will be over from 2pm – 11pm, just set it and forget it! No more fire hazards, just beautiful warm light.

CandleImpressio Set of 3 Graduated FlamelessCandle w/Remote&Timer

Lastly, I know that no one wants to think about the eventual clean up from one of these gatherings but it is inevitable. Instead of hoping it will disappear overnight you can tackle the spills on the floor, stove, bathroom or just about anywhere with the Wagner Power Steamer.  This little power house will clean and disinfect without using any chemicals. All it uses is water! So it is simple to use, versatile and eco-friendly.  Cleaning up from your holiday gathering will be a snap and you’ll feel good about it.

Wagner Power Steamer 905 Super Cleaner with Accessories

So there you have it, a handful of products that will make your holiday gathering easier to manage so that you can get back to what’s important: your friends and family!

Happy Hosting!

Dana

About Dana:

Dana Holmes is a lifestyle, gift & etiquette expert who is the editor-in-chief of www.gifts.com and the Gift Rap Blog (http://blog.gifts.com). She has worked in buying & trend forecasting for 10 years and has an expert eye for finding the perfect gift, every time. Along with the other gift gurus, Dana is constantly sifting through literally millions of products to find the few most fabulous gifts. She loves helping make every occasion unique with her handy tips & special touches. She has appeared on Fox & Friends, TODAY in NY and been interviewed by The New York Times, RedBook, and Real Simple to name a few. The best gift that she ever received was her engagement ring.