Best of the Holiday Bullhorn

Helpful Highlights From the Season's Ubiquitous How-Tos

You know what they say about free advice: It's worth the price.

Presumably some of it's priceless and some of it's worthless. Either way, during the holiday season each year, a blizzard of free advice blows into our busy lives from Web sites and e-mails, on television, in newspapers, at work. . . . Did I mention from in-laws? No? From in-laws.

It's as if the advice elves have been hard at work all year long hammering out personal pointers on how to do your holiday shopping safely, how to save money, how to take the best photos at family gatherings, how to do just about anything that even remotely connects to this Season To Be Jolly (including how to be jolly and avoid holiday depression . . . ahem).

Why, there's so much free advice around that seasonal how-tos start drifting over ho-ho-hos. Sure, a lot of it is standard stuff -- like the necktie you get from your Secret Santa. Better to give than receive. But some of it just may be the unexpected gift that saves your holidays.

So, if Ben Franklin was right that "wise men don't need advice and fools won't take it," here for the rest of us are highlights from this season's sleighload of holiday tips:

How to budget your spending: Consumer debt hit record levels this year, so Jon Olson, editor at FindLaw.com, a free legal info Web site, offers these two tips: Set a budget for how much you want to spend and stick to it, and leave your credit cards at home when shopping.

How to decorate safely: Look for the "fire resistant" label on artificial trees, advises the Consumer Product Safety Commission. When buying a live tree, check for freshness (green, needles hard to pull off and don't break when bent, stump bottom sticky with resin). Set up live trees away from fireplaces and radiators. Check regularly for water. Use non-combustible or flame-resistant materials for trimmings. Keep trimmings with small, removable parts out of the reach of children and avoid any that resemble candy or food. Use only indoor or outdoor lights that have thicker wiring and built-in safety fuses and that have the label of a nationally recognized testing laboratory, such as UL or ETL/ITSNA. Turn off all holiday lights when you go to bed or leave the house. Keep burning candles in sight; extinguish them before you go to bed or leave the house. For more safety tips, visit http://www.cpsc.gov/ .

How to take professional-looking cell phone photos: Hold the phone steady, advises "The Wireless Guru" (an advice site from Cingular at http://www.thewirelessguru.com/ ). Few cell phones have a flash, so consider available lighting that falls on your subject and doesn't come from behind. Set the resolution on your phone to high for sharper photos. Get closer to your subject, on eye level if possible, to make photos more interesting. Use plainer backgrounds to emphasize subject. When shooting action shots, anticipate and press the shutter before the action.

How to buy video games for children: Knowing about the video games is important, says Samantha Blackmon, an English professor at Purdue University, who studies race and gender content in video games. Visit the game developer's Web site to view trailers for specific games. Look for age-appropriate games and pay attention to their ratings (for an explanation of ratings, see http://www.esrb.org/ ). When at a store, ask if you can play the game or if someone can demonstrate it. For younger children, avoid role-playing games that connect to other players online.

How to decompress holiday stress: The American Psychological Association says 61 percent of Americans listed not enough money as the top cause of holiday stress, followed by the pressures of gift giving, lack of time and credit card debt. APA's advice to keeping stress in check: View the holidays as a time to reconnect with friends and family who care about you and can provide support. Set realistic goals and take small steps in dealing with holiday tasks to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Avoid blowing events out of proportion. Take decisive action to address underlying causes of stressful situations. And take care of yourself, your own needs and feelings, by engaging in activities you enjoy and find relaxing.

How to give holiday tips: No, the monetary kind. Consumer Reports advises that you reward people who make a difference in your life and tip them accordingly. Think about those whose services you use most frequently or those who go out of their way for you -- beauticians, barbers, parking lot attendants, the newspaper carrier. Visit the Holiday Giving Guide section at http://www.consumerreports.org/ for more information.

How to release ghosts of Christmases Past: Adult children arguing with elderly parents, couples miffed over struggling relationships, loved ones nursing longtime hurts, these are the kinds of holiday-invoked personal issues that benefit from the gift of forgiveness, advises Frederick DiBlasio, social work professor at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. A national expert on forgiveness, he says deciding to forgive someone at this time of year ultimately can be a gift to yourself that frees you from being an angry, bitter person consumed by past hurts.

How not to get sick from the turkey: If you choose a fresh turkey, buy it only one to two days before cooking, store leftover turkey in the fridge for only three or four days and dressing and gravy one or two days, and reheat gravy to a rolling boil -- those are some of the tips offered by the American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences. For more info, such as how to fight holiday weight gain and how to organize holiday treat exchanges, visit http://www.aafcs.org/res/AAFCSnewsaugepk05.html .

How to encourage children to save: Hottest gift this year for kids, says the Takoma Park-based nonprofit Center for a New American Dream, is a piggy bank! The center's new survey found that more than 62 percent of Americans say they're thinking about giving family members gifts such as a savings bond or a piggy bank. Visit http://www.newdream.org/ for free copies of the center's "Simplify the Holidays" brochure or call 877-68-DREAM for $4 hard copies.

How to shop safely online: Check out unfamiliar retailers with the Better Business Bureau and your state or local consumer protection agency, advises the National Consumers League, the Better Business Bureau and the National Cyber Security Alliance. Buy only on secure Web sites (url addresses change to "shttp" or "https" when you're ordering). Make sure online retailers have a name and a physical address. Check policies on privacy, cancellations and returns before buying. Use a credit card for the protections they provide. Keep documentation of orders (confirmation page or e-mail). Track deliveries (federal law requires orders made by mail, phone or online be shipped by the date promised, or when none's stated within 30 days -- or you can cancel and demand a refund). Never buy anything in response to unsolicited e-mails. And keep your computer secure with up-to-date spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software and a firewall. Visit http://www.staysafeonline.org/ and http://www.onguardonline.gov/ for more on keeping your computer secure.

Here's your chance to voice what you want companies, customer service reps, stores, the government and manufacturers to do differently to make life easier on consumers for the New Year's Day resolutions column. E-mailconsumer@washpost.comor write to Don Oldenburg, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Because of the volume of mail, personal replies are not always possible.