There is more to Thanksgiving dinner than turkey. (Photo: richcianci/Flickr/CC BY-ND)

Every year I struggle with the questions of what to make for Thanksgiving dinner. I either have too many ideas or I can’t come up with enough. So this year I have compiled a list of ideas for Thanksgiving dinner to help others put together their ideas of a perfect dinner, with or without a payday loan.

Thanksgiving dinner menu

Keep in mind that the possibilities are endless. Everyone loves family traditions, but maybe this year you can add a twist. Here are some ideas that might help you plan your own Thanksgiving holiday dinner.

Appetizers and Snacks

• Cheese Balls or logs
• Meat and cheese platters
• Veggie Tray – black and green olives, green beans, pickles, cucumbers, celery and green beans
• Fruit tray – any fresh fruit in season
• Deviled eggs

Sides

• Candied yams or sweet potatoes
• Bread rolls of any type
• Cornbread
• Mashed Potatoes – garlic is a classic
• Corn – on the cob or otherwise
• Stuffing
• Gravy – country, brown, turkey or any other flavor of your choice
• Salad – any type and with any dressing
• Fruit salad

Main course

• Turkey – with or without stuffing
• Ham

Desserts

• Pumpkin pie
• Chocolate cream pie
• Apple pie
• Cherry pie
• Just about any type of fruit pie – whipped cream on top is a delectable option
• Pecan pie
• Mincemeat pie

This could be the start of a good Thanksgiving dinner

You don’t have to make all the items on this list — just pick out the ones that work for you and your family. Don’t do more than you can; the stress certainly isn’t worth it. Thanksgiving can run up a pretty large bill, so if you need a little help to finance your Thanksgiving dinner, you could consider taking out a payday cash advance loan. Above all else, remember, Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude. Nobody will expect a perfect dinner; people are usually happy with just the effort put into it.

With Thanksgiving money, you can stop worrying and start cooking! (Thinkstock)

Thanksgiving has crept up so quickly this year. It’s nearly time to put the turkey, sweet potatoes, gravy and cranberries on the table for our families. That can be a lot of money for a lot of food for a lot of people. If you need Thanksgiving money now for your Thanksgiving dinner, holiday expenses or any emergency expense, there are loans available, and within just 60 seconds, you will know if you are approved.

Get Thanksgiving money loans here and start cooking

• Loans in amounts ranging from $100 to $1,500
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• Bad credit, no credit and bankruptcy are OK because no credit check is done, in most cases
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• Armed Forces personnel OK

Are there requirements for these loans?

If you are 18 or older, have a job and a checking account, you can apply for these loans. There are no complicated requirements, no running to banks and filling out stacks of paperwork. It really is that easy.

Get that Thanksgiving money you need right now

Go ahead. Apply right here. If you are approved, you can have Thanksgiving money deposited right into your account, sometimes within just hours. You can stuff the turkey, put it in the oven, peel the potatoes and set the table for your family and feel comfortable knowing you won’t be behind on any bills. If you have travel expenses for the holidays, you can get to where you are going without added worries. You can go shopping for gifts. If the oven stops working just before the big dinner, you can get it fixed. Don’t spend your time worrying about money; spend your time cooking.

For Thanksgiving money loans, apply HERE!

CC-BY CarbonNYC/Flickr.

A day of thanksgiving is celebrated in some form across the globe, and the American Thanksgiving Holiday is celebrated on the last Thursday of November.  In light of this holiday, a lot of people are going to be looking for Thanksgiving Quotes – and probably cash advances for Black Friday shopping sprees – so why not impart a few? Like most quotes about holidays, you find the occasional sarcastic gem, and then you also find some really smarmy stuff that goes great on a greeting card – the kind you know is cheesy, the receiver knows is cheesy, but is sent anyway as a matter of course.

First – a quick riff on Thanksgiving origins

A day of Thanksgiving was traditional after a harvest, before and after the Pilgrims.  We all know the story about the Pilgrims and the Indians (the Wampanoags, and in return for their hospitality and gregarious compassion received…smallpox!), so we aren’t going to retread that ground, excepting that it’s now thought, in some circles, that the reason the Wampanoags did that was to keep those pesky Europeans (even then known as jerks) from stealing from their food stores and plundering the land.  (That idea didn’t take!)  Since days of Thanksgiving in late fall were commonplace, then President Washington declared a national day of it.

Now to the meat (white or dark, your choice) of Thanksgiving Quotes!

• “And they (turkeys) are a bird.  A very nervous bird. You’d be nervous too if you knew that one day you’d get your head cut off and…filled with stuffing.” – Bob Saget, from the Huffington Post
• “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”  – John Fitzgerald Kennedy
• “Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare.  They are consumed in twelve minutes.  Half times take about twelve minutes.  This is not a coincidence.” – Erma Bombeck
• “We should just be thankful for being together.  I think that’s what they mean by ‘Thanksgiving’, Charlie Brown.” – From A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
• “Thanksgiving has become a day when Americans extend a hand to the less fortunate.  Long before there was a government welfare program, this spirit of voluntary giving was ingrained in the American character. It should be a day of giving as well as thanks.”  – Ronald Reagan.
• “Thanksgiving is not an anachronism whose time has passed.  It is much more than a holiday to celebrate a meal shared between the Pilgrims and Native Americans.  It is a time to reflect and be thankful for what we have – not for what we cherish, desire, or envy.”  – Ted Nugent.  (That’s right, the Great White Buffalo!)

• “And lord, we’re especially thankful for nuclear power, the cleanest safest energy source there is. Except for solar, which is just a pipe dream.  Anyway, we’d like to thank you for the occasional moments of peace and love our family’s experienced.  Well, not today, you saw what happened! Oh Lord, be honest, are we the most pathetic family in the universe or what?” – Thanksgiving Prayer by Homer Simpson.  (As if 7th Heaven is what families are like – admit it.)

I thought a mix of endearing cheese and a little dark humor was best.  That aside, hopefully these Thanksgiving Quotes gave you a chuckle.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving, travel safely, and may the blessings of the holidays be upon you.

Image from Flickr.

People tend to get very stressed out during the holidays. From mid-November to January, the ringleaders of families or groups of friends often appear tightly wound and overworked. If you’re the one saddled with hosting, planning and making Thanksgiving dinner this year, it doesn’t have to be that way.

The key to having a low-stress Thanksgiving is knowing “perfect” is a relative term. Realize in advance that everything will not fit the textbook definition of perfect. If you’ve got food and people at the table, you’re in good shape. Don’t get caught up in the details. Remember that Thanksgiving is remember what we’re grateful for, not being upset about things that don’t go as planned.

There are a few other things you can do this weekend to help things goes smoothly.

Plan your menu

A little planning today will save you a lot of stress next weekend and in the days just before Thanksgiving. As you’re planning out your meal, make sure you take cost into account so you don’t end up needing online cash loans at the last minute to pay for food. This weekend, sit down and plan your menu. If you have others contributing, call them to confirm what they’re bringing.

Find recipes for all the dishes you plan to make. Print them out and make a shopping list so that next weekend you are ready to hit the grocery store. Make sure you check your kitchen for the stuff you already have. Think carefully about kitchenware that you’ll need so if you have to buy a whisk or a turkey pan or a serving dish, you can get all of the food at extras at the same time.

Get your RSVPs

Make sure you know how many people are coming to your dinner, as this is crucial to planning your menu. However, I recommend making extra food for two reasons:

1. Leftovers are awesome
2. It will keep you from stressing out in the event of unexpected guests

My family and friends are the type of people who would invite the UPS delivery person in for a slice of turkey. If you make extras, you can open your home to people who happen by and share the warmth of your celebration and your food without feeling added pressure. If you end up with the expected amount of guests or fewer, keep the leftovers, and that’s a few more days when you won’t have to cook.

Image from Flickr.

Maybe you went a little overboard buying Halloween candy this year. Or maybe you have overzealous kids who brought home so much candy, you’re afraid you’ll be offering people cash now to take it or serving it at your New Year’s Eve party.

Even if you don’t have extra Halloween candy, but you have a lot, what’s wrong with taking something delicious and making it even more delicious? Bakers are always looking for great ides for new sweet treats to delight their family and friends. After all, that prepackaged candy will still be good at Thanksgiving! Maybe this year you can serve something a little more creative than pumpkin pie.

Here are some great leftover Halloween candy recipes from CDKitchen:

Bit-O-Honey Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake

Five 1.7 oz Bit-O-Honey Bars
One cup canola oil
Four eggs
15-oz can pure pumpkin
One cup sugar
Two tsp. ground cinnamon
Three-fourths tsp. ground cloves
One tsp. ground allspice
One-fourth tsp. ground ginger
One-half tsp. ground nutmeg
One-fourth tsp. salt
Two tsp. baking powder
One tsp. baking soda
Two cups all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Frosting
Eight oz cream cheese, room temperature
Two 2 oz butter
One tsp. vanilla
Four cups confectioners’ sugar
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Freeze five Bit-O-Honey Bars for 10 minutes, then use a food processor to chop candy bars coarsely and set aside. Get a large mixing bowl, combine the oil and eggs and mix with an electric mixer for 30 seconds on high. Add pumpkin, sugar and all of the spices: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Mix with electric mixer on medium for one minute. Add  baking powder, baking soda and flour. Mix on low for 30 seconds. Mix in the chopped candy bars with a spatula or big spoon.

Pour the batter into 13- by-9-inch pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.

For the cream cheese frosting: In a large mixing bowl, use the electric mixer to beat together the cream cheese and butter. Mix for about three minutes or until mixture appears soft and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla, then add the confectioners’ sugar. Beat until the sugar is thoroughly mixed in.

Spread frosting over cooled pumpkin cake and cut into bars.

Candy Bar Cheese Cake

Ingredients

Three TB butter, melted
One and one-fourth cups graham cracker crumbs
One TB white sugar
Three 8-oz packages cream cheese
Three eggs
Three-fourths cup white sugar
Two tsp. vanilla extract
Two full-size, chopped up candy bars (can be chocolate, caramel, nuts, nougat)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and 1 TB sugar in small bowl. In a nine- inch springform pan, press the mixture to for a crust, and put it in the oven for 10 minutes.

Cream together three-fourths of a cup of sugar and three packages of cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and mix well. Stir in chopped candy bar. After crust is cool, pour in mixture. Bake 45 minutes.

Toffee Angel Food Dessert

Ingredients

One 8-inch angel food cake cut into cubes
Three-fourths cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
8 oz soft cream cheese
Half a cup of chocolate syrup
Two TB  sugar
Two cups whipped topping
Two candy bars, Heath or other chocolate covered toffee
Extra chocolate, toffee candy bar for garnish

Directions

Place angel food cake cubes into ungreased nine-inch baking pan. Add coffee and toss. In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese, chocolate syrup and sugar. Fold in whipped topping and spread the mixture over cake and coffee mixture. Sprinkle crushed Heath bars om top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or more.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnal_hedge/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. But do you know what the next best thing that comes after Thanksgiving is? That’s right, it’s Black Friday! It’s the biggest shopping day of the year!

Black Friday is the day to go out and buy the things you have always wanted but couldn’t because those discount tags never showed up as you planned. I mean, people are even willing to take out a cash advance to fund this nationwide shopping event. However, it seems this yearly shopping ritual is only getting better with time. Ever heard of Cyber Monday? Well, I just did and, as a shopper and an online marketer, I’m pretty stoked.

What is Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday was invented by the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association. According to Wikipedia, the term Cyber Monday refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday, which unofficially marks the beginning of the Christmas online shopping season. So what this basically means is if you miss the Black Friday shopping hustle, you still have a chance to make it up on Monday. Cyber Monday is the Monday you will actually enjoy.

Great tip for Online Merchants

A recent Yahoo! Insights team research revealed that the number of sales during last year’s Black Friday were actually not too far from the overall sales that took place the Monday following. Click-through rates were down 27% on both days compared to the rest of the month. However, online traffic and conversions went up significantly. Black Friday showed an increase in conversions by 147%, while Cyber Monday had a 73% increase in conversions.

What does this mean for me?

This study lays out a great opportunity for online marketers. You have about 1½ months before the biggest shopping days of the year. I suggest you start promoting and investing throughout the month to create attraction. Get a head-start and take advantage of the holiday traffic now. You will witness flourishing conversions not just for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but for the rest of the holiday season.

For all you holiday shoppers on the other hand, start saving now! You are already aware of how busy and expensive holiday shopping can be. You have enough time to save a sufficient amount of money for your holiday expenses, which will prevent the need of a cash advance at the last minute.