• Simplify your holiday cooking with these essential kitchen tools: peeler, electric knife, knife sharpener, wire whisk and a meat thermometer.
  
• Consider the benefits of a hand mixer in place of your grandmother's whisk — it gives better results and saves your energy, too.
  
• Time to retire that tired old roasting pan. The modern host should think heavy-duty, long-term and no-fuss. Try an 18-gauge aluminum roasting pan.
  
• If you really want to streamline holiday prep, purchase the best food processor you can find.
  
• Never enough room in the fridge? Bring out the cooler and fill it with things that aren't critical to cooking — soft drinks, wine or even the chilled dessert. In colder climates, put the cooler outside and you may not even need ice. If you don't have a cooler, you can rent one for under $20 a day.
  
• If your holiday crowd is waiting for the big game, consider renting a big-screen television, at a cost between $150 and $200 a day. Just don't turn it on during the meal, only before and after.

Peter Post, Etiquette Author
The Emily Post Institute
444 South Union Street
Burlington, VT 05401
802-860-1814
www.emilypost.com

Joseph Shilling, Chef
Art Institute of New York
75 Varick Street
New York, NY 10013
212-226-5500
www.nyrs.artinstitutes.edu

Crate & Barrel
Michelle Cosmo, Housewares Store Manager
Cuisinart PowerPrep Plus Food Processor, $199; Cuisinart Quick Prep Hand Mixer, $40;
18-gauge Aluminum Roasting Pan, $50
www.crateandbarrel.com

Rent-a-Center
Big screen TV rental, $150-$200 first day, $25-$50 per day additional
www.rentacenter.com