Americans may penny-pinch in other areas this season, but Christmas means seeing the light — and for some, the more the merrier. Come December, many families take their competitive spirit to new heights, because if there were an Olympics for holiday lights, we’d take the gold.

For example, in Anchorage, Alaska, the Lorangers shine 20,000 bulbs on a homemade Santa fishing from a pool of lights. At the Wills’ home in Mendota Falls, Minnesota, some 150 candy canes light up the exterior. A thousand miles west in Tuscon, Arizona, cacti sparkle. Down in Marble Falls, Texas, an electrified twirling lariat spells out Merry Christmas Y’All.

According to David Seidman, author of Holiday Lights!, Christmas lights began as a winter solstice ritual. When the nights grew long and bitter cold, people would bring in evergreens and burn slabs of wood. Eventually, this became the Yule log, and candle-lit trees soon followed.

In 1879, when Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, his assistant Edward Johnson took some home and lit up his own Christmas tree. The fashion became tradition when President Grover Cleveland put electric lights on the White House tree. Then in the late 1940’s and 50’s, when electricity became affordable, it became all the rage to decorate home exteriors.

This tradition still continues. And while some may not string 600,000 lights on their house this season, it doesn’t take much to dazzle and delight both kids and adults.

Here are David Seidman’s 10 wildest neighborhoods that parlay tradition into high-wattage celebration:

Baltimore, Maryland

I love the brutal truth of HDTV. On old broadcast TV, everyone looked perfect thanks to thick layers of pancake, powder, and contour for definition. The muted gauze on the lens visibility meant you never saw the vast amount of makeup anyone wore.

As a frequent contributor during beauty and fashion segments for "The Today Show" and "The Early Show", the intensity of makeup that translated as normal onscreen always amazed me. It was easy to blank out all flaws from undereye circles to brow stubble (like hiding a lover’s glasses during sex since!).

Now, under the wicked eye of extreme clarity and magnified details of HDTV, you know who needs a brow or moustache wax, if they’re wearing gloss and lip pencil or just lipstick, and when they’ve traded their blush for bronzing powder.

I’m just fascinated with the new beauty strategy of TV journalists and I’m not alone. My friends think Katie Couric has the best eye makeup these days and I especially love Rachel Maddows’s makeup on MSNBC. I have been accused on many occasions (and especially during the recent presidential campaign) of paying more attention to correspondents’ hair and blush selection than to what they are actually saying.

My chum superstar makeup artist Sandy Linter tells me all the anchors including Diane Sawyer still wear strip fake lashes all the time. “It’s how they get through long days in the public eye without looking beat or tired.”

The politics of gift-giving — especially in blended families — can be fraught with peril. With kids being human calculators, knowing the value of absolutely everything, each one will measure exactly where s/he stands in the pecking order. Yes, families need to have the wisdom of Solomon to navigate these minefields but there are ways to diffuse potential bombs instead of igniting them.

Here's what I've learned over the years to create holiday memories.

Christmas Gifts

Sometimes, because of finances, you simply can't buy the kinds of presents that you could before. But parents have to be adults and not point fingers. Instead of saying, "Johnny, you can't get an X-Box and a bike because your Dad left with that woman and we can't afford it," you can say, "Johnny, there is a difference between luxuries and necessities. Right now, we can't afford to buy everything I would want, but you can have a choice between an X-Box and a bike. And at another time, I hope to buy you the other one."

That makes the choices value-based versus divorce-based.

Do not spoil your child to get back at your husband. This always backfires. Have faith that simple pleasures are still what kids remember, not the particular toy. Your attitude in dealing with changes will be the roadmap in how they deal with bumps along the way, so be as positive as possible.

Gifts for Stepkids

Unlike my childhood, where a gift might be signed "From Mom and Dad," and I didn’t get mad if Mom really bought the gifts, in a divorced household, a signature of "Jill and Dad" feels inferior and empty. It’s another example of a child being force-fed this new family.

Many stepchildren feel they are sharing their father with another family and already have only rationed time with him. When Dad picks out the gift, it feels more special — and I think they're right.

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we know what comes next: the big push to find (and pay for) all kinds of presents for neighbors, co-workers, the mailman, church members, and that aged aunt we haven’t seen in 30 years.

Just in time, we’ve got a great discussion going on at FWW’s social network. Money, post-divorce, can be tight and our members have gotten together to exchange gift and decorating ideas to make the holidays more affordable. I thought I would share a few of their suggestions here. For more check out “Inexpensive holiday ideas" on the network.

Gifts:

• Buy Chinese take out boxes from Smart and Final, decorate the outside with the recipient's name and some frou-frou, then put in tissue paper, half a dozen or so cookies, and the recipe.

• Decorate holiday wreaths. Take a walk and collect pinecones, spray-paint them gold or silver and put them on the wreaths. Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts and Michaels have great sales on ornaments to add on the wreath. Try to theme your wreaths to your friends’ or relatives’ favorite hobbies, personal style, etc.

• Do you have a great cookie, bar or brownie recipe? If so, give someone else the chance to make it. Layer the dry ingredients in a mason jar. Decorate the top with Christmas fabric, pompoms, beads and so on. Write the recipe on a cute card. All the recipient has to do is add eggs and water and voila, tasty holiday treats!

You're ready to take the plunge. The dating plunge, that is. Maybe it's been awhile? So what's a woman to do — if she hasn't dated in decades? Last week, Dr. Diana Kirschner described the signs to look for to know that you're ready to date again in "Getting Back in the Dating Game, Part One." This week, she offers dating 101 protocol.

Q. If you feel out of practice at the whole dating thing, how can you "cram" for your first date? 

Think about some movies, plays, or news events (not emotionally-polarizing events) that drew your interest lately. Be prepared to talk about them. Also, google the guy and see if you can find out whether you might have mutual interests that you can discuss. Googling in advance of a first date is a good practice in terms of meeting someone who comes from an online site — you can check on whether the guy is honest!

Q. If it's been awhile since you last dated (say 10 years!), how do you know how quickly things should go?

They should go slowly!! Learning to date is like learning to swim. Take your time and do friendly (no sex) dating with several guys at once in order to  master dating. You want to learn about what you need and want in a partner at this stage in your life. If you jump in to fast, you can get emotionally entangled before you even know the guy. And he can reject you, disappear on you, disappoint you — regardless of how loving he is initially. Make him hang in there and prove himself. I've seen the too-fast-too-soon-with-one-guy (Flame-out Deadly Dating pattern) hurt a lot of women.
 
Q. Let's say you adore the first man you date post-divorce. Should you proceed with the relationship — or date a few more guys before getting serious with one?

Holiday season parties and get-togethers are already underway with save-the dates magnetized to the fridge. My married and single friends have been reading Skinny Bitch, the Secret, and The Power of Now in an effort to prime themselves for the season.

Lots of women I know are doing volunteer work at shelters, retirement homes, hospices and children’s hospitals during hours they used to spend shopping (so there is an upside to this bad economy!). Doing good for others encourages an optimistic attitude and confidence in your own future.

This is the time to network, socialize, and get back in the game. Whether you’re job hunting or seeking your soul mate, looking your best is essential.

Right now, the only splurging going on is at dermatologists’ offices, where new injectable fillers and fat treatments recently approved by the FDA are experiencing a pre-holiday surge. They do work, they are pricey (check with your dermatologist as prices vary around the country and from doctor to doctor), but I’ve included affordable alternatives too.

Here are the top three beauty peeves, with medical pro and at-home solutions for each.
 
Gripe 1: Expression Lines Make You Look Tired & Angry

• The Good: How to Put the "Give" into Thanksgiving
•The Bad: Divorce Yourself from the Thanksgiving Blues
• The Ugly: How to Navigate Nosy Divorce Questions on Thanksgiving

Do you dread Turkey Day? Are you feeling crankful instead of thankful? Maybe you have an obligation to go to your in-laws, when you and your husband are fighting, and not sure you will make it to Christmas. Or perhaps you are suddenly single again, and don’t want to go alone to your parents’ or grandparents’ table, but don’t want to be alone either. What if people are coming to your house, and you just don’t have that Thanksgiving spirit: the economy, your work, your life — none of it seems good dinner table material.

And all that work putting together the meal. You’ve never felt so alone.

Luckily, there are strategies to get you through anything. What about that long drive with a husband that seems soon to be your ex. You have difficulty talking to each other, and now you are going to be in a car for a couple of hours. What do you do?

• First tactic: invite someone else along. It can be under the guise of “poor Emily, we don’t want her to spend Thanksgiving alone!” But at least there will now be another person in the car. You can’t be too uncivil to each other. And at least you’ll have someone to talk to.

• Second tactic: honesty. Make a pact with your husband … you will both put on a good face, and not bring everyone else down with sniping and griping. You will respect each other, and you will get your stories straight, whatever those stories are.

• The Good: How to Put the "Give" into Thanksgiving
•The Bad: Divorce Yourself from the Thanksgiving Blues
• The Ugly: How to Navigate Nosy Divorce Questions on Thanksgiving

It's that time of year again: Thanksgiving. The relatives gather, friends come calling. Some genuinely want to know how you — and your relationship (or lack of one) — are doing; others are just plain nosy.

Here, FWW offers scenarios and questions you might encounter this T-Day. And since how you may be tempted to respond might not go over so well, we’ve enlisted Dr. Diana Kirschner, a psychologist specializing in love and relationships, to explain what you should say to avoid awkward moments and deflect any uncomfortable questions thrown your way. So sit down to a family dinner prepared to volley polite, PC answers right back at 'em. No curve balls this Thanksgiving!

As Dr. Diana explains, "These are answers based on the idea that you don't want to open up to these relatives. In general, feel free to simply smile and not answer a question — instead answer a question with another question directed at the person."

CONTEMPLATING DIVORCE