How to Extinguish a Burning Turkey
Source: Recipe for Safer Cooking, a publication of the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
How to Serve Burnt Turkey; How to Prevent a Turkey from Exploding; How to Keep a Turkey Moist During Cooking
Sources: David Burke is corpo-rate chef for the Smith and Wollensky Restaurant Group, head chef at Park Avenue Café in New York City, and author of Cooking with David Burke. • Sherrie Rosenblatt is the director of public relations for the National Turkey Federation (www.eatturkey.com).
How to Remove a Gravy Stain
Sources: Field Guide to Stains by Virginia Friedman, Melissa Wagner, and Nancy Armstrong. • D. A. Burns & Sons is a Washington State–based carpet cleaning and textile craftsmanship company.
How to Put Out a Grease Fire
Sources: Meri-K Appy is vice president for public education at the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (www.nfpa.org), which facilitates the development of national consensus safety codes and develops and implements public safety education and research initiatives. She oversees all of the NFPA’s public education and community outreach programs. • Chris Miles is a lieutenant in the Philadelphia Fire Department.
How to Treat a Grease Burn
Source: Ken Zafren, M.D., is the medical director of Emergency Medical Services for the State of Alaska and a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He specializes in remote region and high-altitude trauma.
How to Repurpose a Fruitcake
Sources: Sarah Phillips is the author of The Healthy Oven Baking Book and the founder and president of Baking911.com. She is the creator of the Healthy Oven line of baking mixes and worked in food manufacturing for 10 years. • June Jacobs, a certified culinary professional, teaches cooking and wine classes. She leads food-and-wine focused tours of France through her company, Feastivals (www.feastivals.com), and is the author of Feastivals Cooks at Home and a director of the New York Association of Cooking Teachers. • Brother Barnabas Brownsey of the Cistercian Order of the Stritch Observance lives in Holy Cross Abbey and works in its Monastery Bakery in Berryville, Virginia (www.monasteryfruitcake.org).
How to Open a Bottle of Wine with a Broken Cork
Source: Daniel Dawson is the owner of Backroom Wines (www.backroomwines.com), a fine wine and wine tasting shop in Napa, California. He is a former sommelier at the French Laundry restaurant and a former wine merchant.
How to Avoid Shooting a Champagne Cork
Source: Daniel Dawson.
How to Deal with a Meddling Parent
Source: Robin Thompson is the founder of the Etiquette Network (www.etiquette-network.com) and lectures on etiquette and image for all ages at schools, universities, and businesses. She is the author of Be the Best You Can Be: A Guide to Etiquette and Self-Improvement for Children and Teens.
How to Survive If You Have No One to Kiss on New Year’s Eve
Source: Sherry Amatenstein (www.luvlessons.com) is the author of The Q and A Dating Book: Answers to the Thorniest, Sexiest, Most Intimate and Reveal-ing Questions About Love, Sex, and Romantic Relationships and Love Lessons from Bad Breakups: Discover How to Make Relationships Last—by Learning from the Ones That Didn’t, and is the dating columnist for ivillage.com.
How to Fend Off an Unwanted Kiss
Source: Sherry Amatenstein.
How to Overcome Holiday Depression
Source: Gerald H. Smith, D.D.S., is the author of the best-selling Headaches Aren’t Forever and Alternative Treatments for Conquering Chronic Pain, and he maintains a clinical practice specializing in craniomandibular somatic disorders and pain therapy in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He runs the International Center for Nutritional Research (www.icnr.com).
How to Treat Food Poisoning
Source: Dave Hill is a UK–based food industry consultant who advises manufacturers and caterers on safe food production. He has written numerous guides to good hygiene practice and is a fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (www.ifst.org).
How to Extinguish a Christmas Tree Fire
Sources: Meri-K Appy. • Chris Miles.
How to Survive a Fall from a Ladder
Source: Ken Zafren.
How to Survive Christmas Tree Light Disasters
Sources: Colin C. Adams, Ph.D., is the Francis C. Oakley Third Century Professor of Mathematics at Williams College. He is the author of The Knot Book: An Elementary Introduction to the Mathematical Theory of Knots and is the coauthor of How to Ace Calculus: The Streetwise Guide. • Michael Clendenin is executive director of Electrical Safety Foundation International (www.electrical-safety.org), a nonprofit dedicated to public awareness and education on electrical safety.
How to Resize a Christmas Tree
Source: Bill Asack owns and runs Asack and Son Tree Farm in Barton, Vermont (www.billasack.com).
How to Prevent a Tree from Toppling Over
Source: Bill Asack.
How to Treat Mistletoe Poisoning
Sources: Dan Brown, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Nutritional Toxicology at Cornell University and a staff scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute. • John P. Lamb, Pharm.D., CSPI, FCSHP, a toxicology management specialist and health educator for the Sacramento Division of the California Poison Control System (www.calpoison.org), is an assistant clinical professor of pharmacy at UCSF and an associate clinical professor of medicine at UCD. • Eric Lombardini, V.M.D., is a captain in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps and the commander of a veterinary medical detachment responsible for care of military working dogs and other government-owned animals.
How to Make an Emergency Menorah
Source: Marsha Silver Heit is a Hebrew school teacher in Philadelphia.
How to Make Menorah Candles from Crayons
Sources: Michelle Espino is the author of Candlemaking for Fun and Profit and is the owner of Waxed Out Candles (www.waxedout.com), an artisan studio in Tallahassee, Florida. • Amy Segelin owns Luminous Creations (www.luminouscreations.com), a maker and distributor of beeswax candles in Los Angeles.
How to Fit into Clothing That Is Too Tight
Source: Sherry Maysonave, author of Casual Power: How to Power Up Your Nonverbal Communication and Dress Down for Success, is the president and founder of Empowerment Enterprises (www.casualpower.com), a consulting firm specializing in communication and image.
How to Silence a Group of Carolers
Source: Kevin St. Clair is the director of Dickens and Company (www.dickensandcompany.com), a professional caroling group based in Southern California, which books carolers nationwide.
How to Evade a Stampede of Shoppers
Sources: G. Keith Still, Ph.D., is a mathematician and crowd dynamics expert who runs workshops on crowds and crowd safety (www.crowddynamics.com). He is the creator of the Legion system, a crowd modeling method used to assist in planning the Sydney Olympics. • Stevanne “Dr. Toy” Auerbach, Ph.D., is a child devel-opment specialist and the author of Smart Play: How to Raise a Child with a High P.Q. Her website, www.drtoy.com, provides year-round guidance on toys and play.
How to Deal with a Bad Gift
Source: Peter Post, great-grandson of Emily Post, is an expert in business and personal etiquette. He is author of Etiquette Advantage in Business and director of the Emily Post Institute (www.emilypost.com) in Burlington, Vermont.
How to Thwart Gift Snoopers
Sources: Sherri and Larry Athay are the authors of Present Perfect: Unforgettable Gifts for Every Occasion and the founders of Present Perfect Gift Consultants and GiftElan.com.
How to Determine the Contents of a Wrapped Gift
Sources: Sherri and Larry Athay.
How to Rewrap a Gift
Source: Juanita Lewis (www.itsawrapgifts.com) has been a professional gift-basket designer and wrapping specialist for 18 years. She teaches classes and produces instructional videos on bowmaking, gift baskets, and gift wrapping, and has served as a judge for 3M’s annual “Most Gifted Wrapper” contest.
How to Wrap a Present Without Wrapping Paper
Source: Juanita Lewis.
How to Treat a Wrapping-Paper Cut
Source: Seth Haplea, M.D., is a member of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine. He practices clinical neurophysiology in Phoenix, Arizona.
How to Escape a Runaway Parade Balloon
Source: Henry Perahia is chief engineer for the New York City Department of Transportation and supervisor of the balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan.
How to Deal with a Canceled Flight
Source: Rudy Maxa is the publisher of a monthly consumer travel newsletter (www.rudymaxa.com). He is also a commentator on public radio’s evening business show Marketplace and was the original host of public radio’s weekend show The Savvy Traveler.
How to Drive in a Blizzard
Source: The SAS Survival Driver’s Handbook, by John “Lofty” Wiseman.
How to Stop a Runaway One-Horse Open Sleigh
Sources: John and Kristy Milchick are horse trainers who own and manage Hideaway Stables (www.hideawayhorses.com), a horse farm in Kentucky, where they breed, train, and sell foundation American quarter horses. • Christopher Caso is a stuntman who has produced and performed high-fall stunts for numerous movies, including Batman and Robin, The Lost World, and The Crow: City of Angels.
How to Fend Off a Charging Reindeer
Source: Greg Finstad is program manager of the Reindeer Research Program of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
How to Rescue Someone Stuck in a Chimney
Sources: Karen Duke is one of only a few female certified chimney sweeps in the United States. She and her family operate Victorian Fireplace in Richmond, Virginia, which specializes in fireplaces for older homes. • Roger Hoelderlin runs Best Way Maintenance (www.bestwaychimney.com), a licensed and certified chimney sweep and masonry company based in Levittown, New York. • Craig Issod is the Webmaster of HearthNet (www.hearth.com).
Source: John Markel is the operator of Midnight Sun Locations (www.alaskafilmlocations.com), a film and television stunt, location, and safety consulting firm based in Girdwood, Alaska. He is certified in High Angle Rescue and has 30 years of rock and ice climbing experience.
How to Win a Snowball Fight; How to Make Snowballs
Sources: David and Jeanie Stiles (www.stilesdesigns.com) are the authors of Treehouses, Huts, and Forts and Treehouses You Can Actually Build. • Kenneth G. Libbrecht is a professor of physics and physics executive officer at Cal Tech, where he studies ice physics and crystal growth of ice.
How to Build a Snow Fort
Sources: David and Jeanie Stiles. • John Lindner, Director of the Wilderness Survival School for the Colorado Mountain Club, is also director of training for the Snow Operations Training Center, an organization that teaches mountain survival skills to utility companies, search and rescue teams, and government agencies.
How to Treat a Tongue Stuck to a Pole
Source: Kenneth G. Libbrecht.