Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and it doesn’t matter whether your mashed potatoes are Michelin Star-worthy or if you’re serving Stouffer’s vegetable lasagna. What’s most important is spending time with your loved ones—and making sure the dining room table looks good. Set the stage with Henry Road’s beautiful printed cotton table cloths and napkins and your Thanksgiving spread will look as though it belongs in the pages of a magazine, even if dinner came from the grocery’s frozen foods aisle. [$20 for 4 napkins, Henry Road]

WIN THIS! We’re giving away a Henry Road Rio Samba Crimson/Pink table cloth and Grid Crimson napkin set, but you have to work if you want to win. The best commenter for this coming week—from today, Friday, Nov. 13 through Thursday, Nov. 19—will be awarded with one. So, be as clever, smart, and original as you can! Click HERE to read the official rules.

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving, y’all. Normally, this holiday is a gluttonous orgy of excess, where we hit the gravy bong and chug obscene amounts of food directly into our greasy talkholes.  It’s also a time to give thanks for not having to awkwardly hang out with extended family for the rest of the year.

Happy Black Friday everyone! Hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous and fattening and as devoid of family drama as possible. It is a straight up miracle that I was not up and out of bed this morning at 4am, ready to raid the stores like the shopaholic that I am. But you know? I had an epiphany in the middle of the night. There are so many BETTER things to do on this lovely Black Friday than battling long lines and psychotic deal lovers—after the jump, five things you could do instead today that will be relatively bruise free. (Seriously, I just saw a news report that said a man was TRAMPLED TO DEATH when a Walmart opened this morning.)

Whether you need to carry home holiday leftovers or you’re just being budget (and eco) conscious by bringing your lunch to work and forgoing plastic sandwich bags, the colorful Bento Box is a super cute way to go. There’s even room for two sandwiches if you wanted to share one with a co-worker, though we certainly wouldn’t judge if you saved them both for yourself. ‘Tis the season for over-indulging, after all. [$38, Plastica Shop]

Thanksgiving Day isn’t just for eating turkey. You can also watch some of the best TV of the year because all those people that aren’t cooking need something to watch besides football. All three “Godfather” movies will air on Thursday, but other classic movies will also be on the tube. Friday is a great day for marathon watching, and if you can’t find anything new to watch on Saturday, I suggest you channel surf. And don’t forget, Amelia, will liveblog “Britney Spears: For the Record” on Sunday at 10 pm.

I love this game! Okay, so, which five people—alive or dead!—would you most like to share Thanksgiving dinner with? Catherine says, “Audrey Hepburn and all the guys who’ve played James Bond, except Roger Moore.” Annika got a little more creative than Catherine and said, “Coco Chanel, Patti Labelle—she can cook her ass off—Barack Obama, Malcolm X, and Imelda Marcos. Coco needs someone to talk to.”

As for me? My dinner guest list would be six. Rachel Zoe would be there, because she brought me a dress to wear, but since she doesn’t eat, she doesn’t actually count. I’d like to talk politics over turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie—cooked by fellow dinner guest, Mario Batali—with Rachel Maddow, while listening to a live performance by Johnny Cash (after he ate, of course). Then I’d drink many, many cocktails and make funny drunken videos with Amy Poehler, before being, uh, stuffed by Ryan Gosling. That would make me very thankful indeed.

So who’s on your dream Thanksgiving dinner guest list? Put your choices in the comments!

Surviving the holidays is always stressful.  And if you’re single, it’s the perfect time to eff the pain away! Thanksgiving weekend provides a few days to hunt for hotties—especially if you’re traveling somewhere. But even if you’re stuck home alone, make sure you take full advantage of all the seasonal action by following The Frisky’s Guide To Getting Some Gravy On Thanksgiving!

Ahh, Thanksgiving. A time to eat, drink, give thanks, eat, drink, and give thanks some more. And then sleep, because all of that is rather exhausting. Personally, this year, despite my lame romantic situation, I’m extremely thankful for many things. Namely, my family, my friends, my dog, being lucky enough to be employed in the midst of this crap economy, and, well, the fact that Barack Obama won the Presidency. What about you?

I’m cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the first time this year. It’s a good thing my favorite Thanksgiving food isn’t turkey, because I’m pretty sure if there’s anything I’m going to mess up, it’s the bird. No, I’m more of a potatoes, stuffing, and (canned) cranberry sauce girl. What about you? We polled people on the street for their favorite T-Day foods.

We here at The Frisky live for celeb gossip, chocolate, and your comments. What can we say, you bitches crack us up! So in honor of you, our smart, sexy, and incisive readers, who aren’t afraid to talk smack on the Internet, here are our five favorite comments from last week:

(Don’t) Leave Britney Alone!
“bruce buchanan” from Quick Pic: Should Britney Spears Buy These Sunglasses?
There’s a new Chris Crocker on the Internet! When we spotted Britney trying on some wayfarer sunglasses, we decided to play gal pal and asked you guys to give her a yay or nay on buying the frames.  What did our friend Bruce say? “britney rules she is the best girl and entertainer ever,bruce.” 
Whoa, hope Aretha Franklin doesn’t read this.  She’s already pissed at Tina Turner for getting called the Queen!

The day that sees the biggest increase in text messages is not Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even New Year’s. No, given that today is February 12, you will no doubt guess that Valentine’s Day is the most popular holiday for text messages, according to data from AT&T. How romantic. Personally, I despise text message shorthand, but if you’re really lazy and need some suggestions for what to send your lovers and friends, keep reading…

While Brad Pitt is out saving the world, his mom is out to destroy his marriage. After a messy Thanksgiving in Missouri where Pitt’s gal, prissy philanthropist Angelina Jolie, refused to help cook and clean, Mama Pitt decided to call in kitchen reinforcements for Christmas: America’s sweetheart Jennifer Aniston.  If Angie’s not going to roll up her sleeves to pitch in around the house, she maybe inclined to for a good Fight Club-style swing at Jennifer, the reigning mother-in-law champion. Supposedly, the holiday invitation news has pushed the big-mouthed beauty over the edge (well, even more over it), and now the only thing on thinner ice than their relationship is the drink Brad’s going to need to get through Christmas—literally.

I got lucky with my not-quite-in-laws. My boyfriend’s parents have seriously drank the Amelia Kool-Aid, and I love them just as much, despite differing political views and the fact that his mother’s amazing shoe collection fits me about as well as a DD-bra (meaning, not at all). However, no matter how great your significant other’s parents ma be, you’re bound to encounter at least one extended family member who thinks your Kool-Aid tastes like cow pee. Ever since a family get-together a year ago, I’ve suspected that my boyfriend’s great aunt wasn’t too keen on me, and not just because we’re living in sin and I made the mistake of telling her I thought marriage before kids wasn’t necessary. After sitting under her watchful eye this Thanksgiving, this great aunt informed my not-quite-mother-in-law, “I think Lauren’s boyfriend loves her more than Amelia loves your son.” For the record, her other revelations this Thanksgiving included dismay that we all like Barack Obama “even though he’s Muslim,” inquisitive wonderment that “all those Latinos” could afford to get into Disney World, and concluding a mild Christian sermon with “someone should assassinate O.J. Simpson!” Needless to say, Great Aunt’s observations can hardly be taken as kismet. Even so, it’s a bummer not being adored by everyone in your boyfriend’s family—though every wedding does need an objector!