You don't actually need an open fire to roast chestnuts — even an electric stove will do. This recipe from the Washington Post walks you through it, even providing Nutrition Facts so you can factor it into your holiday diet goals. A good source of vitamin C, copper and manganese, chestnuts make for a nutritious, festive snack.

Don't forget the greens over the holidays! If you're looking for an elegant way to put salad on the table, it doesn't get much better than this recipe from Yummy Mummy Kitchen. Burrata — fresh mozzarella containing an unbelievably good creamy center — and figs are one of our favorite food combinations. Throw in pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts, and you've got a beautiful salad you'll enjoy almost as much as the Christmas cookies.

Every Christmas party needs a good festive drink. For your next holiday get-together, whip up some of this holiday Sangria from Sprouted Kitchen. The fruity concoction contains apple, orange, persimmon, pear, ginger, cinnamon and cloves (in addition to the booze). Pairs well with ugly sweaters and mistletoe.

Deviled eggs deserve a spot on the Christmas hors d'oeuvres table just as much as any dip. Give them a makeover this year with this recipe from Style At Home. You'll wonder why you never once thought to add curry to your traditional deviled eggs recipe — match made in heaven.

For a healthy dose of Christmas cuteness, try this recipe from Skinnytaste. Not only are the cupcakes ridiculously adorable and tasty, but they're also incredibly easy to make, using just red velvet cake mix, fat-free Chobani yogurt, egg whites and water for the red velvet cake. Oh, and by the way, they only contain 169 calories per cupcake!

Our pumpkin obsession did not end after October — and neither should yours. This pumpkin spice popcorn is a perfect snack for when you're curled up with your loved ones over holiday break watching "Elf" on the couch. All you need is a bag of microwave popcorn (not the slathered-in-butter kind!), some brown sugar, powdered pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt.

Make Brussels sprouts a little more Christmas-y — and hopefully more appetizing to picky kids — with this recipe from The Pioneer Woman, which throws in cranberries with the veggie and drizzles it all with balsamic glaze. To cut back on the dish's sugar, don't add the sweet stuff to the glaze — the site says it's optional but adds a nice sweetness to this nutritious side.

If you feel like you ate enough fall apples to keep the doctor away for the next few years, try something different over the holidays, like this spiced pear cider from Oxmoor House. With pear juice, pear nectar, allspice, cloves and cinnamon sticks, it's the perfect mix of spices and sweetness to warm you up after braving the December air.

Argue with us all you want, but we're confident there's no appetizer more popular than the shrimp cocktail. Give the classic hors d'oeuvre a flavor boost by grilling them this year. Yes, this recipe from Smitten Kitchen requires actually going outside and using the grill — unless you want to settle for the grill pan inside — but your guests will thank you for it. Plus, we've got plenty of hot cocktails to thaw you out afterward.

Treat yourself to a dessert that isn't just empty calories with this recipe from BBC Good Food. The sweet treat combines the fruit with finely chopped vanilla pods, some sugar, a little butter and your choice of either Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Curacao — and then throws it on the grill for 10 to 15 minutes. Not only is it a cure for your sweet tooth, but clementines are a good source of thiamin, folate and potassium, and a very good source of vitamin C.

We love the idea of starting off Christmas dinner with a soup — and it doesn't get much more seasonal than this butternut squash soup with pear, cider and vanilla bean. How are we not tired of butternut squash soup, you ask? Because we keep finding ingenious twists on the traditional recipe like this one from Roost. We also love that the recipe used yogurt instead of heavy cream so we can feel less guilty about all that heavy holiday food we're eating after the soup.

We'll give you a moment to finish your Awww-ing. … Good? These absolutely adorable mini Santas — found at Just A Pinch Recipes — are made with strawberries, cream cheese (use low-fat!), powdered sugar (or sugar substitute) and pure vanilla extract. Use chocolate sprinkles or raisins for the eyes.

As you may have seen on our Periodic Table of Cocktails infographic, eggnog can be a hazard to your waistline if you overdo it — 343 calories of hazard per drink to be exact. Substitute your usual holiday eggnog with Good Housekeeping's healthier substitute, which uses low-fat milk and nixes the heavy cream.

If you're from the East Coast, Christmas appetizers usually include some kind of seafood. We've found the perfect holiday hors d'oeuvre in the Food Network's crudo on the half shell, which is comprised of sea scallops and littleneck clams. Warning: "Crudo" means raw in Italian. So if you're not down for raw seafood, try one of our other many Advent calendar recipes. For those out there who like raw seafood, it's extremely important to buy the highest-quality, freshest ingredients; you can't just buy any scallops or clams you find. Definitely ask your local seafood market if the shellfish is suitable and fresh enough for raw consumption before you buy it.

No one asked us, but in our opinion, Christmas is a time for special food you wouldn't normally eat. And how many times a year do you eat mashed potatoes? Make mashed potatoes more exciting for the holidays with this recipe from Food 52, which mashes together red potatoes, fennel, garlic, pumpkin puree and spinach. Now that's something to get excited about every year!

Christmas mornings shouldn't be spent in the kitchen — you've probably spent more than enough time in the kitchen throughout the week anyway. Make this breakfast casserole from Skinnytaste a day or two before so you can just heat it up Christmas morning while everyone's opening presents. While many breakfast stratas can be high in fat, this one is lightened up by using fewer eggs, turkey sausage instead of pork sausage, fat-free milk, reduced-fat cheese and whole-wheat ciabatta bread.

We'll set the scene for you: You're curled up on the couch next to the Christmas tree in your pajamas, reading the latest best-seller, imagining you are also lucky enough to have a fireplace, and sipping … peppermint tea. This "sleepy tea" from Nourished Kitchen is the perfect way to finish up the day before crawling in bed, and that peppermint just makes everything seem a tiny bit more Christmas-y.

The green bean casserole, with its creamy mushroom soup and French's fried onions, is a Christmas classic. But while it's tasty, it's far from good for you. This lighter version of the dish from Skinnytaste gets the calorie count down to 160 per serving, using fresh green beans rather than canned, fresh mushrooms and a homemade creamy mixture that doesn't come from a Campbell's can. It does nix the fried onions, but the topping of shallots, breadcrumbs, Romano cheese, thyme and olive oil works just fine.

Marylanders already know how holidays aren't the same without a crab dip — and once you try it, you'll realize why. That said, the typical crab dip is usually packed with high-fat ingredients. So thankfully, Jeanette's Healthy Living took the time to create a lighter — note that we're using "lighter," not "light" — version of the Eastern Shore appetizer, using nonfat Greek yogurt and significantly less mayo. Not a fan of crab? Use shrimp instead!

It's not Christmas quite yet — you still have time to make cookies! These oatmeal cookies from Eating Well Living Thin use butter, eggs, oatmeal, Splenda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla, and zero flour. They're ridiculously easy to make and factor in at only 69 calories per cookie, which might be a Christmas cookie record.

Instead of that cranberry sauce you just had a month ago at Thanksgiving, make this Christmas chutney from the Food Network for your big holiday dinner. You'll still get your cranberries — the chutney contains dried cranberries, Granny Smith apples, onion, apple cider vinegar, sugar and the perfect combination of spices.

Still trying to figure out what appetizer to bring to the holiday party? We've got you covered. These sweet potatoes with pecans and goat cheese from Smitten Kitchen are sure to impress. Not only do they look beautiful and colorful, but the fusing of those three main ingredients creates a phenomenal combo of tastes and textures.

Presents are bought, cookies are made, decorations are hung — sit back, relax and toast to Christmas (and to yourself for handling all the stress that comes with it) with this pomegranate-key lime vodka cocktail from Cooking Light. Fizzy and festive, this drink combines water, club soda, pomegranate juice, vodka, key lime juice, sugar and some key lime slices to add a touch of green to a red drink for Christmas in a glass. Happy holidays!

A great craft for both adults and kids, these glitter pinecones are made by using a paintbrush to cover the pinecones with clear glue, then sprinkling them with glitter and gluing on a satin ribbon. Besides being simple and practically free, they also look beautiful and festive on the tree.

Even if you’re the type who has trouble coloring inside the lines or keeping the nail polish on your nails, you can pull off this DIY penguin ornament. All you need is a lightbulb — choose a used one that would just get thrown away anyway — some paint and a ribbon. A foolproof craft that will leave the landfill with one less lightbulb and leave you with a super adorable decoration for your tree.

Instead of using labels to indicate the recipient of each gift, get creative this year and make your own crossword wrapping paper so you can circle the recipient’s name on the package! Go to Discovery Education’s Puzzlemaker site to create the crossword, save your creation on a zip drive and make a stop at Kinko’s to print it on the best paper you can find for wrapping.

A cute way to customize each present is to use a photo of the gift recipient instead of one of the generic gift labels. We like the way Our Suburban Farm blog used brown paper and black and white photos.

We know this one doesn’t look Christmas-y at all, but imagine using green, red and gold — it’d be a beautiful way to step up your gift-wrapping this year. Check out the step-by-step photo tutorial at Minie Co. blog to give it a shot.

These pretty holiday jars, which we found on A Bit of Bees Knees blog, are just your average mason jars dipped in gold glitter — but they’re perfect for festive candleholders. Simply cover half of the mason jar with paper, and tape down the edge of the paper to make a smooth line. Spray or paint the other half of the jar with clear glue, dip the jar in glitter, peel off the tape and paper, and brush off the excess glitter when the glue is dry.

Need some holiday centerpieces for the tables this year? These decorative trees are inexpensive and easy to make, and can bring some holiday cheer to any part of the home. Go to a craft store and buy foam cones and some copper or steel wire; simply wrap the wire around the cone, and voila! Now you can have a Christmas tree in every room if you want to!

Not only do these make for elegant holiday decor, but the heated cinnamon also makes your home smell phenomenal! All you need to do is use twine to tie cinnamon sticks around any old candle. We’re getting excited just thinking about that cinnamon smell combined with the smell of the pine from the Christmas tree!

Everyone who works out has — or needs! — a water bottle to stay hydrated. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for an exercise buddy, give them the new Vacuum Insulated Hydration Bottle by Thermos. Using vacuum insulation technology, this water bottle can provide superior cold retention for 12 to 18 hours! After all, research shows that cold water hydration during workouts keeps your core temperature down, potentially relieving heat-related stress on the body that leads to fatigue and other negative effects on performance. Available at Target and online, the bottle is made from BPA-free materials and comes in 18-ounce and 24-ounce sizes.
Price: $19.99 to $24.99

Know someone with back pain? Buy a body pillow and add this customizable cover for a touch of humor. You can choose the background fabric color, as well as the typography color.
Price: $89

Keep your wine fresh AND cold with this ingenious product. The Corkcicle combines a cork with, you guessed it, an icicle to maintain the temperature of whites and cool down reds.
Price: $24.95

If your dog’s jingling collar drives you nuts — or if the hanging ID tag drives your dog nuts — swap it for one of these personalized dog collars, which allow you to engrave your dog’s name and your contact information on a lightweight buckle.
Price: $29.99

Don’t ever let pasta go to waste again! This compact spaghetti measure lets you measure up to four servings before you throw the noodles in the pot. Gotta love an innovative, easy-to-use and inexpensive product that helps you monitor your portion sizes.
Price: $7

Don’t be alarmed; it’s just water. This eco-friendly clock has no chemicals, requires no batteries and uses no electricity. It simply runs on the power of tap. Just filling the tank with water ensures eight to 12 weeks of refreshing timekeeping — not to mention, the clock’s built-in memory chip maintains the time while changing the water.
Price: $19 to $39

Active Accessories' On-The-Go Accessory Pouch is a great stocking stuffer for the sporty woman in your life. This water-resistant, lightweight pouch is perfect for gym-goers and outdoor fitness enthusiasts who want to keep their ID, phone and keys safe while they workout. Just dangle it off the exercise machine or handlebars of your bike. It’s large enough to hold your smartphone but small enough for your earrings. There’s also an inside button that allows you to clip in rings or hoop earrings and a ripstop nylon handle with hook so you can use the pouch as a clutch or clip it onto any bag. Comes in black, fuchsia or polka dot.
Price: $14.95 (free shipping during the holidays!)

The CO2 Saver Pack provides batteries that can be recharged via an integrated USB stick—genius, right? Assembled as the Footprint Pack card, it makes a great eco gift with space on the reverse to include a special message, reminding the lucky beneficiary that each pack can save 14 kg of C02 in basic re-use compared to the mercury-filled alkaline batteries in most households. Or you could just write “Happy Holidays.” 
Price: $20.60

No one’s going to haul a bulky humidifier on a trip, which is why this compact humidifier exists. It’s lightweight and small enough to easily fit in your luggage — and it uses a water bottle to generate mist. Perfect for travel or the office.
Price: $39.99

There’s no longer any need to keep that space-wasting ironing board at home. This magnetic ironing blanket can be easily spread on top of any washer or dryer, held firmly in place by sewn-in magnets. Don’t have a washer or dryer? The blanket can be used on any flat surface and is perfect for travel.
Price: $14.99

If you have a friend who loves both wine and biking, surprise him with this handmade leather bicycle wine rack, which easily attaches to the bike frame for on-the-go wine purchases.
Price: $29

Great for the daily commuter or road trip maven, the ultra-thin portable solar charger with windshield suction cups is a backup battery charger for cell phones, iPods and most USB-powered devices. With a flexible LED light, it makes for a good camping companion, too.
Price: $27.99

It’s like a Ped-Egg for cheeses and zests. The grater pod's extra-sharp grating surface allows you to grate ingredients right into the pod, and the markings on the clear side let you easily measure as you go. It’s dishwasher-safe and perfect for citrus fruits, chocolate, ginger, Parmesan and more.
Price: $12.95

These travel-friendly universal speakers made by Fashionation fold flat, so your iPod, phone or any device with a 3.5-millimeter jack can stay fashionably equipped on the go. They’re also made from pliable post-consumer recycled materials and require no battery, which means less hassle for you and less waste and pollution for Mother Nature.
Price: $14.99

It may not look like much, but The Stick will be a fitness enthusiast’s new best friend. Smaller and more portable than a foam roller, this device improves flexibility and performance, and speeds up recovery as you roll and massage knots and sore muscles. Keep one in the office or in your travel bag. The Stick is available in a variety of sizes.
Price: $23.95 to $53.95

These creatively shaped planters give you the opportunity to grow plants and flowers even if you don’t have a garden, backyard or stoop for them — all you need is a railing. Any railing will do. The planter’s innovative design allows it to be placed over any shaped railing without the need for any adjustments.
Price: $27.95

Lengthy car rides with Rover can be uncomfortable — for both the dog and the driver who’s constantly eyeing the backseat to make sure he’s OK. This doggie bed for the car attaches securely to the console and has a safety strap that can be attached to the pet’s harness, putting your furry friend comfortably upfront between the driver and passenger.
Price: $49.95

Made from ABS plastic, any Amplifiear can boost your iPad’s volume by 10 dB — no electricity required. By reflecting and projecting sound from the tablet’s speakers toward the user, the compact and low-tech lobe, which is 100% recyclable, clips on to the corner of the iPad wirelessly. Can you hear me now?
Price: $24.99

Give the gift of time with this this fanciful wall clock. The ingenious beauty of this gift lies in its flying birds, which denote the numbers. The 24-inch-diameter clock is made of resin, metal and plastic.
Price: $158

The best thing since sliced bread is this Magimix toaster that allows you to perfectly brown your sliced bread just how you like it. You can watch the toasting process in action through the toaster’s viewing window and never again worry about burning bagels.
Price: $249.95

Never drink behind the wheel, but nobody ever said anything about not drinking from the windshield. Sold as a set of two, the hand-crafted pilsner beer glasses retain the same slight green hue from building and car window tints — added to lessen the sun’s glare — and come in a set of two. No doubt a gift like this will keep the holiday cheer “overflowing.”
Price: $24

Noted as being “the only organic and natural skin care line designed specifically for athletes and fitness enthusiasts,” Skin Care for Athletes by Morning Indigo has a gift idea for every active person on your holiday list! Their P.A.R. (Prepare Achieve Recover) and Tri-Body Collections are designed to assist athletes in the preparation and recovery of their events and workouts. Both lines include 3-in-1 Tri-Body washes, Tri-Body moisturizers, Tri-Body therapeutic soaking salts and Tri-Body massage oil, and offers total body care that will condition, recondition, tone and hydrate your skin, muscles and joints. All products have anti-fungal/antibacterial properties; offer light UVA/UVB protection; are sulfate-, petrochemical-, paraben- and phthalate-free; and have never been tested on animals.
Price: $18 and up

For the pasta lover — don't we all fall into that category? — Sur La Table has made it easy to make your own fresh Italian feast. The gift set comes with an Atlas Marcato Red Pasta Machine, which has nine settings to roll outpasta to your desired thickness; Azienda Olearia del Chianti Marca Verde Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cold-pressed and made from the Italian and Greek olives; and a Vintage-Label Italian Pasta Kitchen Towel.
Price: $99.96

If you’re looking to give the gift of light this holiday season, try this 60-hour candle. The 100% beeswax candle coil is fed in small increments through the candle clip. All the recipient needs to do is advance more candle as it burns. A 3-inch section burns for about an hour. Refills are available.
Price: $18 to $30

Instead of forcing you to grip the bowl with one hand and mix your ingredients with the other, the Staybowlizer provides a stable base for the mixing bowl, allowing you to free up one of your hands to add ingredients. It can also be placed over a pot of boiling water to support a smaller pot, forming a double boiler.
Price: $16.95

Home decorations can be very environmentally unfriendly during the holiday season, but these solar-powered LED grass lights for any yard or garden keep the season bright — and eco-friendly. The grass lights, which you can bend as you please, turn on as dusk falls and provide six hours of lighting from only eight hours of sunlight.
Price: $19.99

Say goodbye to sweaty feet and hands slipping on mats. Stick-e Yoga Socks are awesome for any barefoot exercise — including yoga, dance, Pilates, and karate — while the gloves keep you grounded. If you know someone who is concerned about hygiene — especially sharing yoga mats — Stick-e Yoga socks and gloves are for them! They’re also perfect for anyone who uses a mobility device — such as a walker, cane or crutches — or suffers from nerve and muscle impairment, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, arthritis or fibromyalgia.
Price: $19.95

Reminiscent of the trusted Swiss army knife, the Bar10der is a 10-in-1 bartending tool, perfect for mixing up your favorite cocktails. The creation includes a muddler, which crushes fruits, herbs and spices; a stirrer, which expands up to 6 inches and blends cocktails; a knife, which slices ingredients; a channel knife, to create twists and other garnishes; a zester, which zests citrus fruits; a reamer, which helps you add freshly squeezed juices; a jigger, which helps you get a 1/2-ounce or 1-ounce pour; a bottle opener, to pop the tops of beer or mixers; a corkscrew, to uncork wine; and a strainer, that separates ice from liquid as you pour.

Price: $49.99

The Up wristband by Jawbone tracks your movement and sleep. The app — which can be downloaded for free in the Apple Store — displays your data, lets you add things like meals and mood, and delivers insights that keep you moving forward. Our favorite feature is the idling alert that reminds you to move when you’ve been inactive for too long. Perfect for office dwellers!
Price: $129.99