The holiday season is here. If you’re like us, we kick into holiday overdrive around mid-November. Did you know that Thanksgiving weekend is the most common time to decorate for the winter holiday season?

It’s easy to brighten your holiday celebrations with festive food, fun and decorations while keeping energy efficiency in mind. Here are a few fun, creative and most importantly, convenient ways for you to save this holiday season.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry: The holiday season means spending time with family and friends and spreading holiday cheer. Free up some time to kick back, relax and join the party.  The average kitchen accounts for 15% of your home’s energy use, so slaving over a stove can cost you time and money. Try using your smaller appliances (microwave, toaster oven or slow cooker) to whip up holiday-inspired recipes. From quick snacks to desserts, appetizers to entrees, or even a small meal or side, we’ve scoured the web and found some great ideas to help give you a little creative inspiration.

Holiday Recipe Inspiration:

1. Elf Food
2. Chocolate Molten Lava Mug Cakes
3. Peppermint Bark
4. Peppermint Bark Hearts
5. Peanutty Snowmen
6. Pretzel Snowflakes
7. Marshmallow Santas
8. Mint Oreo Cheesecake
9. Strawberry Santa Hats
10. Mini Holiday Pretzel Sticks
11. Overnight Oats
12. Slow Cooker Hot Cocoa

You can find other helpful ideas on our Holiday Pinterest board

• Overnight breakfast
• Breakfast in a mug
• Meals in a mug
• Slow cooker holiday sides

Deck the halls: Make sure your holiday spirit shines through with fun, original, festive – and energy efficient – holiday decorations. You can include your whole family in the fun. Stretch your creative muscles with the following guiding principles:

• Merry and Bright: We want to help you brighten your holiday décor and save energy (and money). It’s time to take a cue from good ol’ Clark Griswold. By using LED holiday lights, you can have a gorgeous display without sending the electric meter spinning. LEDs use 90 percent less energy than regular incandescent light strings, last about 10 times longer, are cooler to the touch and are more durable. Plus, they’re super-bright! Also, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, LED holiday lights only cost 27 cents to run for 12 hours a day for 40 days, compared with $10 for incandescent bulbs. That’s a pretty big deal. And because LEDs last longer, you’ll save year after year.
• Sparkle and Shine: Time for your holiday spirit to shine through. You don’t need to add extra lights to decorate a tree or put togeter a festive holiday display. Reflective ornaments will make your holiday décor even brighter when combined with LED strands. Using fewer light strings and less electricity is the winning strategy.
• Tick, tock. Beat the Clock: It’s all about timers and convenience. Use a timer for both your indoor and outdoor lights. It’ll keep you from forgetting to turn on your holiday lighting display, or worse, forgetting to turn it off and wasting electricity.

What is your favorite energy-saving holiday tip?