Hey everyone! I'm starting work on my column for December, and I'm racking my brains to think of someone to interview about holiday preparations.

Do you know someone who makes Christmas magical for their family and friends?

Write and tell me about them! I'd love to feature them in my column and on this blog.

As the universe reels to right itself from the imbalance caused by my domestic helplessness, one of its chief tactics seems to be to endow other people with domestic know-how. One of these balancers is Elise McVeigh, a mother and wife who has such a knack for manners and organization that she finds time to teach both professionally through her business, Elise McVeigh’s Life Camp.

Over coffee, she shared some of her pet peeves, tips and basic rules for modern manners. Here are a few of the lessons I took away:

This time, she uses a favorite serving dish as the base of a Thanksgiving centerpiece, made of a mixture of dried and real flowers and gourds.

Finally, an excuse to use my good china! How are you decorating for the holiday?

Like any good want-to-be domestic genius, my library list is full of books that tell me how to do things I never will.

But I recently stumbled on a book full of easy ideas and relatively easy recipes that even I can handle. It is Everyday Celebrations: Savoring Food, Family, and Life at Home, by Donata Maggipinto. The book is divided into seasons, and is full of little ideas to help you savor each one in turn.

It couldn't possibly be. The sound wafting through the Wal-Mart hi-fi just couldn't be a Christmas song –right?

Wrong.