The 5 best Christmas albums to play this season

Need an easy playlist for your Christmas celebrations? Pick up a few of these classic and contemporary Christmas albums and you've got an easy mix of tunes perfect for parties.

1. Bing Crosby's White Christmas
   Start things off with a true classic when you purchase Bing Crosby's White Christmas album (for only $3.99 on Amazon, you can't go wrong). The disc is full of classics like "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "Silent Night", and the title track "White Christmas", you'll have just over a dozen songs to get you in the holiday spirit.
   
   
2. Barenaked Ladies' Barenaked for the Holidays
   Aside from the snooze-worthy version of "Jingle Bells" that kicks off this disc, the Barenaked Ladies' holiday album is a must-have. A mix of both quirky and sentimental Christmas, Hanukkah, and winter songs make up this wonderful collection. The disc also features guest appearances by Sarah McLachlan and Michael Buble. ("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings" featuring Sarah McLachlan is especially beautiful.)
   
   
3. Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve and Other Stories
   What did we do before the Trans-Siberian Orchestra came around? Christmas Eve and Other Stories showcases 17 Trans-Siberian Orchestra songs and includes fan-favorite "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24", (often mistakenly called "Carol of the Bells") which is an instrumental medley of "Carol of the Bells" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".
   
   
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording Of The CBS Television Special
   If you can get your hands on a copy of the original soundtrack from A Charlie Brown Christmas, you are very lucky indeed! The original has the music just as we remember it (without the bells and whistles added to more recent releases). Playing this disc at a Christmas party is sure to invoke nostalgic memories of the season.
   
   
5. The original A Very Special Christmas CD
   Though there are now half a dozen A Very Special Christmas compilations circulating, the original is the best, featuring Christmas songs sung by '80s superstars. From Run D.M.C.'s wonderfully cheesy Christmas in Hollis to U2's rocking Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and Alison Moyet's hauntingly beautiful The Coventry Carol, the album features contemporary hits and proceeds from the sale of the album benefit Special Olympics.

Tune in to one of these albums for a very special Christmas of your own!

3 things you need for easy Christmas entertaining

Winter is on its way and Christmas will be here before you know it. Having the proper tools and treats will help you host holiday parties without slaving away in the kitchen or spending all of your time preparing, instead of enjoying your party.

To get you started, here are three must-haves for any 15-minute party planner.

• Easy serving dishes
  Dishes with multiple compartments mean fewer items to arrange and fewer items to wash. Try a four-compartment divided dish to make serving a snap.
  
  
• Fancy no-prep food
  A box of nuts and chocolates, a container of caviar, or a spread of smoked fish makes for elegant entertaining without the prep work.
  
  
• Signature drinks
  Serving a special cocktail, fancy hot chocolate, or mulled cider makes your holiday party memorable without requiring a lot of effort.

15-minutes to a party-perfect living room

Today we tackle the living room. At most parties, guests hunker down in the living room, so to speed-clean it, follow these helpful hints to finish in about 15 minutes.

Clear out clutter. (5 minutes)
Here at the 15-Minute Party Planner, we love the "out of sight, out of mind" method of cleaning. First, grab a large basket (try a laundry basket or a shopping bag). Then, walk around your living room filling the basket with items that need to be relocated to other rooms. You may also want to remove table-top photographs, candles, or other knick-knacks, so that you have more space for food or decorations at your party. Once the basket is full, stash it in an unused closet, the basement, or another out-of-the-way room. You can sort through it after the party.

Wipe down surfaces. (5 minutes)
You could get yourself into a dusting, mopping frenzy, or you could simply run a microfiber cloth over the tables, shelves, and other furniture in your living room. Microfiber cloths are designed for dry dusting, so you don't need to waste time searching for sprays and cleansers. Most microfiber cloths will also attract pet hair, saving you valuable vacuuming time.

Vacuum. (3 minutes)
The average living room shouldn't take more than three minutes to speed-vacuum. Now is not the time to worry about moving the furniture so that you can clean under the couch. Simply run the vacuum over the floor to pick up any obvious dust, dirt, crumbs, or pet hair.

Freshen up. (2 minutes)
Febreze Fabric Refresher is on the 15-Minute Party Planner's list of favorite products. A quick spritz over upholstered furniture, curtains, and carpets eliminates odors and freshens a room's scent. Our favorite Febreze Fabric Refresher? The Allergen Reducer, for its ability to freshen a scent while reducing your home's allergens.

Check out more of The 15-Minute Party Planner's ideas for quick-cleaning with articles like Speed-clean your kitchen in 15 minutes and Get your bathroom party-ready in 15 minutes.

A-tisket a-tasket: a well-planned bathroom basket

Whether you're hosting a party at home or in a banquet hall, try to anticipate the needs of your guests. Visitors may find themselves in need of supplies like band-aids, breath mints, and tissues, but might not have them on hand. You'll prove to be something of a clairvoyant hostess if you arrange to have the necessary items waiting in bathroom baskets.

Bathroom baskets provide your guests with thoughtful necessities. You'll find many of the necessary supplies at home and can pick up the rest at a dollar store. Simply find baskets large enough to hold your supplies (but not large enough to be in the way), and fill with them with incidentals your guests would appreciate. If you're hosting a party at home, one basket should do it; if you're out at a banquet hall, however, consider putting a basket in each bathroom and customizing baskets for the men's and women's rooms.

Recommended supplies for bathroom baskets include:

• Antacid (such as Rolaids or Tums)
  
• Band-aids
• Breath mints
• Combs (you can get a dozen plastic combs for $1 at the Dollar Tree)
  
• Cough drops
• Dental floss
  
• Earring backs (especially helpful at formal parties)
• Eyeglasses repair kit
  
• Hairspray (and extra bobby pins or hair elastics)
• Lint brushes
• Lotion
  
• Nail files (and clear nail polish for stocking runs)
• Pain relievers (try to have a variety of options, so that people who can't take one kind of pain reliever can have other choices)
• Q-tips
  
• Sewing kit (or at the very least, safety pins)
• Spray deodorant
  
• Stain remover (such as Shout Wipes or Tide to Go Sticks)
• Static cling spray (or dryer sheets!)
• Tampons or pads
• Tissues
• Toothpicks

Feel free to customize your bathroom baskets based on the needs of your guests and type of event by leaving some items out and adding in others. Depending on the venue, you may want to add bug spray, for instance, or hand sanitizer. You could even throw in a few AA batteries for those whose cameras have died.

Can you get everything together in about 15 minutes? Chances are yes. Raid your closets for travel-size lotions, tissues, and hairspray. Check out the pantry for gum, breath mints, or toothpicks, and find dryer sheets and static cling spray in your laundry room. You can track down the other necessary items by hitting the travel and toiletry aisles at a local dollar store; by limiting yourself to two aisles, you're likely to get in and out of the store in mere minutes.

Get your bathroom party-ready in 15 minutes

Whether you're simply busy with other aspects of party planning, or you find yourself suddenly expecting guests, getting your bathroom clean enough for company should take a mere 15 minutes. Here's how to do it:

Gather supplies. (2 minutes)
Grab disinfecting wipes (the 15-Minute Party Planner likes Clorox-brand wipes), a toilet brush, clean linens, a candle, and a basket of some sort and bring them to the bathroom.

Remove unnecessary items. (2 minutes)
This includes dirty towels and bathmats, extra magazines, and any medications or supplies you don't want to hanging around during the party. Put the extra supplies in the basket and throw the laundry in a hamper.

Clean the toilet. (2 minutes)
If you use a toilet brush with a disposable head (again, the 15-Minute Party Planner prefers Clorox Toilet Wands), clean up is quick. Plus, the head includes a disinfectant and it can be thrown away after use, doing away with the need to keep a drippy toilet brush stored in your bathroom.

Wipe down surfaces. (4 minutes)
Disinfecting wipes are quick and easy for cleaning. Simply wipe down all the surfaces in your bathroom: the mirror, counter tops, sink, door handles, toilet (top, handles, exterior), tub, and shower curtain (if it's not made out of fabric). You're not deep cleaning here, you're simply killing germs and making the bathroom look presentable.

Air out the bathroom. (1 minute)
Crack open a window and light a candle. You don't have to leave the window open long, nor the candle burning all night, but both will help to freshen your bathroom.

Replace linens and supplies. (2 minutes)
Hang new towels and replace the bathmat if necessary. Make sure soap dispensers are full. Replace any close-to-empty rolls of toilet paper. It's also nice to leave additional toilet paper and tissues where they are easily accessible for party guests.

Stash the clutter. (2 minutes)
If you'll be returning magazines and prescriptions to the bathroom after your guests leave, simply stash the basket of extras in a closet until the party is over. Then, you'll have easy access to everything once everyone leaves. You'll also want to empty the trash, so that the room is fresh when guests arrive.

Voilà! A clean bathroom in hardly any time at all!