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The holidays can be a very trying time, especially if the number of people on your “nice” list exceeds the amount of money in your wallet. All you need to do is mix in a little creativity, a dash of the Internet and a pinch of old-fashioned elbow grease to have yourself a collection of creative, inexpensive gifts.

Most holiday get-togethers involve tables heavily laden with favorite family recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. Recently, a friend asked me to help her put together a family cookbook as a gift. Creating a personalized cookbook can be a great gift idea for your family, but creating one can be an ordeal.

The Christmas season is fast upon us, and many children and adults alike have put an iPad or similar product at the top of their Christmas wish list.

Shoppers can be overwhelmed with the range of tablet choices, including the iPad, the new iPad Mini, seven new Kindles from Amazon, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and Google’s Nexus 7. Soon, the Nexus 10 (a larger-screen tablet) will be added to that list.

Remember that the more gigabytes the tablet has, the more books, music and movies it will hold. Common storage sizes for a tablet are 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB.

The season of Thanksgiving is upon us and I am reminded that I need to take time out to count my blessings and give thanks for the small things in life. For starters, I am very thankful for computer users who take the time to learn how to maintain and safeguard their computers. They make life much less complicated.

With Thanksgiving upon us, that means Black Friday chaos is soon to follow. Big box stores are chasing every dollar, and many are even choosing to open on Thanksgiving rather than wait until Friday’s wee morning hours.

There is another option to consider if you are looking to save money this holiday season, and this option will help your local economy. Many businesses take part in a national event known as Small Business Saturday.

With today’s increased reliance on technology, many insurance companies are moving their services online and making them available to customers on their mobile devices.

Having gone my entire life without so much as a speeding ticket, the past few months have proven very trying. In fact, I’m now on a first-name basis with my insurance agent’s assistant, and I’m pretty sure we will be exchanging Christmas cards this year.

Several friends who hunt said my recent column on taking technology to the deer stand omitted their favorite new devices: e-readers or tablets. When the hunting activity slows down in the woods, some hunters slip out their tablets and quietly read till it’s time to spring into action.

With the launch of the new iPad Mini in October and seven new Kindles from Amazon, consumers are on the hunt to decide which tablet-sized option is best for them. The deer generally don’t have a preference as long as the tablet keeps hunters from focusing on them.

Hunting season is upon us here in Mississippi and across the Southeast. As hunters shake out their camouflage and prepare their deer stands, many find technology can make a big difference.

My friend John Long is the Mississippi 4-H shooting sports specialist, and he tells me that technology has revolutionized the hunting experience. From Global Positioning Systems, or GPS, to trail cameras and online ballistic calculators, technology is making its mark with hunters.

Halloween is fast upon us, and many parents are looking for fun party alternatives to the scary side of this holiday.

The crisp fall air has many families playing outside in leaf piles, tossing footballs at tailgating events, and getting ready for Halloween and fall festivals. Seasonal decorations can be challenging, but the Internet and sites like Pinterest can help anyone, even those without a speck of the Martha Stewart gene.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and if the men in the National Football League can wear pink, surely the rest of us can use technology to prevent, diagnose and beat breast cancer.

Research shows that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and early detection is important.

Having recently returned from a family vacation, I am all set to show off the more than 800 digital photos I took. In days gone by, we would have hooked up the slide projector and clicked through the carousel in a darkened living room. Today, we have more options.

Anyone living with students knows the challenge of creating a science fair project. For those of us who procrastinate, the challenge is even bigger.

When I was growing up, students had to do a science project every year starting in first grade. By the time I got to high school, I was a pro. I knew what I was going to do my project on; I would even do the project weeks ahead of time.

Many things have changed since Hurricane Katrina hit our beautiful state seven years ago, including how we communicate with one another. Since Katrina, many private companies and federal agencies have developed smartphone apps to help with natural disaster preparations and recovery.

As Southerners at the start of the 2012 football season, it seems only fitting that we dedicate a little time to discussing technology and football. Most of my friends have their priorities in this order: football, tailgating and technology.

I am a tried and true Mississippi State University football fanatic, and I think it’s hard to beat the cowbell app for Android and iPhone. The Bulldog faithful can download that app for free from Google Play. Simply shake your phone to imitate the cowbell or tap the football roster button to see who made the big play.

With Isaac charting a course in the Gulf of Mexico, now is the time to make sure your house or business is ready to weather any storm.

Before the storm…

Take steps to prepare for you and your loved ones to be safe in the event of a disaster or evacuation. You want to be ready to grab important items and head for a safer location. Checklists for emergency supply kits are available on many websites, such as http://www.ready.gov.

There is just no escaping technology these days. As I entered a new, swanky restaurant on one of my travels, I saw the host tapping away on his iPad. He explained there would be a 15-minute wait and asked for my cell phone number. This particular restaurant has joined a growing number of businesses replacing their pager systems with text messaging.

Students across the state are hitting the books and buckling down for a great school year. Likewise, teachers across the state are engaging youth in science, technology, engineering and math activities…but there are only so many hours in a school day, and teachers cannot do it all.

Groups like Mississippi 4-H can help fill in the gap and interest kids in careers in technology fields. The Mississippi State University Extension Service’s 4-H youth program partners with local organizations to bring robotics to the classroom and after-school clubs.

QR codes, or quick response codes, are popping up all over the place. They are showing up on the back of my bills, business cards, and even the church bulletin! QR codes are those squares containing three large black boxes on the perimeter of the square and many smaller black boxes within the square. The smaller boxes can form either a random pattern or an actual image.

Computer technicians and enthusiasts -- the ones who really know what they are talking about and keep the rest of us going -- are few and far between. The challenge to making your life easier is to find those who are genuinely knowledgeable and helpful and keeping them happy after you’ve found them.