There’s a huge buildup to the winter holidays. With so much happening, we have little time left to take care of ourselves, and physical and emotional resources may become depleted. Some stress can provide motivation to be productive, but too much stress can be detrimental to health and enjoyment of the season. To make this holiday less stressful and more enjoyable, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offers the following tips.

Gifts of food to friends and family are common during the holidays. To help both the gift-giver and the gift-getter keep these foods safe, follow these tips from UGA Extension expert Judy Harrison.

One of the best ways to celebrate the holidays is to gather around the table to enjoy a delicious, home-cooked meal. Follow these simple recommendations to have a turkey feast that will be remembered for years to come, for all the right reasons.

While the holidays are often viewed as a time of inevitable weight gain, it’s possible to enjoy some of the same foods while still maintaining a healthy diet.

For children, there’s hardly a downside to the holidays; toys, treats and time away from school are enough to bring on dreams of sugarplums. For adults, the holidays can conjure a string of mental to-do lists and tension that make those sugarplums feel more like a sugar crash.

The current highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 outbreak in the United States is a concern for the commercial poultry industry, not the general population, says a University of Georgia poultry expert. Humans won’t be infected with avian influenza by eating chicken or other poultry products. Nearly all previous cases of human infections with other avian influenza viruses involved close, direct contact with infected poultry, but little to no direct transmission from person to person. While the HPAI H5 virus has caused some severe devastation for the U.S. commercial poultry industry, there have been no reports of infections in humans, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers the risk to people from this virus to be low.

Whether it’s a specialty sweet treat, small-batch pork sausage or pimento cheese made from Grandma’s secret recipe, the University of Georgia’s Flavor of Georgia Food Product Contest shines the spotlight on the state’s craft foods. Registration for the 2016 Flavor of Georgia contest, which is conducted each year by the UGA Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development, is now open.

In a recent study funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, University of Georgia researchers found that produce containing bacteria are likely to contaminate other produce items through the continued use of knives or graters — the bacteria latches onto the utensils commonly found in consumers’ homes and spreads to the next item.

Children are like sponges—they absorb everything. That’s why University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agents are teaching children, at an early age, the importance of decreasing sugar consumption and properly washing their hands.