Considering throwing a holiday party this season? It’s a popular misconception that hiring a professional to help is too expensive, but party planners can help make sure you stay within or below your budget. Professionals also have resources that most people don’t have access to and typically can negotiate costs.

Event planners can wear lots of hats, from the decorations, to creating a food menu, greeting guests and making sure the bathrooms have enough toilet paper!

Here are Angie’s List tips on throwing a great party with the help of an event planner:

• Research event planners before you hire: Ask the references how the service was, if they met expectations and if they were easy to work with. Keep in mind that sometimes the quality of the service is a matter of taste, but the key is meeting the client’s expectations.
• Plan early: Once you’ve found an event planner, meet weeks in advance so you can discuss your budget, needs and how to avoid potential party disasters such as crowding or inadequate seating.
• Discuss costs: Event planners charge for their services differently, but most bill by the hour or offer a flat package rate. The cost also depends on the number of guests and choices of food, drink and entertainment.
• Food and drink: Serve food that will appeal to the senses and to a variety of tastes. It’s important to have vegetarian options and mark the food clearly for those with allergies. Consider creating a “signature drink” to help keep costs down.
• Party at home: One way to help keep costs down is to hold the event at your home. A home creates a more intimate and cozy atmosphere, plus once your guests have left, you simply go to bed!
• Post-party clean up: Most event planners will take care of the mess and include it in their fee, making the cleanup for the host stress free!

Nearly 6 million people have diabetes and don’t know it.

November is American Diabetes Month, offering people a good reminder to visit their doctors and have their blood glucose levels tested.

Types of diabetes From the American Diabetes Association

Type 1: Usually diagnosed in children and young adults, type 1diabetes is the most severe form of the disease. In type 1 diabetes, the body fails to produce insulin, which is needed to convert sugars and starches into energy.

Type 2: The most common form of diabetes, type 2 diabetes is when the body fails to produce enough insulin or ignores the insulin produced, which can lead to a variety of complications.

Gestational: Gestational diabetes affects about 4 percent of all pregnant women and occurs when their blood sugar levels are too high. It can be temporary but can also lead to complications for both mother and child if not managed properly.

Pre-diabetes: The precursor to type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes occurs in people whose blood glucose levels are high. An estimated 57 million people in the United States have pre-diabetes and research has shown that pre-diabetes could lead to long-term damage to the body, particularly to the heart and circulatory system.

Symptoms of diabetes
A person with the following symptoms should see his or her doctor right away.

Type 1 diabetes:
•    Frequent urination
•    Unusual thirst
•    Extreme hunger
•    Unusual weight loss
•    Extreme fatigue and irritability

Type 2 diabetes:
•    Any of the type 1 symptoms
•    Frequent infections
•    Blurred vision
•    Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
•    Tingling/numbness in hands/feet
•    Recurring skin, gum, or bladder infections

Often people with type 2 have no symptoms

Energy usage typically increases during the holiday season, especially with all the appliances and electronics working overtime.

But Angie's List has tips so you can keep the holidays bright while keeping energy costs down.

• Don’t open the oven door to take a peek at what’s cooking inside: Opening the oven door lowers the temperature inside by as much as 25 degrees – which increases cooking time and wastes energy. Instead, turn on the oven light to check the cooking status.
• Use your small appliances: Use your microwave or toaster oven for those small holiday cooking tasks. A microwave uses about 50 percent less energy than conventional ovens and then doesn’t heat up your kitchen. Slow cookers are also great energy savers. They will cook a whole meal for about 17 cents worth of electricity.
• Turn holiday lights off during the day when you are away: Timers are a simple way to do this and are a great safety measure since lights can cause fires if not used properly.
• Switch to LED lights: LED lights are up to 90 percent more efficient than traditional holiday lights. They also last longer and produce almost no heat. They pay for themselves in as little as one season.
• Turn the video game system off: Most video game systems use nearly the same amount of power when they are turned on and idle as they do when you are actively playing a game. Always turn the system off. Don’t assumer that just because you turn off the TV that your console shuts down too.
• Pull the plug: Seventy-five percent of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off. Unplug the appliances/electronics or use a power strip and using the switch on the power strip to cut all power to the appliance.
• Dial down: Turn the thermostat down when you have guests. Extra bodies in the house will warm up your home.

The H1N1 symptoms are virtually the same as other seasonal-flu symptoms such as high fever, cough, a sore throat, and muscle aches.

So when should you contact your doctor? Angie’s List asked highly-rated physicians that question.

• Who’s at risk? People under 25 years old and pregnant women are the most vulnerable to swine flu complications. Any pregnant woman with flu-like symptoms should call their doctor immediately. Infants with high temperatures and children and young adults with underlying health issues, or who take medication that comprises their immune system, also should be seen by their pediatrician.
• Don’t ignore symptoms: Anyone who has flu-like symptoms and becomes severely dehydrated, experiences difficulty breathing or coughs up blood must see a doctor immediately. If you have a fever for more than four days and it subsides then comes back, call your physician.
• Stay home: If you aren’t in the high-risk population or don’t experience the severe symptoms mentioned above, it’s best to stay home and avoid spreading the virus. Stay in bed and get plenty of rest and fluids.