By DEBBIE ARRINGTON, Sacramento Bee

Big screens rule for the Big Game.

As the New York Giants and the New England Patriots prep for Sunday's Super Bowl XLVI, consumers nationwide will gravitate to larger television purchases this week. Adding to that pre-Bowl push: a steady drop in prices.

With an audience of about 110 million viewers during game time, Super Bowl Sunday has become a TV-party holiday.

Thinking of a television purchase? Or dreaming of a complete home theater? Either way, take these steps into consideration. This advice comes from Leon Soohoo, owner of Paradyme Sound and Vision in Sacramento and Roseville, Calif.:

Roof? Check. Windows? Check? Furnace? Check.

When it comes to winter chores, there's no time for procrastination. Mother Nature waits for no one. When winter comes knocking, simple tasks can become far more complicated.

"We've seen a lot of people coming in for insulation or thermostats," said Ben Lister, manager of the Home Depot in Sacramento, Calif.

Out of wrapping paper? Or just cutting corners on the holiday budget? You can find colorful holiday wrappings around the house -- with a little imagination, tape and a glue stick. Release your inner recycler with these frugal last-minute gift-wrapping tips:

-- Fabric scraps: Leftover fabric can make pretty and colorful gift wrap, and it's easy to wrap around unusual shapes.

Pet hair -- it's enough to make you want to sneeze. Or choke. Or vacuum. But what can you do? It's family.

Spurred perhaps by impending holiday company, we remember that the gray sofa in the den actually is black. We move the furniture and discover rolling hairballs.

Here are some tips for choosing, and caring for, a live Christmas tree:

IF PLANNING TO CUT YOUR OWN

-- Measure your room. Know how high your ceiling is and how wide the door is before trying to shove a tree inside.

Today's gas fireplaces and inserts are 50 percent to 70 percent more efficient than their 1990s-or-earlier counterparts, say experts.

Mitch Heller sees the same trend every fall: When the temperature starts to go down, his fireplace business heats up.

"People are not very proactive; they're reactive," said Heller, owner of the Custom Fireside Shops in Sacramento and Elk Grove, Calif. "They wait until they're cold before they come on in."

Space-strapped gardeners learned long ago how to make more room for vegetables: Grow up.

Ingenious trellises and stacked garden beds can squeeze more food out of less space.

Rudy and Janice Calpo love their home so much that they threw it a birthday party. But their bungalow earned it.

The modest three-bedroom house has survived wars, the Great Depression and recessions, development (and remodeling) plus decades of harsh weather.