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Holiday Links

By Claudia Lynch, Benchmarks Online Editor

What better way to spend your free time this holiday season than surfing the World Wide Web? (You WILL have some free time, won't you?). Whether you're just surfing for the fun of it, looking for some last minute gifts, or want to send electronic greetings, there's probably a Web site to fill your needs. Here are some links for your surfing pleasure.

Food

What is the number one activity of the holiday season? That's right, eating! These sites should get you just about any information you want on this topic.

  • Epicurious, the online headquarters for Bon Appétit and Gourmet magazines. Everything you want to know about food can probably be found in the Epicurious eating index. The "Occasions archive," found under "Menus" in the index has menus for just about any occasion you can think of, from "Super Bowl Sunday" to "Weddings," and almost any holiday.

  • Southern Living Foods, recipe collections from Southern Living magazine. The index page provides links to all sorts of recipes for just about any occasion.

  • AllRecipes.com! -- "A Network of Recipe Sites for the whole World."

  • GreatFood.com -- Gourmet food and specialty food gifts.

  • Virtual Vineyards -- A wine, food and gift store.

  • The WebTender -- An online bartender.

  • iDRINK -- A site about mixing alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Greeting Cards

Send a computer greeting card for any holiday or occasion from one of these sites.

Holiday Traditions, Origins, History, etc.

Santa Links

  • The Northpole

  • Claus.com

  • A Winter Web Wonderland -- Not just a Santa page, there are also places to chat with angels, Christmas-inspired tales of hope and cheer, and more.

  • The "Official 44th Annual NORAD Tracks Santa" site -- THE place to be on December 24th. This is the 44th year that Santa has been tracked by NORAD -- the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Check out this site before the 24th and you can find out how NORAD tracks Santa and take a look at the "Vehicle Information" page which provides the technical data for both Santa's sleigh and the CF-18 Hornet (the plane that will escort Santa through Canadian airspace).

Shopping Online

  • MySimon -- scans dozens of retail Websites in REAL TIME to find the current prices.

  • Excite Shopping -- Similar to MySimon.

  • Shopping.com -- Wholesale prices on millions of brand name items.

  • The Internet Mall --" The world's largest shopping mall."

  • Buy It Online

  • Yahoo/Visa Shopping Guide

  • Compare.Net -- offers Product Comparisons, Side-By-Side Charts, Reviews, Discussion Groups, Classifieds, and Shopping Links.

  • ComputerShopper - Similar to Compare.Net, but specializing in computers and accessories.

  • Bottom Dollar -- Helps you search the Net for the best prices.

  • Better Business Bureau online -- You can submit a complaint form or check their online business reports database (for certain US cities) to see if a company has any complaints on file.

  • Consumer Reports Online -- Consumer Reports has created a special "information hub" to help holiday shoppers save time and money when shopping this holiday season. Information includes top picks from Consumer Reports' ongoing comparison charts, as well as tips for safe online shopping and advice on charitable giving.

  • Consumer World -- Lots of good shopping sites.

  • Wal-mart Online -- Complete with Greeter.

Package Tracking

Driving Directions, Travel Tips

References