Happy New Year

It seems everyone is looking forward to the beginning of 2006. Web searchers are busy planning parties for New Year's Eve, making resolutions for the year ahead and thinking about a short holiday to recover from the fun filled stress that the season brings.

In the US, the Super Bowl is always a good excuse for a February party. Ideas for how to put a great Bowl party together are already a top search.

Makar Sankranti is approaching in India and other countries where the Hindu religion is important. A large part of the world is busy planning reunions and festivities to welcome the Year of the Dog, on January 29, 2006. Dragon dances and fireworks are just part of the fun. Chinese New Year is a global feast of Sticky Rice Cake (Nian Gao), Steamed Dumplings (Jiao Zi) and family fun.

Wherever you greet the New Year, however you celebrate and whatever your plans are, we hope that 2006 will be a happy, healthy and prosperous year for everyone!

After Christmas Shopping

End of year clearances are a great way to get started on next year's gift list...or, even better, treat yourself to a few gifts at rock bottom prices. The after Christmas sales can go down as much as 70 or 80 percent below the prices you saw while you were doing your holiday shopping! The Boxing Day sales in Canada and the UK and other Commonwealth countries have all but changed the meaning of the words. Some modern shoppers are beginning to think the "boxing" refers to the mayhem in the shops as customers fight over limited quantities of highly sought after items. The price cuts are so steep that tempers have been known to flare even in the best shops.

If you're looking for even better deals, check out this smart shoppers secret...

Shipping Only is one place to look for amazing offers all year long. The idea behind the site is that manufacturer's contribute merchandise and the site makes everything available for the price of shipping only - that's where the name comes from.

The explanation? "Every time you claim a free product from ShippingOnly.com, a portion of your shipping and handling fees benefit a nonprofit organization (the Long Island Network of Community Services). Product fulfillment is handled by people with special needs as part of a professionally supervised vocational training program. " There are actually some deals worth the price. New items are posted every Tuesday. There are limited quantities and the best deals go quickly.

50 Years of Tracking Santa

The kids are not the only ones keeping an eye out for Santa and his reindeer. As the elves finish packing the sleigh, NORAD is gearing up to keep Santa on radar when he leaves his base at the North Pole. They will provide information on St. Nick's progress to kids around the world in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Japanese.

They've been tracking Santa every year since 1955, which makes this their 50th anniversary.

If you haven't sent your letter to Santa yet, it not too late to get it to him before the elves finish packing all the goodies. NORAD has Santa's email address... NorthPole@OfficialSantaMail.com.

They are not the only ones keeping tabs on Santa as he makes his annual trip to the rooftops of the world. Visit the Chiff.com Santa information page to learn all about the places online to watch Santa's trip.

Just don't stay up too late and make him miss your house!

Merry Christmas to all!

Travel Tips For the Holidays

Getting ready to travel home for the holidays?

The low fare airline, Air Tran has some last minute advice:

Leave the Wrapping to Santa's Elves - Wrapped gifts will have to be unwrapped during security screenings.

Keep Your Valuable Stocking Stuffers With You - Place your medicine, jewelry, and other valuables in your carry-on baggage.

Everybody Wants to Be Home for the Holidays - During the busy holidays, anticipate possible slowdowns and arrive at the airport a minimum of 90 minutes before your scheduled departure.

There's Not Much Room in the Sleigh - Remember you are allowed one carry-on bag and one personal item.

If your plans include escaping from the stress of holiday activities, check out the travel tips and guides to worldwide destinations. For advice on where to travel with your animal friends, click over to Travel With Pets.

So You Want To Be A...

If your Christmas wish is to be discovered as the newest teen model, you may be in luck.

The So You Want To Be A Model Contest - teamed up with CosmoGIRL! Magazine and Supermodel Niki Taylor have 13 to 24 year old applicants flooding them with applications. The contest is limited to American beauties and there are no height or weight requirements. There is a $20 fee for the registration. The 12 finalists get a 5-day working photo shoot in South Beach Miami. They'll receive a Model's spa makeover participate in a professional photo shoot that will appear in the 2006 August Back-To-School issue of CosmoGIRL! Magazine.

Finalists will also get to meet Niki Taylor and compete to win a $50,000 modeling contract with Niki's agency, PLANIT m. For more information, visit http://www.soyouwanttobeamodel.com before the December 31st deadline.

If your Christmas dreams run more in the direction of becoming a top sports photographer, The Sports Shooter Newsletter Annual Contest may be more to your liking. Along with recognition of your talent, the prizes include camera bags, digital cameras and other photography related prizes. The deadline is in January -- at midnight Pacific time on Super Bowl Sunday.

Whatever dreams fill your Christmas list, may they all come true...but if not, you can always make your New Year's resolution to work on making your dreams a reality in 2006!

What's On TV for the Holidays?

Everyone has a favorite holiday special and the odds are that your's will be on at least once this month!

If you just can't survive a December without at least one viewing of the Dicken's Classic, A Christmas Carol, you'll have plenty of choices. With most versions showing up in one or more time slots, it will be hard to miss.

Check out the US holiday TV listings for Scrooge, Charlie Brown and the Grinch to make sure you plan your schedule or schedule your TiVo to catch the shows you have to see to celebrate the holidays!

How Much Will You Spend On Holiday Gifts?

'Tis the season for holiday spending. Santa's elves and reindeer seem to have been replaced by credit cards and shopping for bargains in many homes and offices.

How much do people spend on Christmas and holiday gift giving as the year draws to a close?

The AXA group, a financial protection and wealth management firm, asked 6,900 people in 11 countries. The results from the surveys predict that that the average employed UK shopper will spend the equivalent of $1,003 (approximately 778 euros) on Christmas gifts this year. The average worker in the USA plans to spend $948.

Shoppers in the UK and the USA topped AXA's ranking with workers in Spain rounding out the top three, averaging approximately $617.

The Japanese, planning an average holiday budget of $101, ranked lowest among the 11 surveyed nations.

The average New Zealand consumer will spend over $900 this Christmas period contributing to a national holiday shopping spree of $2.7 billion, according to the second annual Christmas Spend Survey released by MasterCard International.

Wherever you are and whatever amount you intend to spend, your shopping days are numbered. Here are some last minute gift ideas that may help out...

Be A Secret Santa

This holiday season giving is at an all time high...especially to those who have been affected by the natural disasters that ravaged sections of the world last year. While there are many in far away places that need your help to make the season bright, don't forget the neediest in your own hometown.

Secret Santa.org exists to make it easier for residents of the USA to find local toy drives during the Holiday gift giving crunch. Just enter a zip code and find a list of local spots to drop off toys in time for Santa to deliver them to the waiting smiles of kids in your area.

On the downside of charitable giving:

~ Give with an open hand...and with your eyes wide open!

~ Avoid scams by checking the credentials of the charity before you give.

~ Never give your personal or credit information to anyone over the phone unless you placed the call to your bank or charity.

~ Never respond to an email asking for your personal information. If the email is legitimate, it will tell you to go to the site you normally use to login. Never use a login page that you reached through an email. It is one of the easiest ways for crooks to get your personal information!

To find out more on the charity you choose, check http://www.charitynavigator.org/.

Charity Navigator said a survey it conducted of nearly 3,300 charities found that only 18 percent have a donor privacy policy in place, 7 percent reserved the right to sell or swap donor names, and 75 percent did not respond to the survey.

Nonprofits make up to $940 million a year by selling donor names and addresses and many who don't "sell" your address will "swap" with other charities. Opt out of having your name added to a junk mail list or expect a deluge of unwanted mail as a thank you for your generosity.

An article in the New Haven Advocate adds a caution about checking to make sure that your donations are used the way you intended: "FEMA’s website listed Operation Blessing, Pat Robertson’s faith-based organization, second on its list of charities that would speed relief to Katrina victims. Last year, Operation Blessing gave half its donations—$885,000—to the Christian Broadcasting Network, of which Robertson is chairman."

Make your holiday gift giving count...and make it safe!

Top Toys for 2005

One of the most top searches online during the holiday season is, "What are the popular toys this year?"

If you're wondering what the kids on your gift list would like to find under the holiday tree this year, the latest survey of the top 10 toys may give you some hints:

Top Toys 2005

For Girls:
1. Barbie
2. Bratz
3. Dora the Explorer
4. Disney Princess
5. Video Games
6. I-Pod/MP3 Players
7. My Little Pony
8. Leap Frog
9. Elmo
10. American Girl

For Boys:
1. Video Games
2 . Star Wars Merchandise
3. Legos
4. Hot Wheels
5. Spiderman Merchandise
6. Xbox
7. Thomas the Train
8. Batman Merchandise
9. Bicycle
10. PlayStation 2
Source:NRF and BIGresearch, November 2005

These are the "hot" items, but make sure that you check with parents to make sure that your gift won't be a duplicate and that the age level fits the kids who'll be receiving the gifts.

You can always select a gift related to a special hobby. A pretty new leotard for the aspiring gymnast or ballerina or a chemistry set or microscope for the young scientific genius are sure to be a hit. If you still can't decide, a gift certificate to a toy store or book store are sure to please.

Top Spots for Holiday Online Shopping

The data is in. The day after Thanksgiving in the USA is called Black Friday and marks the traditional start of the Holiday shopping season...and it was a huge success for online shopping sites. According to Nielsen//NetRatings 17.2 million people in the US got busy with their gift buying compared to 13.3 million who went shopping online last year.

"Black Friday officially kicks off the holiday shopping season," said Heather Dougherty, senior retail analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. "And while many shoppers headed out to the stores over the weekend, the majority first turned to the Internet to check prices and product availability."

"Now that the 2005 holiday shopping season is underway, traffic to retail sites will climb as shoppers head back to work on Monday ready to make headway on their holiday shopping lists. Cyber Monday will bring additional growth in traffic for online retailers by luring shoppers to their sites through sales promotions and free shipping incentives," she continued.

That 29 percent increase in customers made the stores happy, but the customers who were greeted by sales, free shipping and other special treats were even happier.

What was everyone buying? Toys, video games, consumer electronics, computer hardware and software were the top categories. Children and adults hoping to receive the latest holiday gadgets this year won't be disappointed.

"The toys and video games category experienced the largest increases in traffic fueled by the release of the Xbox 360 and the continued popularity of portable game consoles. The consumer electronics and computer hardware categories also attracted holiday shoppers to the Web to research and purchase this year's hottest gift items, including flat-screen TVs, iPods and other MP3 players," said Dougherty. "Price slashing and heavy demand will drive significant sales in these categories this holiday season."

EBay was the top online retailer on Black Friday, with 9.5 million unique visitors, followed by Amazon with 4.6 million and Wal-Mart Stores 3.4 million unique visitors. Target and BestBuy.com rounded out the top five online shopping destinations, attracting unique audiences of 2.9 million and 2.1 million, respectively.

The top 10 Nielsen//NetRatings Top Online Shopping Destinations:

1. eBay
2. Amazon
3. Wal-Mart Stores
4. Target
5. BestBuy.com
6. Overstock.com
7. Circuitcity.com
8. Dell
9. Shopping.com Network
10. Shopzilla.com Network
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings Daily Overnight Analysis, November 2005 (for US home computer users).

What are the hot items this season? Here is what people were looking at online in November:

1. Toys/Video Games
2. Consumer Electronics
3. Computer Hardware/Software
4. Apparel
5. Flowers and Gifts
6. Home and Garden
7. Shopping Comparison/Portals
8. Jewelry
9. Retail
10. Books/Music/Video
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday eShopping Index, November 2005

The Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday eShopping Index is comprised of over 100 representative online retailers across ten categories, and acts as a barometer to gauge the level of activity at online shopping destinations during the holiday season. For more information visit www.nielsen-netratings.com.

Holiday Shopping - Mall or Modem?

With the price of gas on the rise many holiday shoppers are cutting back on trips to the mall and substituting online shopping this year. From the look of it, discovering that there is a worldwide shopping emporium just a click away is easing the stress of the holiday gift giving for many of Santa's adult helpers.

Comparison shopping is easy with the help of sites set up to collect the best prices on everything from toys and electronics to fashions and jewelry. Many of the online stores have reduced or eliminated shipping fees to help keep their customers satisfied.

For last minute holiday shopping, there's always the option of overnight shipping or taking a trip to the store to pick up your gifts in person. That option even eliminates the stress of worrying whether your gifts will arrive on time!

It looks like the option of online Christmas shopping has finally taken hold. So join in! Sit down, relax and click your Holiday gift list away without traffic jams, long lines, not a single rude clerk or pushy sales person to interfere. Just remember to schedule at least one trip to the mall to enjoy the holiday decorations!