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email: sue@ediblecomputer.com website: http://sue.betterworldscouts.com

It was rather nice to look out the window into the dark last night and see that first snowfall of the year. I know I'll grow tired of it when there's been too much for too long, but right now it feels good because I'm definitely in the mood for Christmas.

Each year I try to share a few favourites with our listeners, from simple gadgets to the high-tech toys. This year I'm choosing to place more of the focus back on the "homespun" side of things, because it's the part that gets lost in the shuffle too easily, and it's absence takes the joy right out of the season.

One of the things I want to do with my own family this year to get things off on the right foot is to go out and cut down our own Christmas tree. I really had no idea where to start, so of course I turned to the internet for a few clues. Lo and behold I found the perfect tool to help me start my quest in this one small place:

http://www.christmastress.on.ca is an Ontario Christmas tree farm resource, and one that should be useful to our listeners throughout the area and beyond.

When we come home with our treasure we'll pull off your mittens and boots and curl up together to read Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" together to get you in the proper spirit of Christmas giving, tuck a little "Miracle on 34th street" into the DVD player, and then likely start baking our Christmas cookies again. Each of these things really has nothing to do with technology, but are made easier when the internet gives me a handful of ways to find just the right things to make Christmas personal again this year.

So, in that spirit I offer some of my own favourite resources, some high-tech, but many others not, and I wish you a season filled with joy, true fellowship and a renewed sense of peace and family connectedness this year.

Stocking Stuffers

• iTunes Gift Cards ... songs start at 99 cents each, so it's easy to tuck something personal into stockings without breaking the bank


• Flash media bracelets and necklaces to make it easier for kids to take work back and forth between home, school, the library and friends' houses


• Tooth Tunes musical toothbrush by Hasbro


• Leap Frog's FLY Fusion Pentop Computer

Big Ticket Items

Desktop computers:

• HP Media Center PCs ... some terrific new PCs equipped with tv tuners and a bevy of cool tools to jazz up your Yule, including music and photo editting software


• Apple iMac

Extended warranty: Caveat Emptor!

Some people choose to purchase a longer period of coverage for key parts or for their entire system. What you might not know is that the place you buy it from has a clause built in that allows them to keep your computer for sometimes as long as 3 months if you return it for service and repairs. Read the fine print! Extended warranties do not mean extra service, and yes, people do get caught with this. I had a listener purchase an Apple Mac computer from a major chain in Windsor, where the computer's battery was dead out of the box. He took it back for repairs, and didn't see if for several months. In spite of hounding the store, they pointed out that even with the extended warranty they still had the right to keep the computer for up to 72 days without the obligation to return it repaired. When it did come back, it still wasn't fixed, and the customer was given a small gift card to make another purchase. This is -never- an acceptable scenario in any consumer's eyes, but it's up to you to read the fine print when you're making a purchase to decide if you can live with the terms. Don't get caught.

Gadgets

• Canon and HP both have digital cameras that are high quality without the huge price tag


• Portable music players, such as Apple's RED iPod (a gift that gives twice), their new iPod Touch, or Microsoft's new version of the Zune


• Digital Tablets and Pen


• Solio universal recharger

For Kids

A few of the more popular tech toy favourites for kids this year:

Babies: Vtech's "V.Smile Baby Infant Development System"
Toddlers: Leapfrog and >VTech products.
Kids of all ages: Guitar Hero

Tapping into the Northpole:

• http://emailsanta.com


• http://northpoletimes.com


• http://www.northpole.com

And be sure to track Santa's path with NORAD on Christmas Eve! http://www.noradsanta.org

Homemade Christmas

Best web sites for ideas to help you make your own gifts and a more personal Christmas.

Cards & Gift Tags ...

• Random House Christmas Tree tags


• make/print your own Christmas cards and calendars


• Kwanzaa Cards


• Elegant Paper Cutting


• Labels, Gift Tags & Placecards by Grandma George


• Grinch gift tags


• free Christmas fonts to help you design your own cards


• snowflake maker


• another Snowflake maker

• homemade Christmas decorations


• christmas craft ideas, patterns and instructions


• Free Christmas Crafts patterns


• Christmas craft projects


• free baby album software


• Christmas Crochet Patterns


• knitting ideas and patterns


• make your own lava lamp


• Homemade Gift Ideas

• AllRecipes.com christmas cookies & other baked gifts


• Epicurious.com recipe swap


• Eggnog history and recipes

• Selfhelp Magazine: Enhancing Life for the Older Adult with Alzheimer's Disease or Other Dementias: Some Gift Ideas

• Homemade cat treats


• Homemade dog treats


• Homemade bird treats

Gifts that Change Lives

• Heifer International


• Operation Blessing International


• Secret Santa


• WorldChanging: The Rough Guide to a Better World

Festive Desktops

Screensavers and Wallpaper

• Living Snowglobes


• R.I.S.S. Advent Calendar ... remains my favourite


• Astro Gemnin ... various winter and Christmas themes

• downloadable Christmas Music Player


• Delong Farms Carols online


• Nova Scotia carol site


• more carols online


• midi music version of Christmas favourites


• Christmas Carols in English, German, Korean and Japanese


• North Pole carols

• twinklebulbs for your computer desktop


• Christmas bulbs for your computer desktop


• Christmas Tree Interactive Desktop


• a handful of Desktop themes from zdnet

In addition to my personal favourite, which was listed in "Screensavers" above, there are a few other popular online calendars you can visit:

• Electric December


• Random House


• North Pole

• Christmas Lesson Plans for teachers


• Customs and Traditions from Around the World


• Holidays.net


• North Pole


• gifting in Japan


• Christmas around the world


• Christmas with Virtual Finland

• Christmas jigsaw puzzles

gentle listener :)

What I've shared shows an unintentional bias to the Christmas traditions that are a part of my own upbringing, but this is but a fraction of the cultural and very personal traditions that shape people's lives at this time of year. I'd love to hear from you about your own favourite web sites and gadgets, most especially the ones with a non-commercial bent, and that help to culitivate a broader sense of each other and what we share inspite of being unique.

As always, I'm interested in hearing your own stories about the ways that computer and internet technologies are shaping your lives. What kinds of things innovative things are you doing with them? What kinds of things are most useful to you and to your kids? Email me at and tell me a bit about your own digital adventures.

Thanks for tuning in this morning.
Have a terrific Monday, and let's keep talking!