Christmas in July

Not sure how the tradition of having Christmas in July sales got started; probably because retail sales can get pretty slow in July and yet there are people wandering all over on vacation looking for something to "buy".

If you like to participate in Christmas during July sales, take a look at the coupon deal discount section at LunchBreakShopping.com - huge online mall.

If you're looking for handcarved, authentic, hand painted Santa figurines or Santa nesting dolls, check the shops at Russianmystery.com

What is Santa getting your Mom this year?

How many times have you been able to put a smile on your Mom's face for just a few dollars? Try this - have Santa call her!

The link is on the right hand side of this page. It only costs a few dollars - in fact you might be able to have Santa call everyone on your list for maybe $20. Just how many Moms and Grandmas do you think get a call from Santa?

Handcarved wooden Santa figurines

It's interesting to me that one of the most sought after Santa for collectors is the handcarved wooden Santa figurine. I found a wonderful source a few years ago and so far quite a few people have agreed with me and purchased handcarved Santa figures here.

The negative is that you have to wait a few weeks sometimes if the one you want is waiting to be painted. Some are done up and sent from Russia to the US, but often the figure you order is handcarved and painted at the time of your order.

I'm talking about Santa's from Russia - look for the Santa figurine catalog on the right hand side of this page: Handcarved wooden Santa figurines

Google even helps track Santa!

If you're wondering how people in the know track Santa on Christmas Eve, I might be able to help. I've been thinking over my childhood Christmas surprises, and it seems like there were always a few furtive telephone calls being made while we were trying to get loaded up to visit Grandma on the other side of town.

Somehow, we always managed to come home from Grandma's house on Christmas Eve to find that Santa had been there already. It didn't seem to matter if we went across town early or late - Santa managed to sneak in and put our loot under the tree while we were taking Grandma her fruit basket.

Now the weatherman always seems to know where Santa is, too. I think I just found out how he knows. NORAD tracks Santa with their sophisticated tracking equipment and if you have a personal iGoogle home page, you can add the Santa tracking NORAD widget to your home page.

I added the widget just before I came to tell you, and it said we had 7 days and 13 hours to wait. If you want to go directly to the NORAD Santa tracking site, here's the link. Otherwise add the Google widget to your iGoogle page by searching Santa NORAD widget.