Freebies and Tips in Time for Christmas

Ho, Ho, Ho. It may be only Tuesday, but I have some good stuff for you.

FOR THE KIDS (and the Young at Heart)

• Send a personalized call from Santa to the favorite people in your life. 
• Visit NORAD (as in North American Aerospace Defense Command) Tracks Santa. On Christmas Eve follow Santa as he makes his way around the world.  Visit Countdown Village each day leading up to Christmas for a new activity. 
• Let it Snow. Go to the Google homepage. Type in “let it snow.” Hit Enter. Watch what happens. This article on the abc news blog lists some other Easter Eggs you may have missed. So take a little break and have some free fun!

FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN THINGS GREEN

• Make your own 2011 Green Scrapbook. Google has given you a fun way to take a quick tour through this year’s top environmental searches. Here is the link to mine. And, yes, I learned a few things during this brief experiment.

LAST MINUTE GIFT IDEAS

• For the person who has everything, consider a gift to Kiva in his or her name. Kiva makes micro loans ($25) to worthy individuals around the world. Here’s how it works: Choose a borrower. Make a loan. Get repaid. Repeat if you wish. The choice is yours. Since Kiva was founded in 2005, there have been over 652,000 Kiva lenders and $265 million in loans. The repayment rate is almost 99%!
• For a truly unique gift, check out personal genome service 23andMe, who is offering a discount of $23  on their kits through December 27. All 23andMe needs is a little spit in a vial, and you are on your way to unlocking the secrets of your DNA. 23andMe provides genetic testing for over 100 traits and diseases, as well as DNA ancestry. If you are even remotely interested, check out their site. The videos are concise, easy to understand, and entertaining to watch.

Happy Holidays.