Do you love celebrating New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day?  NewYear2012.net is a blog that is all about New Years 2012, covering party ideas, resolutions, tips, predictions, and more.  According to New Year 2012:

The purpose of this website is to bring you fresh ideas for all things New Year 2012.  We offer tips on planning a New Year eve party to make this year end different and special; and ideas on where to go and what to do to bring in the new year.  We give you insight on how to stick with your New Year resolutions and make some predictions for the year ahead.  New Year’s day is traditionally a family day so we give you tips and ideas on making the most of it.  New Year is a time for celebration, countdown parties, champagne, dancing and fireworks.  It’s probably the biggest celebration of the year seeing the last few hours of the old year slip away and the start of a bright new year 2012.  But as with everything that comes to an end, it’s also a time to reflect on the year past and make plans for the year ahead.

http://newyear2012.net/

Programing note: There will not be a Website of the Day post on Friday, December 30 or Monday, January 2.  We would like to wish everyone a safe and happy New Year, and we’ll see you back on Tuesday, January 3.

Are you excited for Santa’s visit this Christmas eve?  Today we feature three websites where you can watch Santa’s reindeer, chat with Santa, and create video messages featuring Santa.

At ReindeerCam.com you can watch the official live feed of Santa’s reindeer getting ready for their big trip.  If you watch at 10am or 5pm EST you can even see Santa come out and feed them.

http://reindeercam.com/

Do you need to submit some last-minute evidence to convince Santa that you’ve actually been nice this year?  At SantaBot.com you can have a live online chat with Santa himself.

http://www.santabot.com/

At PortableNorthPole.tv you can create a personalized video from Santa Claus for your children, friends, family members or colleagues in a few easy steps by providing a few little details about the person.  There is also an app for Apple or Android and an Elves’ Machine to help Santa determine if you’ve been naughty or nice.

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/

Programing note: There will not be a Website of the Day post on Monday the 26^th.  We would like to wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Festive Festivus!

Have you become bored with all the traditional holidays this time of year?  Would you like to try something new this year like an alternative holiday?  For today’s post we feature two websites that will help you learn about and celebrate a great holiday called Festivus.

Festivus is an alternative nondenominational holiday held tomorrow (December 23) that is rich with traditions, such as the Feats of Strength, the Airing of Grievances, and the Festivus Pole.  The original idea for Festivus came from a 1966 book on alternative holidays, but it was popularized in 1997 by the TV show Seinfeld.

At RealFestivus.com you can view and submit Festivus pictures, read and submit Festivus stories, read about Festivus traditions, publicly air your grievances, find instructions to make your own Festivus pole, and much more.

http://realfestivus.com/

At FestivusWeb.com you can browse the following categories: Origins, Party Ideas, Festivus Rules, Festivus Pole, Airing of Grievances, Feats of Strength, Festivus Songs, Festivus Dinner, The Human Fund, The Festivus Miracle, Festivus Quotes, Festivus Tips, and Script.

http://www.festivusweb.com/

Do you absolutely love cookies?  Are making and eating Christmas cookies your favorite part of the holiday season?  Could you use a few new recipes to liven up your Christmas cookie repertoire?  Christmas-Cookies.com is a massive online database comprised of the best Christmas cookie recipes found on the web, from the beautiful and artistic to the just plain delicious.

There are far too many categories to list here but some of the best include: Bar Cookies, Candy & Fudge, Cookie Cutter, Cookie Press, Cookies in a Jar, No-Bake Cookies, Refrigerator Cookies, Pies, Savory recipes, Treats for Animals, and Baking Tips.  Cookies can also be browsed in alphabetical order or searched for.  There is a Recipe Box feature that helps you create a shopping list and lets you save recipes.  Christmas-Cookies.com is taking submissions so if you have a great Christmas cookie recipe send it in and share.

http://www.christmas-cookies.com/

Do you love all the Christmas-themed episodes and Christmas specials that come on TV this time of year?  Do you wish you could go back and watch Christmas shows from years past?  This past Halloween we featured HalloweenShows.net, a huge online collection of Halloween special episodes, as one of our Websites of the Day.  Today’s featured site is the Christmas equivalent and sister site of HolloweenShows.net.  XmasShows.net is an enormous collection of Christmas special episodes, including TV, radio, cartoons, and more, that you can watch online.

Categories include: Christmas Episodes, Christmas Specials, Christmas Cartoons, and Christmas Old Time Radio.

http://www.xmasshows.net/

Is there someone on your Christmas list that is picky and hard to shop for?  Or perhaps you need to buy a gift for someone you don’t know very well and have no idea what to get?  GiveEmThis.com is an online personalized gift engine, that connects with Facebook and other social media to gather information on your friends’ interests so it can recommend great gifts that they’ll actually like.  According to GiveEmThis.com:

Let’s face it people, buying a gift is a chore!  No one ever really wanted those socks last Christmas.  Probing for clues is grueling and hunting through the mall for the “perfect” gift usually ends in a massage chair at Brookstone.  Well, we’re all massaged out and done with the way we used to buy gifts!  That’s why we started GiveEmThis.com.  Look, we’re just like you.  We want our friends to think we know them as well as we really do.  But it is seriously hard to find a gift to capture that.  We wanted to be able to give gifts like a pro, even when we were torn between that ‘Justin Bieber’ lunch box and the turbo nose hair trimmer.  So, we teamed up with Imply Labs to try and ease the ouch, and we ended up creating something that knew our friends almost as well as we did!  Think of it this way, GiveEmThis.com creates a personalized online shelf of gift ideas.  Our job is not to choose the best gift, but look at the millions of options and show you the things they’ll love most…  And at least this way there’s no one hovering over your shoulder with a ‘motorized grill brush’ while you try to enjoy a massage chair…  It’s not so much Harry Potter as it is Back to the Future, but either way we hope it’ll blow your socks off!

GiveEmThis.com is easy to use – simply connect with Facebook, selected a friend, and view your gift recommendations.  GiveEmThis.com also has a blog.

http://www.giveemthis.com/

Are you having trouble getting what you really want for Christmas?  Is your printed Christmas list just not cutting it with everyone doing their Christmas shopping online?  ChristmasList.com is a website where you can post an online Christmas list for all to see complete with links to buy.  According to ChristmasList.com:

You’ve made your list.  You’ve checked it twice.  But instead of an iPod Nano you got a mini piano.  Next year avoid the confusion and get exactly what you want with ChristmasList.com.  It’s the easy answer to the “What do you want for Christmas?” question.  Create your list online where you can prioritize, link to buy, and add as little or as many details as needed, all accessible from anywhere (even the North Pole).  Get what you want this Christmas!  That’s our gift to you.

List items can be searched for or added manually.  You can email your list or share it on Facebook.  Are you looking for someone’s Christmas list?  Lists can be easily searched for by name or email address.

http://www.christmaslist.com/

Do you love Thanksgiving but tire of making the exact same recipes every year?  Are you looking to push the envelope and take things beyond the traditional recipes this Thanksgiving?  Today instead of a single Website of the Day we are featuring three sites and taking a closer look at turkey, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.

At What’s Cooking America (WhatsCookingAmerica.net), in addition to traditional Thanksgiving and turkey recipes, you can find recipes with step-by-step instructions and lots of photos for Cajun Fried Turkey, Barbecued Turkey, Smoked Turkey, Turducken, Turkey in Mole Sauce, and for all you vegetarians there is even a recipe for Tofurkey with Vegan Gravy.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/

At Sweet Potato Recipes (SweetPotatoRecipes.net) you can find 38 sweet potato recipes ranging from the traditional to the wildly creative.

http://www.sweetpotatorecipes.net/

And for desert Pumpkin Pie Recipe (PumpkinPieRecipe.org) has recipes for 14 different delicious variations on the pumpkin pie.

http://www.pumpkinpierecipe.org/

Programing note: There will not be a Website of the Day post on Wednesday the 23^rd, Thursday the 24^th, or Friday the 25^th.  We would like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving, and we’ll see you back on Monday the 28^th.

Are you making all or part of Thanksgiving dinner this year?  Could you use a little help?  Previously we have featured two websites from SeriousEats.com as our Website of the Day: a site all about burgers called A Hamburger Today, and a site all about pizza called Slice.  Today we are featuring Serious Eats’ guide to Thanksgiving.  SeriousEats.com/Thanksgiving is your online guide to Thanksgiving dinner, covering recipes, how-to’s, menu planning, turkey roasting, sides, and more.

The Thanksgiving Guide is organized into seven sections: Turkey Talk & Recipes (how to choose, prepare, carve, and eat the bird, plus traditional, non-traditional, & turkey alternative recipes), Thanksgiving Planning (tips, recipes, and schedules for a no fuss, no stress, perfect dinner), Side Dishes (favorite traditional and non-traditional sides), Desserts (recipes for classic pies and lots of non-traditional desserts), What to Drink (wine recommendations for every budget plus picks for cocktails, beer, & more), Taste Tests (rigorously tested recommendations for common Thanksgiving staples and pantry items), and What to Do with Thanksgiving Leftovers (what to do the morning after).

http://www.seriouseats.com/thanksgiving/

Do you love Halloween and everything about it?  Do love to talk about and discuss Halloween related things all day long with like-minded people?  Would you like to become a part of an online community of people who love Halloween as much as you do?  HalloweenForum.com is an online discussion forum dedicated to Halloween, where you can discuss all things Halloween all year-long.

Some of the discussion topics include: General Halloween, Party Ideas, Experiences and Recipes, Halloween Props, Halloween Costume Ideas, Tutorials and Step-By-Step, Halloween Crafts, Halloween Music, Haunted Humor, and Group Buys.  In addition to all the discussion topics, you can also start your own Halloween-themed mini-blog within the forums.

Programing note: There will not be a Website of the Day post on Monday, October 31 or on Tuesday, November 1.  We wish everyone a safe and fun Halloween and we’ll see you back on Wednesday, November 2.

http://www.halloweenforum.com/