Give them a try and add a little international flavor to your Christmas dinner tonight.

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Christmas Drinks from Around the World

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, has been keeping an eye on the comings and goings of Santa Claus every year since 1955 when an ad from Sears incorrectly printed their phone number as the one children should call to track Santa.

Over the years NORAD has improved how you can track Santa, adding a Web site a few years ago that allowed you to see short videos of where he was.  Well, this year NORAD has added several new ways to keep track of the evening:

• Watch his journey inside of Google Earth
• Follow the updates on Facebook
• Watch out for messages on Twitter
• Check out posted images of his journey on Picasa
• Open Google Maps for Mobile, search on “Santa” and see his current location
• Visit m.noradsanta.org on your mobile browser
• Receive updates via text message
• Download the NORAD Tracks Santa iOS app
• Download the NORAD Track Santa Android app

It would appear that NORAD and Santa have really come into the 21st century.  Check out the short video below and then go to NORADSanta.orgsite to see where he is!

Here is a video of Santa’s 2010 world tour.

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NORAD Santa Tracker 2011

Oh yeah, it’s just that cute that it’s almost painful.

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Puppy Christmas

I have to say the whole Christmas lights/controllers/music thing has had to grow on me, but it’s starting to get there, and this one definitely helps me out a bit.

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25,000 Angry Christmas Lights

TurboTax – yes, the people behind the tax software – put together this handy inforgraphic that shows estimates that we will spend 2.8% more this year than we did last year, bringing the total up to $465.6 billion.  According to their information, the average person will spend $515.94 this year, with the majority of that going to family members.  Of course, you could take the tact my family is this year and we’re giving each other projects we’ve been putting off and nothing financial.  Sorry, TurboTax, we’re throwing off the curve.  Someone will have to make up our difference this year.

How much are you planning on spending?

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How Much do American’s Spend on Gifts?

Welcome home (to England, that is), crew.  And may you have the best Christmas ever.  You’ve earned it.

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All I Want for Christmas – HMS OCEAN

If you check the sites around the Web that post the Black Friday listings early each year, you’ll find that they are out in full force, and even companies such as Walmart decided to officially release their ad in full early this year.  What you’ll find is that TVs seem to be the real highlight of 2011 with deals pretty much every where you turn.  Also on highlight this year seems to video game systems with massive discounts on core systems which makes sense as the major ones are entering their seventh years of release.

Also of extra note is that it seems my years of dreaming have finally come to pass, and at least Walmart will be running its sales starting at 10 PM on Thanksgiving night, with another round starting at 12:01 AM on Friday and the third round starting at 8 AM on Friday.  At long last, no getting in line at 2 AM for the sale to begin at 5 AM.  This system should cut down on some of the stampedes we’ve seen, and it makes a lot more sense than the old way of doing things.  We’ll see how it works out in practice as opposed to theory, but it sounds promising to me.

I’ll actually miss out on Black Friday this year as I will be in England on vacation, but I wish you all the best of luck on your hunt for the best bargains.

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Black Friday 2011 Ads Pour Out Early

While cute and cheery, we’re not quite sure what’s up with stamps 1 and 3.  (Going from left to right)  Stamp 2 is awesome with Santa and his sleigh, and stamp 4 is pretty nice with the houses and trees, but does anyone really want two stamps with nothing but reindeer in them?  Of course, you also still have to do something that requires you to mail something out by standard mail to even need these, which seems to be a rarer and rarer thing in this day and age, even around Christmas, but that’s a story for another day.

For now, just enjoy the cute artwork and head out to your local post office this holiday season to pick some up.

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U.S. Post Office Debuts 2011 Christmas Stamps

Harrods and Selfridges both opened their Christmas sections on the 28th of this month, much to the shock of tourists passing through the famous stores while in London on vacation.  While a bit of surprise to be this early, this is actually only four days earlier than last year’s opening dates.  ”We get a lot of international clients from all over the world and we are catering for their demands.” a spokesperson for Harrods told AFP.  ”Peak season for us is July-August and we get quite a lot of customers asking for Christmas products.”

However, the fact that this is happening in the middle of the summer heat is not lost on anyone.  In addition to rolling out a wide range of decorations, Harrods os also selling the ”12 ice creams of Christmas,” which includes flavors such as Christmas pudding with brandy butter, mulled wine and Brussels sprouts.

To all of you out there that say it seems like Christmas shopping starts earlier and earlier every year, I’m thinking you may be right.

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U.K. Department Stores Open Their Christmas Boutiques

Last weekend I went by the local Hallmark store as I had gotten an invitation to come check out the Keepsake Ornaments debut.  Didn’t this used to happen in August?  At least that’s how I remember it, but, no, mid-July, there was the first batch of ornaments in all of their glory.  And while I picked up a few (I’ve been collecting “Frosty Friends” since #2), I was a bit surprised by the number of other shoppers around me doing the same.  Do keep in mind that I live in a town of 17,000, seeing multiple people doing anything at the same time in this town comes as a surprise.

Who I felt for were the poor employees.  It was 90+ degrees outside and they were being forced to wear “Merry Christmas” sweatshirts.  No one could spring for t-shirts?

Then this weekend home shopping channel QVC is having their annual Christmas in July weekend long event.  Christmas trees, ornaments, decorations, the whole channel is wall-to-wall Christmas themed items this weekend.  And … yeah, I’ve stopped flipping channels for a bit to watch it.  What can I say, I’m a sucker for Christmas anything.

Has July become the start of the Christmas season now?  As I type this, there are just over 155 shopping days until Christmas in the United States, and apparently it’s time to get started.

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Christmas in July