If you're like most people, your daily life is so crammed full of activities that you rarely have time to bake cookies or hang a wreath on your door. But during the Christmas season, it's fun to try new holiday recipes and to decorate your home with bright and festive accessories.

Let's begin with Santa's Favourites: Food and Recipes, a delightful site featuring recipes of goodies to leave out for the fat man himself, as well as recipes from around the world. Learn how to make Billy Can Pudding from Australia, Christmas Stuffing from Germany, or Holiday Ham Balls from Sweden.

Christmas junk food? My kind of place. The Christmas Cooking site features recipes such as Peppermint Balls, Turtle Brownies, or Praline Cookies. Yum.

If you're a cookie nut like me, visit Mimi's Christmas Cookie Archive for recipes for Apricot Foldovers, Molasses Crinkles, Mint Kiss Spritz, and much more.

Better Homes & Gardens House and Home Survival Guide makes planning your holiday menu a breeze. Select the recipes from a wide variety in all categories, then the site will prepare a shopping list, a make-ahead calendar, and even a printable recipe list for you. Can't get much easier than that.

Christmas just isn't Christmas without a tree. At the National Christmas Tree Association website, you'll not only learn the different types of trees, but you'll also discover tips on the selection and care of Christmas trees.

At the Home Decorating Archive, you'll learn Christmas decorating tips from trees to exterior lights, Christmas yard decorating, and how to make spoon ornaments. The archive itself is a wonderful resource for craft and decorating ideas the year round.

Absolutely Christmas will certainly get you in the Christmas mood fast! You'll find craft and decorating ideas, games, riddles, stories, and more.

Try something new this year: Pretzel Wreaths. Sounds like a fun and easy project for your children to enjoy.

At Christmas Time, you'll learn how to make felt and button Christmas trees, folded paper houses, or stained glass decorations. The site also features word search puzzles, mazes, and even Christmas software ideas.

Robin Nobles is a freelance writer who can be reached at robinnobles@robinsnest.com.

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