Christine McCrea Shirley Lew Rana Shaskin Richmond Public Library

Reduce holiday stress and surf on-line

Take a moment to rediscover the heart, art and music of the season with Christmas in Cyberspace www.njwebworks.net/christmas or Aristotle's Christmas Web www.saint-nick.com/index.html. Gain an appreciation for other rich winter festivities via Virtual Chanukah www.virtualchanukah.com or The Official Kwanzaa Website www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org to name a few.

Ironically, while parents busily shop, bake and wrap, children can feel unusually lonely at this time of year. Find suggestions to make more time for the family with Enjoying Christmas With Your Kids www.elainegibson.net/parenting/holiday.html. The site includes a wide array of tips including surviving family gatherings and gift suggestions for children of all ages. The Mayo Clinic www.mayoclinic.com offers many good suggestions for keeping on top of the holidays. "Twelve Ways to Keep the Blues at Bay" is one of its best. Simply use "Christmas" as a keyword search on its homepage to find this and other valuable articles.

Food, glorious food, can be a source of holiday anxiety. Reduce turkey-roasting stress with Butterball www.butterball.com to find time-tested recipes for stuffing, gravy and creative ways to use leftovers. Cut time in the kitchen with easy recipes found at Cathleen's Kitchen www.stiinc.net/christmas.htm or Xmas.Fun xmasfun.com/Recipe.asp. Stressed about satisfying vegetarian guests? Just look to The Vegetarian Society www.vegsoc.org or VegSource.org www.vegsource.com/christmas.htm for easy and tasty dishes for all to enjoy.

Keep the children entertained with Santa's Secret Village www.northpole.com. It's a visual treat with links to Santa's mailroom, Mrs. Claus' kitchen, a reindeer barn and an elf clubhouse. Christmas Time Together www.imagitek.com/xmas and Christmas on the Net www.holidays.net/christmas offer fun recipes, online crafts, stories, activities and songs. And, there's still time to send a letter to Santa through www.canadapost.ca/personal/dec.

Not yet relaxed? It may be time for a night at home with the family, hot apple cider and a few favourite holiday flicks. Look to Happy Christmas www.happychristmas.com for a handy list to take to the local video store.

Happy holidays!

This column and its links can be accessed from the Internet version of the Richmond Review, found on the Richmond Public Library's website at www.yourlibrary.ca. Please email comments/suggestions to column@yourlibrary.ca.