Site-Seeing with Jan Perry

Saturday is one of the most exciting days on the Internet - at least it is for me. All the online Advent calendars are activated and begin their various countdowns. Some are religious in nature while others are just for fun. I've tried to keep my comments short to fit in as many as possible. And if you find a good one that I've missed, I hope you'll send a link or e-mail the address to me so I can enjoy it too and include it in a future column.

http://www.advent-calendars.com. If you're like me and can't wait to get started - visit Tate, my favorite black cat, whose stories and Advent calendars have been entertaining me since 1997. This year's won't begin until tomorrow, but you can check out his past ADVENTures including ...

http://www.advent-calendars.com/1997/calendar.html. This one was first posted several years ago, but it is still one of the most charming I've ever seen. Enjoy the daily mail from Bear relatives throughout the world and watch as the Bear family (and Tate of course) decorate and prepare for the holidays.

http://www.cookierecipe.com/cat/christmas.asp. Here's a tasty idea from the folks at All Recipes - each day another cookie recipe will be added to the tree.

http://www.santa.gl. Santa in Greenland is a wonderful site for young people. While the 2001 calendar is still in ''no peeking'' mode, you're invited to take a look at past year's efforts. The animations may take a minute to load, but they're worth it.

http://www.rooneydesign.com/advntcal.html.This one is for all ages. I discovered it a couple of years ago and it still makes my list. (Doors 3, 8 and 16 are my personal favorites.)

http://www.castlearcna.com/christmas. Another old friend, the Castle Arcana site has been updated for 2001. This is a spectacular calendar with wonderful treasures to be discovered. Please note - while the drawing is loading don't move your cursor across it or you'll spoil one of the site's surprises.

http://www.jojofalk.se/x-mas. This is a cute small site by two international illustrators.

http://www.billybear4kids.com. Another bear story - If you haven't discovered the Billy Bear site, there's no better time. Click on holidays to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. The Advent calendar is already activated through the 25th, but since the hidden ''presents'' include wallpaper, cursor icons and holiday graphics for you to download, you might want to check this one out early.

http://www.fairycalendar.com. This one is promised - but not yet on the Web site - so I can only suggest you visit tomorrow as I plan to and see if this fairy calendar magically appears.

Jan Perry is a freelance writer. Send questions or suggestions to her at SiteSeer2K@aol.com.