•  www.melizo.com/festivals. Sent in by Ruth W. of Anderson, who wrote, "I am glad you included all holidays in your contest. It is true that Chanukah falls within the "Christmas season," but there are other Jewish celebrations with deeper meanings for us. This site includes them all. Just like many of the Christmas sites you'll be including, each holiday page includes suggestions for family activities to share that are both fun and help renew understanding."

Ruth is so right. These pages cover all Jewish holy days, including a multimedia remembrance in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. Oh, and she also recommended www.torahtots.com, a site filled with brightly colored pages, fun activities and a reader-friendly source of history -- a wonderful way to introduce children to their religion.

•  www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/christmas.html. Marta B. of Loveland explained why this site was so special to her. She wrote: "When I was young, the children were sent to bed early on Christmas eve. Then, at midnight we were awakened with the sound of Christmas bells. Presents had appeared under the tree and that was exciting, but instead of opening them right away, my parents and my grandfather read stories to us. Some were familiar, but others were of Christmas celebrations around the world. This site took me back to those wonderful memories."

•  www.santalives.com. Ellen E. of Dayton, Ky., sent this one in with the note, "This isn't the biggest site we've found, but there are lots of great games and puzzles made for young children. Kids have so much energy just before Christmas and this site keeps them busy. I've printed out almost everything and they work the puzzles over and over."

When I visited the site there was a warning that it was being repaired, but after a couple of tries I was able to get to most of the rooms. (It seems Mrs. Claus' Kitchen and the Reindeer Barn were still off limits.) Still, what is here is loads of fun and definitely worth a visit.

•  www.happychristmas.com. Dana P. from North College Hill sent along her favorite site with this short note: "This isn't the biggest, the most religious, the best design or the fanciest, but it might be the funniest and I don't know about you but this time of year I always need a good laugh."

Most of the sections here come from visitors who list their favorite spot to spend the holidays or their favorite seasonal television show or movie. But I have a feeling Dana's favorite section is called Christmas Catastrophes. Some of these stories are doozies.

•  www.northpole.com. Barbra Morrison, the general manager of Northpole.com wrote to explain some of the new areas and improvements at what is unquestionably one of the oldest, biggest and best Christmas sites on the Net. She wrote: "Even more has been happening at Santa's Secret Village this year, and I wanted to share the news with you. With all the new free activities, I am sure this will be the best ever visit."

The site is huge, with more than a hundred pages of clever and creatively designed activities to keep kids busy for hours. This one is sent in every year and usually by more than one reader.

•  www.razzledazzlerecipes.com. Site creator Mary Ellen wrote to invite all of our readers to visit both the holiday recipe site (razzle dazzle) and her warm and inviting host site at www.thatsmyhome.com.

Jan Perry is a freelance writer for The Post. Write to her at SiteSeer2K@aol.com.