Advent sites offer inspiration, fun

Site-Seeing with Jan Perry

For all the moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, teachers and kids who have been waiting for the big Christmas countdown, today's column is all about Advent calendars. There are hundreds available in virtual versions with clickable doors which open to reveal everything from Bethlehem to Barney.

http://users.intercomm.com/greg/christmas/advent.html. New for this year, Greg Brother offers both an Advent calendar and a page full of Christmas fun.

http://www.bahnhof.se/~vette/code/caleng.html. An endearing entry from Sweden (in English) with daily chapters from Mr. Vette and the adventure of the lost book of Christmas. The whole month is already posted if you just can't wait to read the end. Original art is charming.

http://christmas.faithweb.com. One of the best from 1999, this animated Advent tree tells the story of Christmas. (My favorite is the cartwheeling Santa.) http://www.musearts.com/castlearcana/christmas. A new one from one of my favorites, Castle Arcana offers an interactive Advent calendar for all ages. Use your cursor to color before you click. Also wonderful here are the animated greeting cards.

http://www.crosswalk.com/advent. An interesting variation on the traditional Advent calendar, Crosswalk offers a daily newsletter with scripture, seasonal story, commercial suggestions and a look at Christmas in a selected foreign country. Dec. 1-3 are already posted. Aimed at adults.

http://www.geocities.com/Enchante dForest/4841/advent.html. Strictly for kids. Visit the Mousepad Advent calendar for some animated fun.

http://toonacat.com/xmas/tree.html. You can't even peek at the first window until Thursday, but if the 2000 calendar from ToonaCat is as much fun as the last year's, this is a must-visit.

http://www.advent-calendars.com. Another great one from last year will be updated for 2000. Join Tate and Pierre (another cat tale) for their international Advent adventures. Text available in English, French or Italian.

http://www.currentcatalog.com/Adventtemp.html. If you're looking for an Advent calendar to give as a gift, the Current catalog folks have a sweet one available. For $5, your special child will receive a daily Advent greeting featuring the bunnies millions have loved on their cards. Sign up now so they don't miss a day.

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