Google's Santa Tracker Will Make Your Day Merry and Bright!

In case you haven't seen it yet, Google's Santa Tracker is amazing!  This website is sure to get you more into the holiday spirit.  According to Santa's Dashboard, he is currently traveling from Russia to Georgia and has already delivered almost 3.5 billion presents!  He even posts status updates like "Ho ho ho! This is my favorite day of the year" and "I'm getting a little too big for these chimneys!"

Santa's Dashboard - Google Santa Tracker

In addition to tracking Santa's journey around the world, there are many other fun parts of the site to explore.  Go to the Village and click away.... You can see the elves in Santa's Workshop, play games, click the sun to change from day to night, and more.  Click the yellow circle at the top right of the page to find the main menu.

Feeling the urge to be cultural?  Christmas Traditions Around the World is amazing!  If you only read one.... Iceland.  Do you know about Iceland's Christmas Cat?  It's interesting!  Go find out.  Share with friends.  Have a fascinating conversation topic for the dinner table!

This is my favorite part of the site: You can create a fun Call From Santa to send to friends and family!  I think you all will enjoy making one yourselves!  Here's a sample of my message I created for my sister:

Call From Santa - Google Santa Tracker

Thanks to Google for the great site!  Have a wonderful holiday season, and Merry Christmas from all of us at LYNKtec!

Funny Articles To Make Your Christmas Extra Merry

Christmas is only 5 days away!  Whether you're a last-minute shopper or someone who thinks up gifts throughout the year, you'll probably relate to one of these.



Here are a couple of funny articles to make your holiday season extra merry.  Share with friends and family and spread some joy!

23 Signs You're Obsessed with Christmas 

- by Mackenzie Kruvant, Buzzfeed

My favorite on the list:

17. Even your pets can't escape your joy.

....and this might be the most fantastic thing I've read this holiday season.

23 Ways to Celebrate Christmas Like A Dad 

- by Jessica Misener, Buzzfeed

My favorites on the list:

2. Try to save money in fun ways whenever possible.

18. Follow directions carefully.

Best of luck with your shopping, and have a wonderful holiday season!

12 Fun Facts About Cyber Monday and Online Shopping

Cyber Monday 2013 has been confirmed as the biggest online shopping day ever!  Online sales reached $1.735 billion, up 18% from Cyber Monday 2012.

In honor of this record-breaking day, I compiled a list of fun facts for you....

15 Fun Facts About Cyber Monday and Online Shopping

1. "Cyber Monday" was born in 2005.  Shop.org - a division of the National Retail Foundation - created the term to reflect the huge spike in online shopping that occurs the Monday after Thanksgiving.

2. 27.7 million people shopped online on Cyber Monday in 2005.

3. Sales on Cyber Monday were $484 million in 2005 vs. $1.735 billion in 2013.


4. 17% of shoppers used mobile devices to purchase things on Cyber Monday 2013, an increase of 55% from 2012.

www.theguardian.com

5. New Yorkers spent the most money online for this year's Cyber Monday, according to IBM.  Next on the list: Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.


6. In 2012, online shopping peaked at 11:25am EST, and the average order was $185.12 on Cyber Monday.


7. Cyber Monday sales through the years:

• 2005  -  $484 Million
• 2006  -  $608 Million
• 2007  -  $733 Million
• 2008  -  $846 Million
• 2009  -  $887 Million
• 2010  -  $1.028 Billion
• 2011  -  $1.251 Billion
• 2012  -  $1.465 Billion
• 2013  -  $1.735 Billion

8. The Top 50 Countries for online shoppers as of July 2013:

Source: Cushman & Wakefield "Global Perspective on Retail: Online Retailing", July 2013

9. Shoppers spend an average of $100 on themselves while doing their holiday shopping.


10. According to retail studies, customers may leave a store, even if they're interested in making a purchase, because of the "butt brush" - a term for invasion of a customer's personal space.

whyatt.com.au

11. Shoppers average 5 trips to the mall to get all of their gifts during the holiday season.



12. Last minute shopper?  Me too!  Don't feel guilty.... 40% of the entire holiday season sales are made between December 15-24.

cartoonblog.nbcnews.com

 Happy

Shopping!

http://marketingland.com/comscore-cyber-monday-desktop-sales-hit-1-735-billion-confirming-biggest-online-shopping-day-ever-67072

http://www.bestcomputerscienceschools.net/cyber-monday/

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/early-start-hurts-black-friday-sales-cyber-monday-hits-record-2D11691586

http://www.ibtimes.com/cyber-monday-sales-break-records-mobile-commerce-international-consumers-exploit-us-thanksgiving

http://www.ubmfuturecities.com/author.asp?section_id=242&doc_id=525481

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/cybermonday-2012-breaks-sales-records/53386/

http://voices.yahoo.com/10-fun-facts-holiday-shopping-12362954.html