Recently in Holiday Trends and Traditions Category

National Retail Federation
This site offers many stats and studies on shopping trends.

National Retail Federation: Holiday Survey Report

Public Interest Research Groups
Consumer protection, environmental groups, dangerous toys, etc.

BlackFridayAds.com
Use it to track sale trends for the holidays.

Purdue University: Holiday Shopping Facts and Figures
A study done in conjunction with the National Retail Federation.

National Consumers League: Holiday Shopping

Federal Trade Commission: Tips for Holiday Shopping Online

Consumer Federation of America

Bizrate.com
Site features holiday shopping statistics.

Shop.org
A division of National Retail Federation that gathers consumer survey information.

Identity Theft Resource Center

ConsumerSearch.com
Product reviews and research galore.

BlackFriday.info
Lists retailers and best deals.

SpamGourmet
Set up a temporary address for online shopping purposes.

Planetfeedback.com
Site measures online and offline shopping habits.

eMarketer
Has holiday shopping projections/stats.

Economy.com
Stories and indexes tracking the economy. Could be good for sourcing stories as well.

Federal Trade Commission: Holiday Shopping Tips/Protection

About.com: Consumer Retail Habits
Dozens of helpful links.

This to That: How to Fix Things
How to fix broken things. Handy during the holidays.

Lycos 50
What keywords are people searching during the holiday season?

CNN Money: Holiday Tipping Tips

EPA: Holiday Tips for Saving Money, Environment

UglyChristmasLights.com

Miscellaneous Trends

AllRecipes.com: Thanksgiving Tips

Prayer and Prayers: Dinner Blessings

Fimoculous 2008 End-of-Year Lists
Links to dozens of year-end lists from magazines, Web sites and other media outlets.

National Christmas Tree Association
Industry resources, stats, facts, etc.

NORAD Santa Tracker
Follow Santa's Christmas Eve travels with this GPS site. Very funny.

Prayer and Prayers: Dinner Blessings

Poynter.org: Summer Resources
Includes several July 4th and other links.

Holiday Travel Tips
Suggestions from AirSafe.com.

MSN: Fun Yuletide Facts

Sled Riding Locations
This site makes recommendations all across the country.

Earth911.org
Holiday recycling tips galore.

Poynter.org Holiday Resources
A fine collection of holiday links.

Oxford Dictionary: Origins of Christmas Cookie Names

Holiday Excuse Generator

Census: Thanksgiving by the Numbers

Time: History of Ugly Christmas Sweaters
Fun way to do a holiday trend story.

Census Bureau: Halloween Facts

American Academy of Pediatrics: Halloween Safety Tips

Census Bureau: Veteran's Day Facts and Stats

New Year's Traditions

123 New Year: New Year's Traditions

History of New Year's Resolutions

Resource Shelf: 2006 Year-in-Review: Organized by month, event, person, etc.

New Year's Resolutions: There are several Web sites willing to "help" you keep your resultions for 2003. MyGoals.com offers a plan and timetable to keep your resolution in line, and Hiaspire.com sends you a monthly reminder on how to save money, based on a list of resolutions. If dieting is your resolution, Cyberdiet.com helps you create a meal plan.

Labor Day Background

Fimoculous 2008 End-of-Year Lists
Links to dozens of year-end lists from magazines, Web sites and other media outlets.

WebMD: Healthy Holiday Food and Fitness

National Christmas Tree Association
Industry resources, stats, facts, etc.

NORAD Santa Tracker
Follow Santa's Christmas Eve travels with this GPS site. Very funny.

Prayer and Prayers: Dinner Blessings

Consumer Product Safety Commission

World Against Toys Causing Harm: 10 Most Dangerous Toys 2005
An annual list dating back to 1973.

U.S. Public Interest Research Group: Toy Safety
A downloadable .PDF of the annual report that finds toys for sale that violate a federal ban on small parts in toys.

MSNBC: Most Dangerous Toys List 2005

Sight & Hearing Association: Noisy Toys

Lion and Lamb Project: Dirty Dozen Violent Toys
A watchdog group that monitors the marketing of violence to children.

ToySafety.org
Another dangerous toy watchdog group. Does a 10 worst toys list.

FamilyEducation.com: Dangerous Toys

U.S. Consumer Protection: Recalled Toys 2000

National Safe Kids Campaign
A searchable site that features news and research on restraint laws for transportation, playground safety, holiday safety, etc.

20 Safety Tips for Decorating with Toddlers and Babies
Includes holiday decorating tips.

Firehouse.com Safe Kids Fact Sheets

American Specialty Toy Retailing Association
Largest association for companies in the toy and children's products arenas. Good for sourcing, research, retail statistics, parental tips, safety and industry links.

HealthyToys.org
Consumer action guide to toxic chemicals in toys.

Handmade Toy Alliance
A group of toy stores, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country who want to preserve unique handmade toys, clothes, and all manner of children's goods in the USA.

Time to Play Magazine
Safety, types of toys, blogs and some retail information.

Chicago Tribune: Toy Safety
Warnings on how to avoid buying secondhand toys that could be tainted with lead.

Consumer Product Safety Commission

World Against Toys Causing Harm: 10 Most Dangerous Toys 2005
An annual list dating back to 1973.

U.S. Public Interest Research Group: Toy Safety
A downloadable .PDF of the annual report that finds toys for sale that violate a federal ban on small parts in toys.

MSNBC: Most Dangerous Toys List 2005

Sight & Hearing Association: Noisy Toys

Lion and Lamb Project: Dirty Dozen Violent Toys
A watchdog group that monitors the marketing of violence to children.

ToySafety.org
Another dangerous toy watchdog group. Does a 10 worst toys list.

FamilyEducation.com: Dangerous Toys

U.S. Consumer Protection: Recalled Toys 2000

20 Safety Tips for Decorating with Toddlers and Babies
Includes holiday decorating tips.

National Safe Kids Campaign
A searchable site that features news and research on restraint laws for transportation, playground safety, holiday safety, etc.

Firehouse.com Safe Kids Fact Sheets

Census: Thanksgiving by the Numbers

U.S. Census Thanksgiving Fast-Facts
General statistics.

USDA Meat and Poultry: Holiday Food Safety
Look under featured topics menu and pull down to Holiday Food Safety.

USAToday.com: Slim Talks Turkey
How many calories must you burn to work off holiday turkey?

National Turkey Federation
Two dozen recipes from various chefs, including prep tips and video.

Reynolds Turkey Tips Line

Butterball Turkey Tips

Perdue Farms

USDA: Holiday Food Safety Tips

Center for Science in the Public Interest: Leftovers

Holiday Calorie Counter
Calculate how much you would have to walk to burn off the calories that you eat on Thanksgiving. The meal I anticipated would force me to walk 25 miles. I am rethinking my plan.

St. Patrick's Day

ReligionFacts.com: St. Patrick's Day Customs and History
Food, holiday symbols, traditions, etc.

St. Patrick's Day Myths and Facts

Irish History on the Web
A great launch point for Irish history: readings, references, photos, literature, historical documents, etc.

Royal Historical Society: Irish History Online

Miscellaneous

Prayer and Prayers: Dinner Blessings

Poynter.org: Summer Resources
Includes several July 4th and other links.

Holiday Travel Tips
Suggestions from AirSafe.com.

MSN: Fun Yuletide Facts

Sled Riding Locations
This site makes recommendations all across the country.

Earth911.org
Holiday recycling tips galore.

Poynter.org Holiday Resources
A fine collection of holiday links.

Holiday Excuse Generator

Census: Thanksgiving by the Numbers

Census Bureau: Halloween Facts

Census Bureau: Veteran's Day Facts and Stats

New Year's Traditions

123 New Year: New Year's Traditions

History of New Year's Resolutions

Resource Shelf: 2006 Year-in-Review: Organized by month, event, person, etc.

New Year's Resolutions: There are several Web sites willing to "help" you keep your resultions for 2003. MyGoals.com offers a plan and timetable to keep your resolution in line, and Hiaspire.com sends you a monthly reminder on how to save money, based on a list of resolutions. If dieting is your resolution, Cyberdiet.com helps you create a meal plan.

Labor Day Background

KidsHealth.org Fireworks Safety

Mental Floss Blog: Secrets Behind Your Famous Toys

Census: July 4 Stories

American University: Fourth of July Celebrations Database
Includes history, facts on the holiday.

CDC: Fireworks Injuries, Facts, Stats
Links to dozens of faiths and practices.

The National Council on Fireworks Safety
Database of state laws, tips, etc.

AmericanPyro.com
Site for the fireworks industry trade that features safety tips.

The History Channel: Fireworks History
Uses video and text to explain celebrations from China to the U.S.

National Confectioners Association

National Confectioners Association: Halloween 2004 Candy Sales

HowStuffWorks.com: How Halloween Works

JackO'Lanterns.net: Halloween Traditions
A great breakdown of traditions by country.

Holidays.net: The Story of Halloween
A great breakdown of traditions by country.

MinistryWatch.com
Evaluates more than 500 religion-based charities. Good for investigative pieces for the holidays.