What are some of the best places to see the jolly old elf? The Web site travelwithkids.about.com has you covered with its list of the top ways to catch up with St. Nick.

Here are a few of the highlights:

The Polar Express: Based on the popular children’s book.

Christmas Candylane, Hershey, Pa.: “Chocolate Town” offers all kinds of takes on the Santa experience.

Bethlehem, Conn., “The Christmas Town”: Santa opens the Christmas Town Festival by lighting a 75-foot tree.

Santa’s Village, White Mountain, N.H.: Need a little Christmas in July? This is the place. The elf is on hand for the holidays, too.

Santa Fe, N.M.: Catch Santa at “Christmas at the Palace,” featuring Hispanic, Anglo, and American Indian traditions.

To read more about all these, and to see more, visit About.com.

Here is a selection of best sellers and popular gift ideas from Amazon.com:

• Samsung Touch of Color T260HD 26-Inch LCD HDTV Monitor — Beautiful inside and out, the Samsung Touch Of Color Monitor is a great way to get the most out of your PC — as well as watch your favorite 1080p HDTV broadcasts. It features an embedded DTV tuner that enables you to watch digital HD broadcasts without a special receiving set. And with six image input terminals, you can connect several pieces of digital equipment to the T260HD and use them simultaneously.
• Citizen Eco-Drive Men’s Chronograph Canvas Watch is powered by the Eco-Drive movement, which runs continuously in any kind of natural or artificial light for a lifetime of use. Fueled by light, it never needs a battery. This watch has a stainless steel case, military green strap, and a 1 second chronograph and 12/24 hour time indicator.
• 14k Gold, Round, Diamond Stud Earrings — Extra 40% Off at Checkout. Simple enough for daytime wear, yet radiant with evening attire, diamond stud earrings offer sophistication and versatility all in one beautiful package. Available in 14 karat white or yellow gold.
• Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube — Ideal for children of all ages! Create original music from 5 different instruments (French horn, flute, piano, violin and harp) or play music from eight Mozart compositions. Large colorful buttons light up to the tempo of the music. Soft, rounded corners make it easy for a baby to hold. Batteries included.
• Keurig B30 Mini Personal Single-Serve Brewing System — The new mini brewer from Keurig is perfect for coffee lovers and makes a single-serving in less than three minutes, with no messy grinding and no cleanup. The unit uses Keurig’s patented K-Cups, which offer over 70 varieties of pre-measured gourmet coffee and tea from a variety of premium brands. Ten K-Cups come with the machine.
• Il Divo — Refreshed, reinvigorated, and ready to remind the world just what we’ve been missing. The original and most popular operatic quartet returns with its richest, most dynamic and diverse album, “The Promise”.
• Maxim — On sale for only $5, this is one of over a hundred magazines on sale through December 31. Find great gifts for everyone on your list, and print out personalized magazine gift cards right away.
• Philips Sonicare FlexCare Rechargeable Sonic Toothbrush with Sanitizer — Your readers can get a promotional certificate good for $40 off a future Amazon.com purchase when they spend $139 on select Norelco, Sonicare, and Bliss Philips products offered by Amazon.com. Eligible products include Sonicare FlexCare power toothbrushes and Norelco arcitec shavers.
• Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Kit — Transform your music gaming into a cooperative band experience. Starting Tuesday, Dec. 2 and continuing each day for 15 consecutive days, Amazon Video Games will be featuring one new, terrific deal for your gaming pleasure, kicking off with the Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Kit (available for multiple platforms). Quantities will be limited!
• The Dark Knight on Blu-ray DVD -Available on Dec. 9, Batman and the Joker will be unleashed on Gotham—and the world—just in time for the holidays. Find The Dark Knight on DVD, Blu-ray, and special editions (plus other Batman-related products) in our Dark Knight store.

Source: Amazon.com

Time magazine sorted through the most useful Web presences, and some that simply serve to suppress office productivity. The result is “50 Best Web sites 2008″:

Here’s a look at the first 10:

1. GasBuddy: Guide to cheapest gas prices in your area.

2. Howcast: Practical advice with a bit of whimsy.

3. iliketotallyloveit.com: Shoppers post photos and solicit opinions on items they like.

4. Omiru: Figure out what looks good on you.

5. PsychCentral: Online quizzes provide psychological insights.

6. TripKick: Avoid bad hotel rooms.

7. Wikitravel: Updated travel hints and information.

8. Yahoo! Answers: Submit questions, get answers, some of which might actually be helpful.

9. Zeer: Nutritional labels for packaged foods.

10. Afrigadget: Simple, sustainable inventions in Africa.

Check out the complete list and a slideshow at Time.

The all-time leader probably comes as no surprise, and he leads by a comfortable margin.

Who else made the cut?

Here’s the list:

1. Elvis Presley: 108

2. James Brown: 89

3. Aretha Franklin: 73

T3. Ray Charles: 73

5. The Beatles: 72

6. Elton John: 67

7. Stevie Wonder: 63

8. The Rolling Stones: 57

9. Marvin Gaye: 56

T9. Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons: 56

T9. Dionne Warwick: 56

If you are considering the trek, Forbes Traveler has done some of the advance scouting for you. Check out their “Top Australian Travel Experiences.”

Here’s a quick peek at the list:

Kimberley Wilderness

Sailing the Whitsundays

Great Australian Cattle Drive

Driving the Great Ocean Road

Overland Track in Tasmania

Dinner at the Sydney Opera House

Heron Island

Anangu Aboriginal Tour at Uluru

Sunrise in the Yarra Valley

Surfing at Bondi Beach

Diving with Whale Sharks at Ningaloo Reef

To read all about these exotic locales, and to check out a slide show, visit Forbes Traveler.

Here are the key features of the HP Pavilion G50-124nr Notebook PC:

• Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1
• 2GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core Mobile Processor T3200, 1MB L2 cache, and 667MHz front side bus
• 15.4″ (diagonal) BrightView WXGA high-definition widescreen
• HDMI port
• 3072MB DDR2 SDRAM (2 DIMM)
• Integrated 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN modem
• Wireless1
• HP LightScribe2 disc labeling
• 250GB (5400 rpm) hard drive
• Double-layer DVD±R/RW SuperMulti drive
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M graphics (up to 1277MB total graphics memory)
• Webcam and integrated microphone
• 5-in-1 digital media card reader
• ENERGY STAR® qualified system with HP’s take-back options, including trade-in, recycling, and donation

Source: Amazon.com/HP

Alabama continues to top the Bowl Championship Series standings through games of Nov. 29. A 12-0 record kept the Crimson Tide ahead of No. 2 Oklahoma (11-1), which leapfrogged 11-1 Texas after its 61-41 win over Oklahoma State. The switch put the Sooners in the Big 12 championship game against Missouri.

Alabama weighs in with a BCS score of .9713, while Oklahoma is at .9351. Texas is right on the Sooners’ heels with a .9223 score.

The number is by achieved by combining the results of the USA Today coaches’ poll, the Harris Interactive poll, and six computer rankings. The top two teams in the final BCS poll will play for the national championship.

Here are the top 10, with games remaining:

1. Alabama: .9713 (Florida in SEC championship game)

2. Oklahoma: .9351 (Missouri in Big 12 championship game)

3. Texas: .9223

4. Florida: .8851 (Alabama in SEC championship game)

5. Southern California: .8076 (UCLA)

6. Utah: .7844

7. Texas Tech: .7705

8. Penn State: .7373

9. Boise State: .7034

10. Ohio State: .6340

• Our Song
• Stay Beautiful
• White Christmas
• Forever & Always
• Love Story
• A Place in this World
• You Belong With Me
• You’re Not Sorry
• Breathe
• Tell Me Why

Source: Amazon.com

• Taylor Swift Performance Collection “Our Song” Singing Doll
• Taylor Swft “Teardrops” Singing Doll
• Taylor Swift Sundress Medley Fashion Collection Doll
• Taylor Swift Pretty in Pink Fashion Collection Doll
• Taylor Swift Red Carpet Ready Fashion collection Doll
• Taylor Swift dazzle in Denim Fashion Collection Doll

Source: Amazon.com 

Trevor Baylis Wind-Up Eco Media Player — Enjoy music, video & photos off-the-grid with this self-powered multi-media gadget. One minute of winding its hand crank provides up to 40 minutes of digital music, video and FM radio for this media player.

Key features:

• Color LCD screen and 24-bit digital audio processing and in-ear headphone
• Supports MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV and Ogg Vorbis audio, and all video file types (after conversion with included software)
• Stereo line-in allows 64/128/192K MP3 recording; text-file viewer lets you read on the go
• Slide show function displays JPEG, BMP and GIF files
• Also charges via USB
• Plays up to 20 hours on a full charge
• 2 gigabyte (500 songs) memory expandable with SD memory cards (not included)
• Can be used as an external hard drive
• Has a great FM radio built-in, and, believe it or not, a built-in L.E.D. flashlight
• Includes cell phone adapters for charging, built-in microphone, USB cable and 3.5mm stereo jack lead
• 4.5″H x 2.5″W x 1″D
• China

Source: Real Goods