www.roanoke.com

We always thought Mrs. Claus just stayed at home, ironing her husband's red suit and bringing his slippers to the fireplace when he got home from a hard day at work, right? Of course, it is to be assumed that she's a great cook, considering how jolly and round the Clauses both are. But did you know that she's actually making money off her recipe collection using a clever mass e-mail technique?

I'm not even sure if Santa knows about this. Maybe she's doing it and saving up all her money so she can buy her OWN sleigh and reindeer crew. Whatever the story, many of you probably remember receiving an e-mail forward around this time last year that contained a huge list of cookies. Each and every cookie name was a live link that took you to a recipe for that cookie online. I believe we talked about it and marveled over the genius of the idea.

This year, the same kind of e-mail is going out, but it contains a list of cakes. When I clicked on each cake name, it took me to a recipe. And this year I notice it always takes me to the same Web site, www.northpole.com.

On that Web site, there are all kinds of cute interactive Christmas-related games that the young and the young at heart can play. But if you click on the ginger bread house and then "Mrs. Claus' cookbook," you will hit the mother lode of Christmas sweets recipes.

The cake recipes are all there, as are the cookie recipes. But so are hundreds of recipes for pies, candies, fudge, breads and more! If you're searching for a recipe that you haven't seen for a long time, this might be the place to look. While you're on there, let your little ones play around a bit on the site. It's a really cute site and a great place to get the family in the mood for the holidays... if you're ready, that is.