Real Christmas jumped to a PR2 ranking during the month of June. The site has had good off-season traffic and apparently good linking, despite the fact that we haven’t started cross linking the site yet. This is a very good beginning for a blog.

Our first developed keyword-specific domain, CandyCane.ws, was launched today, 1 July 2007.

CandyCane.ws is the resource for all things related to candycanes:

Candycane History tells the story of how candycanes came to be a Christmas tradition. In a little less than 100 years the candycane has become as synonomous with Christmas as mistletoe and the Christmas tree! This fascinating look back in time at candycanes is a great story of Christmas imagination and good old fashion American entrepreneurial ingenuity!

Candycane Myths explains how some have added more meaning to the candycane than originally intended. Some celebrate Christmas as a sacred event and even the candycane has been drawn into the controversies and symbolisms of the Christmas season. This section of our site sets the record straight concerning what is thought in some places about candycanes and and is true about the origins of this favorite holiday treat.

Candycane Recipes is a section of our site entirely devoted to cooking with candycanes. They are not just for hanging on the tree! Any manner of treats can be made with the candycane and we’ll show you some of the best recipes.

Candycane Projects is all about doing things with candycanes besides eating them! You can make all manner of fun things using candycanes as your building blocks — and we’ll show you how!

CandyCane.ws was announced through the Merry Forums and will be linked throughout the network in the coming weeks. We have already seen good organic traffic from this domain even though we’re in the Christmas off-season and have done little so far to market the site.

The Merry Network has just acquired the following keyword domain names:

christmasstocking.ws
saintnick.ws
tracksanta.ws
emailsanta.ws
santatracker.ws
wreath.ws
wisemen.ws
wassail.ws
frosty.ws
christmascookies.ws
tinsel.ws
mrsclaus.ws
grinch.ws
scrooge.ws
stockingstuffer.ws
waronchristmas.us
christmaswrap.net
blackfridaymania.com

These domains will be put on a fast track for development and represent a great opportunity to grow the organic traffic now coming to our Christmas sites.

In advance of the 2007 holiday season the Merry Network is developing the following domains:

Eggnog.ws
Candycane.ws
Mistletoe.ws
Twinklelights.org
RealThanksgiving.com
RealHalloween.com
HalloweenIndex.com
ThanksgivingIndex.com

Though beta versions of these sites will launch soon, official launch dates are targeted for the September/October time frame.

In addition, the domain defendsanta.com has been added and will point to the redeveloped site DefendingSanta.com which is targeted for a late summer 2007 relaunch as well.

The Merry Network proudly announces the launch of a special new site — ClausNET.com.

What is ClausNET.com?

ClausNET is a world wide community devoted to bringing joy and happiness to the children of the world. The ClausNET community is made up of men and women dedicated to the faithful portrayal of Santa Claus (Father Christmas, Père Noël, Kris Kringle, Sinterklas, Joulupukki…), Mrs. Claus, Elves, and all others who devote their time to bringing the magic of Christmas to children and adults throughout the world!

The primary goal is to bring together fellow Santa, Mrs. Claus, Elves, and Santa’s Helpers for the purposes of sharing; sharing stories, advice, news, and information. Additionally, it is a resource for Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Elves – new and old. But most importantly, members of ClausNET come together to build friendships.

The Elements of ClausNET.com
You do not need to register to read the main forums of ClausNET. However, in order to post to these forums it will be necessary for you to become a registered member.

Portal
The ClausNET portal is where members are first greeted upon visiting the site. There members have access to the most recent discussion topics, news headlines, latest blog entries, and more!

Forum
The discussion forum is the heart of our site. There you will find a variety of topical forums that include; sharing your favorite Christmas stories, discussions on Christmas traditions and the history of Santa Claus, Christmas in the news and the latest toy updates, job postings, Santa resources, and member get togethers.

Gallery
Registered members of our community each have their very own photo album to share their favorite snapshots! Members can view, comment on, and rate gallery images.

Blogs
Have something to say? Registered members of ClausNET can enter the blogosphere here though our site. Blogs can be private to select visitors or public to the world.

Live Chat
The Live Chat feature of ClausNET is incorporated into the site and allows members to enter chat rooms and talk with other members in real time.

Arcade
The Arcade feature of ClausNET.com allows members to play games online and post their scores. Members with the highest scores receive trophies!

Member Map
Registered members are able to “pin” their location on a map of the world.

Calendar
When is the next Santa Get Together? Whose birthday is coming up? How many days till Christmas? A community Calendar is integrated into the site for sharing dates and up coming events.

Christmas Classifieds, a Merry Network developed site, has been sold.

The site will remain an affiliate of the Merry Network which means that it will continue to be connected to other network sites to share traffic and advertising revenue.

It is our most ambitious link project ever — Link Christmas, the World’s Biggest Christmas Link Directory.

Featuring a a script by E-Syndicat, Link Christmas will be hand edited to not only establish but also maintain a comprehensive listing of Christmas online. This project will take years to realize but we believe we are better positioned than anyone to link to the best of Christmas out there.

We’re calling it The War on the War on Christmas.

We’re not trying to be funny or redundant. We’re just trying to wage a little peace in the annual distraction that has been dubbed the War on Christmas. Featuring “war” news and arbitrating the public debate, Defend Christmas is a smartly designed quick read that will prove to be a valuable resource no matter which side of the debate you fall on.