It’s that time of year again when the Christmas trees come out, the Christmas lights go up and the shops are filled to capacity as people search for the perfect gift.

Businesses put a lot of effort and preparation into spreading Christmas cheer within their stores and around the workplace but generally not so much online. Why is that? Everyone loves Google’s holiday logos so why don’t more business do something similar?

Adding some Christmas spirit to your own site is a great way to connect with your visitors and show that your site is kept up-to-date.

We think that there needs to be more of it. So, to help you, here are a few examples of ways that you can add some joy to your own website this Christmas:

• Add some Christmas wallpaper. It doesn’t have to be over the top or tacky (in fact we advise against this). A few transparent snow flakes over an existing background or a simple pattern using the customary red, green and white will usually do.
• Add some decorations. Just like your office or home, why not add some stockings, tinsel or a Christmas tree to your website (but again, don’t go overboard). Simply modify some of your existing graphics (remembering to make a backup of the originals) and you are good to go. A great example is the Canberra Furnished Accommodation website where they have added a stylish looking Santa hat to the corner of their logo.
• Add a Christmas counter. Working so hard you are not sure how many days are left until Christmas? Or perhaps you want to give you customers a subtle reminder that there aren’t too many shopping days left? Why not add a counter to your site counting down the number of days left until Christmas? There are lots of generic timers available online if you do a quick search of Google but if your having trouble finding one, I found this one especially for Christmas which even comes as a WordPress plugin.
• Add some falling snow. If you are feeling a little bit more adventurous you can also add some falling snow to your site like that used on Ma.tt’s website. You can download the code for it here.