As another bonkers holiday season gets underway, the best you can hope for is a few minutes with these relaxing yet visually arresting web toys.

First, Ball Droppings (no laughing, please), created by artist/designer Josh Nimoy, is both an addictive toy and an audio-visual performance instrument (it’s been featured in several multimedia art installations). Drawing lines creates rhythm and changes the pitch of the dropping balls.

Second, Music Catch is a simple web game accompanied by a soothing piano score and life coach-like encouragement: “Good job!,” “Amazing!” “Superb!” (The game’s developer, Isaac Shepard, also penned its neo-classic melody Before Dawn, now downloadable by popular demand.)

And finally, thisissand is a mesmerizing online sand painting application. Build striated sand castles while listening to new-age swishy sounds. Don’t forget to save your layered masterpiece to the online gallery, an archive of Missoni-esque designs.