Microsoft's Holiday Extravaganza is turning out to be more surprising than I expected and it's not just because of cheap deals. The one-day-only offers that drop every morning around 9am EST from December 18th through the 31st have so far produced some novelties like 2010 party glasses for your Avatar and a matching theme. I'm sure more discount priced games are on the way after Worms 2, but Monday's offer was a surprise in more ways than one.

Avatar Golf, a modest little golf game by Barkers Crest Studio, has been on the Indie Games Channel since September. It looks every bit as good as an official Live Arcade release and builds on their previous Indie title, Easy Golf, in every way, the inclusion of Avatars chief among them. To date, Microsoft has kept their distance from their own Indie Games program, choosing to rarely mention it anywhere else on the Xbox's sprawling interface than in its own dedicated channel. To hear in advance from @MajorNelson on Twitter that the game was going on sale as part of the Holiday Extravaganza was stunning, and not in a bad way.

Part of Microsoft's problem these days is that they can't stoke the synergy between their numerous products. Windows 7, Zune, Bing, Xbox 360, and Windows Mobile all have radically different interfaces and features; they also have problems playing nice with one another which seems inconceivable from a company as technologically savvy as Microsoft. So to see them taking advantage of their overlooked Indie Games and putting Avatar Golf directly in the spotlight seems like a step in a good direction. It ups the expectations of Indie Games developers, it gives Microsoft more exclusive games to sell, and it means more and better stuff for us as consumers. I'd tell you to jump on the Avatar Golf deal right now but that short day will have passed by the time you're reading this so why not take a few minutes this holiday week and peek into the Indie Games Channel. Your download might be the one that turns Microsoft's gaze onto the next surprise offer.