Well, here ya go, the big secret is revealed.
#1 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: CHRISTMAS!!!!
Duh. What did you think it would be??
Christmas was, is and will always be my favorite holiday. I loved it when I was 5 opening new toys, I love it now...still opening toys.
I love it all, there is no other holiday like it...aside from my birthday, and they aren't about to make that a national holiday. No other holiday can possibly measure up.
Christmas is a magic that goes beyond words. The great Clark Griswold said "It means something different to everybody."
It means everything I have written about in this blog. Family, friends, memories, love, friendship, egg nog. And more. It's hard to explain really and I have tried to over these many many entries over the past month.
This blog has been read and enjoyed in: United States, Russia, Germany, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Puerto Rico and France. It has reached farther than I ever imagined. To all those who have read it, thank you very much.
"A very Merry Christmas, and a happy new year."- John Lennon
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
"They're Gonna Build A Toyland Town All Around The Christmas Tree."
"Santa Claus had come. Officially. We plunged into the cornucopia quivering with desire and the ecstasy of unbridled avarice."- Ralphie Parker
#2 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Christmas Morning.
Aside from the morning of my birthday and the morning of my wedding day, there is no other day that I wake up with the feeling of knowing what the day is. If that makes sense. I don't wake up on June 14 and go "IT'S FLAG DAY...YAHOO!"
I was usually the first one up. Some years it would depend, I would lie in my bed patiently til either our parents were awake or my sister had come by to wake me up or vice versa. We might have sneaked into the living room to make sure he actually came and wouldn't ya know it? He never forgot our house. That first look of the tree, usually lit up, rounding the hallway corner, into the living room...magic. We also made sure that Santa had indeed enjoyed the cookies and egg nog and given the celery and carrots to the reindeer...funny how the thank you note looked more and more like my Dad's handwriting....the gift tags looked a lot like Mom's writing....God bless 'em.
Now that we confirmed Santa had come it was time to get our parents up, if they hadn't heard "the prancing and pawing of each little hoof" already. Mom would sometimes make her and my dad coffee and dad would grab the camera. These pictures, are like time capsules. I can look at it and know exactly what year it was and know why I got what I got in the picture. These pictures are priceless treasures. The custom later evolved, once we were a little older, into us opening our stockings while we were waiting for our parents, but God help us if we touched anything else. Upon examination of our stocking items, which ranged from tissue packets, ties, a CD, Christmas candy (Santa was known for bringing those huge plastic candy canes filled with Reese's peanut butter cups or Hershey's Kisses) these were small tokens but very personalized. If you were to take our unwrapped stocking stuffers, throw them in a pile and sort them accordingly, you would have no problem figuring out to whom they belonged.
Opening presents soon commenced after this. One at a time and in orderly fashion, always making sure we were actually opening a gift meant for us. These gifts again were highly personalized to suit each of us, you could look at the spread of gifts after all was said and done and it all made sense. Opening each gift slowly, so to savor the moment and joy. We would usually be told once we got to the headliner item to save that one for last. We would then haul what we could to our room, making nothing important got thrown out. We would then have the 2nd course of breakfast (Christmas candy was the 1st course), watch the Christmas parade, watch more Christmas specials, call our grandparents, aunt and anyone one else to say merry Christmas. Get dressed and get ready to head to Grandma's around 12:30- 1PM.
For a refresher on the magic of Grandma's house see the "Grandma's House" entry.
When we were younger we would bring over 1 or 2 new toys that we couldn't wait to show them. Soon enough we would sit down to dinner. Pasta of some kind, ham, lamb or roast beef various sides and a parade of deserts and snacks. This would go on for hours. We would usually move onto the living room to watch the 24 hour marathon of "A Christmas Story" on TNT or TBS. I would always find time to play Deuces Wild with Grandpa and Dad. The entire afternoon and evening was a glad time of spending more time with each other, basking in the glory of another Christmas, wishing each year that I could freeze this moment in time and have it never end. Soon night would come and it would be time to go home. One last drive around the neighborhood near my Grandma's, down by the Bay and around our house, looking at all the houses all fancied up with excessive Christmas light displays. More of moving over our new stuff into our room and cleaning up the living room, as people would be coming over soon for my sister's birthday (whatever the weekend of Dec. 27th was). One last good belt of egg nog, one last viewing of A Christmas Story and it would all be over for another year. One last look at the tree it all it's heavenly glory and a smile.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
#2 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Christmas Morning.
Aside from the morning of my birthday and the morning of my wedding day, there is no other day that I wake up with the feeling of knowing what the day is. If that makes sense. I don't wake up on June 14 and go "IT'S FLAG DAY...YAHOO!"
I was usually the first one up. Some years it would depend, I would lie in my bed patiently til either our parents were awake or my sister had come by to wake me up or vice versa. We might have sneaked into the living room to make sure he actually came and wouldn't ya know it? He never forgot our house. That first look of the tree, usually lit up, rounding the hallway corner, into the living room...magic. We also made sure that Santa had indeed enjoyed the cookies and egg nog and given the celery and carrots to the reindeer...funny how the thank you note looked more and more like my Dad's handwriting....the gift tags looked a lot like Mom's writing....God bless 'em.
Now that we confirmed Santa had come it was time to get our parents up, if they hadn't heard "the prancing and pawing of each little hoof" already. Mom would sometimes make her and my dad coffee and dad would grab the camera. These pictures, are like time capsules. I can look at it and know exactly what year it was and know why I got what I got in the picture. These pictures are priceless treasures. The custom later evolved, once we were a little older, into us opening our stockings while we were waiting for our parents, but God help us if we touched anything else. Upon examination of our stocking items, which ranged from tissue packets, ties, a CD, Christmas candy (Santa was known for bringing those huge plastic candy canes filled with Reese's peanut butter cups or Hershey's Kisses) these were small tokens but very personalized. If you were to take our unwrapped stocking stuffers, throw them in a pile and sort them accordingly, you would have no problem figuring out to whom they belonged.
Opening presents soon commenced after this. One at a time and in orderly fashion, always making sure we were actually opening a gift meant for us. These gifts again were highly personalized to suit each of us, you could look at the spread of gifts after all was said and done and it all made sense. Opening each gift slowly, so to savor the moment and joy. We would usually be told once we got to the headliner item to save that one for last. We would then haul what we could to our room, making nothing important got thrown out. We would then have the 2nd course of breakfast (Christmas candy was the 1st course), watch the Christmas parade, watch more Christmas specials, call our grandparents, aunt and anyone one else to say merry Christmas. Get dressed and get ready to head to Grandma's around 12:30- 1PM.
For a refresher on the magic of Grandma's house see the "Grandma's House" entry.
When we were younger we would bring over 1 or 2 new toys that we couldn't wait to show them. Soon enough we would sit down to dinner. Pasta of some kind, ham, lamb or roast beef various sides and a parade of deserts and snacks. This would go on for hours. We would usually move onto the living room to watch the 24 hour marathon of "A Christmas Story" on TNT or TBS. I would always find time to play Deuces Wild with Grandpa and Dad. The entire afternoon and evening was a glad time of spending more time with each other, basking in the glory of another Christmas, wishing each year that I could freeze this moment in time and have it never end. Soon night would come and it would be time to go home. One last drive around the neighborhood near my Grandma's, down by the Bay and around our house, looking at all the houses all fancied up with excessive Christmas light displays. More of moving over our new stuff into our room and cleaning up the living room, as people would be coming over soon for my sister's birthday (whatever the weekend of Dec. 27th was). One last good belt of egg nog, one last viewing of A Christmas Story and it would all be over for another year. One last look at the tree it all it's heavenly glory and a smile.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
"Christmas Must Be Tonight."
Does it get any better than this?
#3 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Christmas Eve.
Throw back the egg nog, turn on the lights and don we now our gay apparel. CHRISTMAS EVE!!!! One of my favorite nights of the year.
I would dare say I have more fun Christmas Eve than on Christmas Day. Christmas Eve starts in full force in the morning at my house.
Christmas specials and Christmas music only. All day long.
Make sure bedrooms are in respectable order, vacuum the carpets, make sure the bathroom is decent, fresh towels (matching ones at that!), clutter free kitchen counters, living room tidied up, coats on parents. bed to make room for everyone else's, making sure Grandma and Grandpa's slippers were ready to go by the side door, make sure Christmas lights and outside lights are on.
It wouldn't be Christmas until I got my Christmas card from my 1st grade teacher and perhaps, the greatest teacher I ever had, Mrs. Marion B. Northrup. I have every card she has sent me since 1997 which list all the crazy travels and adventures she has had in the past year and what she has on tap for the new year. I should live to be in such good health, with the energy and means to live so well. A true inspiration.
Usually in the afternoon we would get our Christmas pajamas, us three kids would open our gifts for each other and hang our new Christmas ornaments on the tree.
Here we go again, haul up the large folding table and card table in kitchen from the basement and lug up the metal folding chairs (brown and coffee & cream in color) and place accordingly. Clear off the counter space to the right of the kitchen sink for our attempt at a bar, placing out the sauce of which no one drinks (Grandpa might throw a little Seagram's Whiskey in the coffee, but it doesn't get much more wild than that), next to those place the two liters of pop (we dont have soda in NY state) and the plastic cups, start oiling and cooking the sausage around 3 or 4, maybe roast some chestnuts (not over an open fire like the song suggests, that could get dangerous...especially indoors).
For a refresher on just what in the world we bought and why see the "Trip To Wegmans" Entry.
Cut the rolls for the sausage and place in basket, cut, nibble while no one is looking and put the pepperoni, salami, sopressata, provolone, olives and pickles on fancy plates, break out the mixed nuts with metal nutcrackers and place in baskets to be enjoyed later, schelp out the various condiments for the dinner and salad, place butter in dishes with knives for spreading said butter (keeping it classy for Jesus' b-day).
God bless if you are still reading because I'm not finished yet.
Grandparents arrive, give them their slippers and talk their ears off. When we were younger we would haul in garbage bags, I'm not exaggerating, of presents for everybody. Repeat process with Aunt Julie and Uncle Harry and Giavanna. Our living room was a maze of boxes. I got the pictures to prove it. Settle into a nice dinner, happily plowing through the homemade sausage, bacala as we chat and tell stories. Again as younger kids we would be wouldn't shut up until we got our presents. Not before desert, coffee, some sort of cake, Christmas cookies with enough frosting to kill a moose. This period was known as digestion. Code for "keep your pants on a minute, we aren't ready to open presents."
After "digestion" and dinner, we would change into our jammies. Grandma's logic "C'mon letsa make a them opena the presents so they shutup." But never was such a thing said with such love and care. Sometimes before, sometimes after I would read Twas The Night Before Christmas. We would all take a seat with our stash and commence opening in dignified and organized manner, wrapping paper in the garbage bags, announcing who the gifts were from and reading cards allowed...or so we tried to maintain this law and order. Though I must say our presents opening was never like it is on TV with kids just plowing through boxes, one at a time, or each of us opening one of our own gifts all together at the same time. Again in younger years it was boxes upon boxes. Clothes (how I wish for such a sensible gift now). Grandparents always came through with a box each of paper, envelopes, pens, pencils, markers, scotch tape and batteries (for some reason these were always hard to find items in our house, so we each were presented with our own stash).
Grandparents could also be counted on for one or two fun things (usually specific items that were easy to find...like a new CD or DVD that was new that wouldn't be much trouble finding). Aunt Julie could be counted on for the more amusing items that our Grandparents might not buy (keeping in mind my grandparents only got around to having a push button phone and answering machine somewhere around 1995...a VCR, video game system DVD player or computer has never seen the inside of their house). We boringly sat through the adults opening their gifts to and from each other...never suspecting that one day, I would be in their shoes, getting excited over a coffee maker (funny story...I'm not even coffee drinker, but I would be excited if I got one).
We would usually take our bounty to our rooms to make room for Santa and open up and play with anything sensible and fairly easy (again this detail varied by the year, as we got older, the toys became fewer, as one might expect). Back into the kitchen for more sweets and treats. Sometimes cocktail shrimp, sometimes pizza bread, sometimes a ChexMix of some sort, sometimes cheesecake and more cookies...in short, we continued eating.
Soon enough we would look tired and Grandma and Grandpa would call for their coats and boots and Grandpa would fire up the car, bid farewell and know we would see them again soon enough, my Aunt and Uncle would usually follow suit. We would each pick a cookie or two and pour some milk or egg nog for Santa, while making sure to leave carrots and celery for the reindeer. In later years, my sister and I would help clean up the house, which was generally speaking, a disaster area by this point before heading to bed. Put on Christmas music and fell to sleep. As a kid I remember seeing the soft glow outside, falling asleep with the vision of Santa Claus coming in my front door with our presents, polishing off the snack, unloading the goods and making it out without waking a soul.
The things I would give to have some of that magic back. Just one more time.
#3 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Christmas Eve.
Throw back the egg nog, turn on the lights and don we now our gay apparel. CHRISTMAS EVE!!!! One of my favorite nights of the year.
I would dare say I have more fun Christmas Eve than on Christmas Day. Christmas Eve starts in full force in the morning at my house.
Christmas specials and Christmas music only. All day long.
Make sure bedrooms are in respectable order, vacuum the carpets, make sure the bathroom is decent, fresh towels (matching ones at that!), clutter free kitchen counters, living room tidied up, coats on parents. bed to make room for everyone else's, making sure Grandma and Grandpa's slippers were ready to go by the side door, make sure Christmas lights and outside lights are on.
It wouldn't be Christmas until I got my Christmas card from my 1st grade teacher and perhaps, the greatest teacher I ever had, Mrs. Marion B. Northrup. I have every card she has sent me since 1997 which list all the crazy travels and adventures she has had in the past year and what she has on tap for the new year. I should live to be in such good health, with the energy and means to live so well. A true inspiration.
Usually in the afternoon we would get our Christmas pajamas, us three kids would open our gifts for each other and hang our new Christmas ornaments on the tree.
Here we go again, haul up the large folding table and card table in kitchen from the basement and lug up the metal folding chairs (brown and coffee & cream in color) and place accordingly. Clear off the counter space to the right of the kitchen sink for our attempt at a bar, placing out the sauce of which no one drinks (Grandpa might throw a little Seagram's Whiskey in the coffee, but it doesn't get much more wild than that), next to those place the two liters of pop (we dont have soda in NY state) and the plastic cups, start oiling and cooking the sausage around 3 or 4, maybe roast some chestnuts (not over an open fire like the song suggests, that could get dangerous...especially indoors).
For a refresher on just what in the world we bought and why see the "Trip To Wegmans" Entry.
Cut the rolls for the sausage and place in basket, cut, nibble while no one is looking and put the pepperoni, salami, sopressata, provolone, olives and pickles on fancy plates, break out the mixed nuts with metal nutcrackers and place in baskets to be enjoyed later, schelp out the various condiments for the dinner and salad, place butter in dishes with knives for spreading said butter (keeping it classy for Jesus' b-day).
God bless if you are still reading because I'm not finished yet.
Grandparents arrive, give them their slippers and talk their ears off. When we were younger we would haul in garbage bags, I'm not exaggerating, of presents for everybody. Repeat process with Aunt Julie and Uncle Harry and Giavanna. Our living room was a maze of boxes. I got the pictures to prove it. Settle into a nice dinner, happily plowing through the homemade sausage, bacala as we chat and tell stories. Again as younger kids we would be wouldn't shut up until we got our presents. Not before desert, coffee, some sort of cake, Christmas cookies with enough frosting to kill a moose. This period was known as digestion. Code for "keep your pants on a minute, we aren't ready to open presents."
After "digestion" and dinner, we would change into our jammies. Grandma's logic "C'mon letsa make a them opena the presents so they shutup." But never was such a thing said with such love and care. Sometimes before, sometimes after I would read Twas The Night Before Christmas. We would all take a seat with our stash and commence opening in dignified and organized manner, wrapping paper in the garbage bags, announcing who the gifts were from and reading cards allowed...or so we tried to maintain this law and order. Though I must say our presents opening was never like it is on TV with kids just plowing through boxes, one at a time, or each of us opening one of our own gifts all together at the same time. Again in younger years it was boxes upon boxes. Clothes (how I wish for such a sensible gift now). Grandparents always came through with a box each of paper, envelopes, pens, pencils, markers, scotch tape and batteries (for some reason these were always hard to find items in our house, so we each were presented with our own stash).
Grandparents could also be counted on for one or two fun things (usually specific items that were easy to find...like a new CD or DVD that was new that wouldn't be much trouble finding). Aunt Julie could be counted on for the more amusing items that our Grandparents might not buy (keeping in mind my grandparents only got around to having a push button phone and answering machine somewhere around 1995...a VCR, video game system DVD player or computer has never seen the inside of their house). We boringly sat through the adults opening their gifts to and from each other...never suspecting that one day, I would be in their shoes, getting excited over a coffee maker (funny story...I'm not even coffee drinker, but I would be excited if I got one).
We would usually take our bounty to our rooms to make room for Santa and open up and play with anything sensible and fairly easy (again this detail varied by the year, as we got older, the toys became fewer, as one might expect). Back into the kitchen for more sweets and treats. Sometimes cocktail shrimp, sometimes pizza bread, sometimes a ChexMix of some sort, sometimes cheesecake and more cookies...in short, we continued eating.
Soon enough we would look tired and Grandma and Grandpa would call for their coats and boots and Grandpa would fire up the car, bid farewell and know we would see them again soon enough, my Aunt and Uncle would usually follow suit. We would each pick a cookie or two and pour some milk or egg nog for Santa, while making sure to leave carrots and celery for the reindeer. In later years, my sister and I would help clean up the house, which was generally speaking, a disaster area by this point before heading to bed. Put on Christmas music and fell to sleep. As a kid I remember seeing the soft glow outside, falling asleep with the vision of Santa Claus coming in my front door with our presents, polishing off the snack, unloading the goods and making it out without waking a soul.
The things I would give to have some of that magic back. Just one more time.
"Now The Goose Is On The Table."
Not in our house it's not.
#4 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: The Centanni Family Christmas Eve Dinner.
Some have turkey with all the fixings (whatever those are). Some have...well, I don't know what other people have, but what we have...it only makes sense to us.
The headlining item of all Christmas eve...and New Year's eve...and 4th of July...and Memorial Day...Labor Day...or any occasion would be Grandpa's homemade Italian sausage. There is not a meat packing company on earth that can compete. Though there are a few little trusted shops back home that will do, it just isn't the same. This is a long and labor-intense process that has become less frequent in recent years but I do remember a few Christmases, once school was done, heading over to Grandma's to help Grandpa with the process in their completely furnished kitchen, in their fully finished, heated and plywood paneled basement, Sinatra and Tony Bennett cassettes in hand.
Told ya I was Italian.
Yes I have the recipe and no I won't give it here. I look forward to trying my hardest to make it just like he does. Yea I know I can get an attachment for our KitchenAid mixer, I want the standard sausage maker like he uses. If you're gonna do it, do it right. Those times of making and helping in the process will last a lifetime, I only wish I had the chance to do it more often.
The sausage thing seems weird to most people. It is not the most glamorous food on the planet, but it dates back to long before I was born. Tales of Christmas past come up often. Stories of everyone gathered at Grandma's upstairs and eventually downstairs, nibbling at snacks and treats all night, playing cards, playing music and waiting until midnight to fire up the sausage and eat "dinner" at a time when normal people are asleep or intoxicated. Only to come back in less than 12 hours and do it all again. These feasts included sausage then, they include them now and I will personally make sure they include them in the future. It's just an Italian thing, I guess. What we eat isn't always as important as why we eat them. Italians are known for a lot of things and among them is their natural knack of cooking and desire to do as much of it homemade as possible. It's part of our identity.
Then the next headlining item is the baccala. Oh sweet baby Jesus. I really don't think anyone can do it like he does. Yea I got the recipe and look forward to trying it and hoping for the best, but it may not measure up. For one, the fish is on the pricey side. Secondly, it takes days to soak and the water must be changed. Once it's fried up with just lemon juice to flavor only, heaven. This is an acquired taste and some find this fish appalling. Not me.
Other items usually include salt potatoes or seasoned potato wedges, side vegetables change from year to year, followed by salad with all the fun things that turn a salad from a healthy side dish to bad news (cheese, bacon bits, croutons...bad ideas). Plenty of genuine high-carb tasty Italian bread, including the fresh Italian sub rolls for the sausage. The antipasto....uffa! Pepperoni, sopressata, salami, 3-5 varieties of olives, provolone, and pickles (can't have a holiday without pickles). I would usually volunteer to cut and plate the pepperoni, sopressata and provolone, operating under the "3 for the plate, 1 for me" system of counting until I was found out and I was then usually relieved of my job.
Dinner itself was pretty much the same every year and that was fine with me. While certain items and side dishes changed from year to year, it was the entire act of Christmas dinner that I remember and treasure. Waiting like puppies at the front picture window for Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Julie, Uncle Harry & Giavanna to get to our house, watching the snow out the windows (messing up the drapes and fogging up the windows in the process), the blast of the frigid air when we opened the door, taking their coats and fetching our Grandparents' slippers, finishing up dinner, forming the line in the kitchen and finally settling in. Christmas had finally come. Here we were, Christmas had come again and we were all here to enjoy it. Dinner was just the first step in a two-day festival. Christmas Dinner was and is a time for stories and talking, loudly. What seems to me to be a normal talking voice seems like yelling to others.
Told ya I was Italian.
#4 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: The Centanni Family Christmas Eve Dinner.
Some have turkey with all the fixings (whatever those are). Some have...well, I don't know what other people have, but what we have...it only makes sense to us.
The headlining item of all Christmas eve...and New Year's eve...and 4th of July...and Memorial Day...Labor Day...or any occasion would be Grandpa's homemade Italian sausage. There is not a meat packing company on earth that can compete. Though there are a few little trusted shops back home that will do, it just isn't the same. This is a long and labor-intense process that has become less frequent in recent years but I do remember a few Christmases, once school was done, heading over to Grandma's to help Grandpa with the process in their completely furnished kitchen, in their fully finished, heated and plywood paneled basement, Sinatra and Tony Bennett cassettes in hand.
Told ya I was Italian.
Yes I have the recipe and no I won't give it here. I look forward to trying my hardest to make it just like he does. Yea I know I can get an attachment for our KitchenAid mixer, I want the standard sausage maker like he uses. If you're gonna do it, do it right. Those times of making and helping in the process will last a lifetime, I only wish I had the chance to do it more often.
The sausage thing seems weird to most people. It is not the most glamorous food on the planet, but it dates back to long before I was born. Tales of Christmas past come up often. Stories of everyone gathered at Grandma's upstairs and eventually downstairs, nibbling at snacks and treats all night, playing cards, playing music and waiting until midnight to fire up the sausage and eat "dinner" at a time when normal people are asleep or intoxicated. Only to come back in less than 12 hours and do it all again. These feasts included sausage then, they include them now and I will personally make sure they include them in the future. It's just an Italian thing, I guess. What we eat isn't always as important as why we eat them. Italians are known for a lot of things and among them is their natural knack of cooking and desire to do as much of it homemade as possible. It's part of our identity.
Then the next headlining item is the baccala. Oh sweet baby Jesus. I really don't think anyone can do it like he does. Yea I got the recipe and look forward to trying it and hoping for the best, but it may not measure up. For one, the fish is on the pricey side. Secondly, it takes days to soak and the water must be changed. Once it's fried up with just lemon juice to flavor only, heaven. This is an acquired taste and some find this fish appalling. Not me.
Other items usually include salt potatoes or seasoned potato wedges, side vegetables change from year to year, followed by salad with all the fun things that turn a salad from a healthy side dish to bad news (cheese, bacon bits, croutons...bad ideas). Plenty of genuine high-carb tasty Italian bread, including the fresh Italian sub rolls for the sausage. The antipasto....uffa! Pepperoni, sopressata, salami, 3-5 varieties of olives, provolone, and pickles (can't have a holiday without pickles). I would usually volunteer to cut and plate the pepperoni, sopressata and provolone, operating under the "3 for the plate, 1 for me" system of counting until I was found out and I was then usually relieved of my job.
Dinner itself was pretty much the same every year and that was fine with me. While certain items and side dishes changed from year to year, it was the entire act of Christmas dinner that I remember and treasure. Waiting like puppies at the front picture window for Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Julie, Uncle Harry & Giavanna to get to our house, watching the snow out the windows (messing up the drapes and fogging up the windows in the process), the blast of the frigid air when we opened the door, taking their coats and fetching our Grandparents' slippers, finishing up dinner, forming the line in the kitchen and finally settling in. Christmas had finally come. Here we were, Christmas had come again and we were all here to enjoy it. Dinner was just the first step in a two-day festival. Christmas Dinner was and is a time for stories and talking, loudly. What seems to me to be a normal talking voice seems like yelling to others.
Told ya I was Italian.
"Oh Bring Us A Figgy Pudding."
No thanks, a sugar cookie of a candy cane with enough frosting send my eyeballs to the back of my skull will do just fine, thank you.
#5 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Making Christmas Cookies.
What other holiday has cookies so closely associated with it? Flag Day? Hardly so.
Cookies are a huge part of the Christmas memory bank and fabric of the holiday itself. No one leaves a few slices of pizza, wings and a Coke/brewski for Santa (though you wanna talk about extra presents...try it this year and see what happens). We leave cookies for Santa and milk or egg nog to wash it down. Though now I look back and wonder, I hope he got to our house soon after we laid out his treats, the last thing he needs is warm milk that has been sitting at room temperature for several hours. Icky.
I can remember as children, both at our house and occasionally Grandma's and Aunt Julie's houses, we would make Christmas cookies. Well let me clarify that. We would generally make a mess, cut out the sugar cookies, impatiently wait for them to bake, then happily frost, ice, sprinkle them with all the fixings. We were better off shooting the sugar directly into our veins. Mom, God Bless her, we would have plates upon plates of these things...maybe it just seemed that way now, but there were no shortage of heavily frosted Christmas cookies in the house. My sister and later my brother, would pick one cookie that we each decorated to leave out for Santa. God bless our relatives who came over and knew with us, there was no way they were gonna get away with eating just one cookie.
This I remember as being a very fun afternoon or evening. Christmas music playing for sure. Nothing seemed to get us even more ready for Dec. 25 than making cookies on an ice cold December day. Aside a few store bought Christmas cookies/treats, Christmas cookies and assorted treats are best when the come from your own kitchen. They not only come from your kitchen but from your heart. My lovely wife has made some unspeakably amazing Christmas treats this year which include peppermint biscotti, egg nog fudge and snickerdoodles. You have no idea. And I know in some sugar overdosing sorta way, these are a small sign of love.
That's why the process of Christmas cookie making is such an important one. A simple pastime and expression of knowledge and love that one is never too old for. These are the things that matter most. Maybe that's what Christmas is all about in the end, an expression of love. An expression that exists in many many many different ways, making it all the more fun.
#5 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Making Christmas Cookies.
What other holiday has cookies so closely associated with it? Flag Day? Hardly so.
Cookies are a huge part of the Christmas memory bank and fabric of the holiday itself. No one leaves a few slices of pizza, wings and a Coke/brewski for Santa (though you wanna talk about extra presents...try it this year and see what happens). We leave cookies for Santa and milk or egg nog to wash it down. Though now I look back and wonder, I hope he got to our house soon after we laid out his treats, the last thing he needs is warm milk that has been sitting at room temperature for several hours. Icky.
I can remember as children, both at our house and occasionally Grandma's and Aunt Julie's houses, we would make Christmas cookies. Well let me clarify that. We would generally make a mess, cut out the sugar cookies, impatiently wait for them to bake, then happily frost, ice, sprinkle them with all the fixings. We were better off shooting the sugar directly into our veins. Mom, God Bless her, we would have plates upon plates of these things...maybe it just seemed that way now, but there were no shortage of heavily frosted Christmas cookies in the house. My sister and later my brother, would pick one cookie that we each decorated to leave out for Santa. God bless our relatives who came over and knew with us, there was no way they were gonna get away with eating just one cookie.
This I remember as being a very fun afternoon or evening. Christmas music playing for sure. Nothing seemed to get us even more ready for Dec. 25 than making cookies on an ice cold December day. Aside a few store bought Christmas cookies/treats, Christmas cookies and assorted treats are best when the come from your own kitchen. They not only come from your kitchen but from your heart. My lovely wife has made some unspeakably amazing Christmas treats this year which include peppermint biscotti, egg nog fudge and snickerdoodles. You have no idea. And I know in some sugar overdosing sorta way, these are a small sign of love.
That's why the process of Christmas cookie making is such an important one. A simple pastime and expression of knowledge and love that one is never too old for. These are the things that matter most. Maybe that's what Christmas is all about in the end, an expression of love. An expression that exists in many many many different ways, making it all the more fun.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
"Trim Up The Tree With Christmas Stuff."
Like bingle balls, and whofoo fluff.
#6 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Decorating/Putting Up The Tree.
This, is where it all begins. Decking the halls.
If there is anything I love more than looking/buying Christmas decorations, it's putting them up.
As a child this was one of my favorite nights of the year, as an adult, well, it is still one of my favorite nights of the year, though the official Charlie Brown Christmas tree doesn't take too long to put up. I look forward to a full blown decorated tree once we have the room.
This would usually be done on a Friday or Saturday night in early December. In later years my sister and I magically pushed this tradition up to Black Friday weekend. We would usually get pizza from Amico's or Pontillo's and then haul up all the decorations. Christmas cassettes (Beach Boys, Sinatra, Burl Ives, Elvis, Chipmunks, Tony Bennett) and later CDs a-blastin'. Our original tree, the one we grew up with was made by Mountain King. First the colored Christmas lights (Noma), then the silver tinsel. Our tree toppers varied throughout the years, the first one I remembered was a star, outlined in gold tinsel with different colored lights. We later moved onto a clear plastic star with the colored lights inside the star, pretty stunning.
Then the ornaments, oh holy cow, the ornaments. Boxes and boxes, we should bought stock in Hallmark years ago. Before long, we couldn't put them all on the tree. The generic bulbs and such generally would get fewer in number each year, so to make room for our ornaments that were given to us on Christmas eve. On the other hand, I wouldn't have it any other way. Our tree was a time capsule of us as kids, what we were into and what we liked. Where else can you find a Christmas tree with I Love Lucy, KISS, The Beatles, Disney Princesses, Babe Ruth and Barbie? That is what I liked best about our tree. That tree was all us. That sense of personalization is something I look forward to passing on.
My love for Christmas decorations, the tasteful and tacky, came from those early days. From the very nice nativity scene to the dancing and singing Santa dolls, I love it all. As I said, if there was an open spot in the house, it was Christmas-ed up. Even the drinking glasses for dinner were Christmas themed. We had Christmas nightlights, if I recall. No detail was spared and nothing was left without decoration. The entire process would usually take at least a full night and part of the next day. As always, wait for the sales and scoop up your treasures at sale price.
Decking the halls and trimming the tree have always been a highlight of the season for me and that will only continue to grow as time passes. Somethings you just don't outgrow.
#6 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Decorating/Putting Up The Tree.
This, is where it all begins. Decking the halls.
If there is anything I love more than looking/buying Christmas decorations, it's putting them up.
As a child this was one of my favorite nights of the year, as an adult, well, it is still one of my favorite nights of the year, though the official Charlie Brown Christmas tree doesn't take too long to put up. I look forward to a full blown decorated tree once we have the room.
This would usually be done on a Friday or Saturday night in early December. In later years my sister and I magically pushed this tradition up to Black Friday weekend. We would usually get pizza from Amico's or Pontillo's and then haul up all the decorations. Christmas cassettes (Beach Boys, Sinatra, Burl Ives, Elvis, Chipmunks, Tony Bennett) and later CDs a-blastin'. Our original tree, the one we grew up with was made by Mountain King. First the colored Christmas lights (Noma), then the silver tinsel. Our tree toppers varied throughout the years, the first one I remembered was a star, outlined in gold tinsel with different colored lights. We later moved onto a clear plastic star with the colored lights inside the star, pretty stunning.
Then the ornaments, oh holy cow, the ornaments. Boxes and boxes, we should bought stock in Hallmark years ago. Before long, we couldn't put them all on the tree. The generic bulbs and such generally would get fewer in number each year, so to make room for our ornaments that were given to us on Christmas eve. On the other hand, I wouldn't have it any other way. Our tree was a time capsule of us as kids, what we were into and what we liked. Where else can you find a Christmas tree with I Love Lucy, KISS, The Beatles, Disney Princesses, Babe Ruth and Barbie? That is what I liked best about our tree. That tree was all us. That sense of personalization is something I look forward to passing on.
My love for Christmas decorations, the tasteful and tacky, came from those early days. From the very nice nativity scene to the dancing and singing Santa dolls, I love it all. As I said, if there was an open spot in the house, it was Christmas-ed up. Even the drinking glasses for dinner were Christmas themed. We had Christmas nightlights, if I recall. No detail was spared and nothing was left without decoration. The entire process would usually take at least a full night and part of the next day. As always, wait for the sales and scoop up your treasures at sale price.
Decking the halls and trimming the tree have always been a highlight of the season for me and that will only continue to grow as time passes. Somethings you just don't outgrow.
Monday, December 19, 2011
"Deck The Halls With Boughs Of Holly."
Or Deck The Halls with an animated Santa Claus doll that plays "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."
#7 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Browsing/buying Christmas Decorations.
Yes, I even have fun just looking at stuff I'm not gonna buy.
For as long as I can remember, Christmas decor wasn't just about a tree and some lights on the house. It is a full on bombastic display of yuletide glory. Stuff on the mantle, the end tables, the coffee tables, the floors, the kitchen, all the doors, in the window. Our house was a mini-Macy's. Just looking at them in the stores brings joy, Christmas is on its' way and it's time to decorate. I used to bring stuff just to decorate my dorm room in college for those few weeks in December. My decorations probably take up 6-8 boxes and I usually pick up one or two items each year and I look forward to bring out everything and putting it all up each and every year. Sometimes before the sunsets on Black Friday, everything is decorated.
Doesn't matter if it's tacky or traditional. A timeless keepsake nativity scene that can be passed down to the next generation or a nativity scene featuring the characters of the Peanuts comic strip (don't laugh, I want one terribly). Tacky and tasteless is best in my book. Anyone who roomed with me in college and now my wife, knows this.
Drugstores are always the best bet for Christmas decorations. Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid are packed floor to ceiling with decorations of all kinds. From simple lights and tinsel to a 2o-inch replica of The Old Man's Major Award ("A major award? Shucks, I wouldn't of known that, it looks like a lamp."). Ornaments of all kinds and tons of treasures with two of my favorite phrases "Press Button" or "Press To Play." Oh how I love musical Christmas toys and god knows I will try out every single one of them. There is something hilarious about Santa Claus in a bathtub that sings Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash". A Nutcracker is tasteful. A pair of Elvis Vegas style Nutcrackers, not so much.
Our old pals, Kmart & Big Lots take tacky to a higher level not to be outdone. Kmart has a $119 model of Elvis' Graceland that lights up in blue lights and plays Elvis' Christmas songs. I want. Walmart's selection varies in quality from year to year and Target generally stick to the more tasteful decorations.
The majority of my collection has been bought on sale after Christmas. It is hardly necessary, unless of course it is some major find, to pay full price for any Christmas stuff. A electronic countdown to Christmas clock (calibrated by the second) I got it for about $5 instead of $20. The stores sometimes slash prices to 75% off in the days after Christmas, making it important to hit the stores on Dec. 26 to make sure you have a chance at prime bargains.
Decorating is and always will be, one of my favorite things about Christmas.
#7 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Browsing/buying Christmas Decorations.
Yes, I even have fun just looking at stuff I'm not gonna buy.
For as long as I can remember, Christmas decor wasn't just about a tree and some lights on the house. It is a full on bombastic display of yuletide glory. Stuff on the mantle, the end tables, the coffee tables, the floors, the kitchen, all the doors, in the window. Our house was a mini-Macy's. Just looking at them in the stores brings joy, Christmas is on its' way and it's time to decorate. I used to bring stuff just to decorate my dorm room in college for those few weeks in December. My decorations probably take up 6-8 boxes and I usually pick up one or two items each year and I look forward to bring out everything and putting it all up each and every year. Sometimes before the sunsets on Black Friday, everything is decorated.
Doesn't matter if it's tacky or traditional. A timeless keepsake nativity scene that can be passed down to the next generation or a nativity scene featuring the characters of the Peanuts comic strip (don't laugh, I want one terribly). Tacky and tasteless is best in my book. Anyone who roomed with me in college and now my wife, knows this.
Drugstores are always the best bet for Christmas decorations. Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid are packed floor to ceiling with decorations of all kinds. From simple lights and tinsel to a 2o-inch replica of The Old Man's Major Award ("A major award? Shucks, I wouldn't of known that, it looks like a lamp."). Ornaments of all kinds and tons of treasures with two of my favorite phrases "Press Button" or "Press To Play." Oh how I love musical Christmas toys and god knows I will try out every single one of them. There is something hilarious about Santa Claus in a bathtub that sings Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash". A Nutcracker is tasteful. A pair of Elvis Vegas style Nutcrackers, not so much.
Our old pals, Kmart & Big Lots take tacky to a higher level not to be outdone. Kmart has a $119 model of Elvis' Graceland that lights up in blue lights and plays Elvis' Christmas songs. I want. Walmart's selection varies in quality from year to year and Target generally stick to the more tasteful decorations.
The majority of my collection has been bought on sale after Christmas. It is hardly necessary, unless of course it is some major find, to pay full price for any Christmas stuff. A electronic countdown to Christmas clock (calibrated by the second) I got it for about $5 instead of $20. The stores sometimes slash prices to 75% off in the days after Christmas, making it important to hit the stores on Dec. 26 to make sure you have a chance at prime bargains.
Decorating is and always will be, one of my favorite things about Christmas.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
"And I'll Never Outgrow The Thrill Of Christmas Day."
This is what it all comes down to. This is the grand explanation for this entire blog.
#8 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Christmas Lets Us Stay Kids Forever.
Or at least for 24 hours.
I think deep down, this is the huge draw to Christmas, the deep down emotional attachment to all this Christmas. Christmas is a huge piece of childhood for me. Not so much about the presents, as I never asked for the big headlining items of the day that all the kids asked for. While I can remember what I got most years or look at something and know when I got it, but the magic of it. When you are a child and you believe, the entire season revolves around magic. To have the innocence of youth to truly believe in the whole story is magic that can never be duplicated. Why some people seem bent on taking that away from children is something I will never understand. It's not just the mean older kids on the bus, it is grown adults who want their 6 year-old child to have a firm grip on reality and not believe in silly fairy tales. They got the next 80-90 years to deal with reality. Leave 'em alone.
Christmas awakens all these memories and emotions each and every years. Christmas specials, music, trees, decorations, treats, houses lit up with Christmas lights, egg nog...it all fits together. It brings this deep warm happy feeling not only for all the joy in past years, but for all the joy their is and all the joy there will be in years to follow. My family always made a huge deal out of Christmas and all it brings and I know that had a huge influence on me. I deeply look forward to passing that on to our own children one day. Tradition, creating memories and keeping strong links to the past have been hard-wired into to me, whether I like it or not.
My mom to this day, could go Christmas or birthday shopping for me and hit a home run with each gift. Or just a gift for no reason. I always said you could go Christmas shopping for me in a gas station. More or less, I haven't changed from since I was a kid in terms of personality and soul. It was never about the grandness of the gift, it was what it was and why I got it that mattered the most. I never owned a video game system as a kid (got a GameBoy when I was 8 as a 1st Communion Gift from my aunt and got 3 games Tetris, Bases Loaded and Madden '95...never spent a dime on it) and GASP! Never, in my life, have I had a TV to call my own and I don't feel cheated. I do however, have a Paul Stanley (KISS) Mr. Potato Head.
Christmas is happy. Christmas is the embodiment of happiness. It's kinda what I always say about the Grateful Dead (Dave Matthews Band also applies to this statement): If you could hear happiness, it would sound like the Grateful Dead. When people ask me to describe their sound, I can only respond with "happy." Christmas is happy.
Yea. I just managed to connect Christmas and the Grateful Dead.
#8 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Christmas Lets Us Stay Kids Forever.
Or at least for 24 hours.
I think deep down, this is the huge draw to Christmas, the deep down emotional attachment to all this Christmas. Christmas is a huge piece of childhood for me. Not so much about the presents, as I never asked for the big headlining items of the day that all the kids asked for. While I can remember what I got most years or look at something and know when I got it, but the magic of it. When you are a child and you believe, the entire season revolves around magic. To have the innocence of youth to truly believe in the whole story is magic that can never be duplicated. Why some people seem bent on taking that away from children is something I will never understand. It's not just the mean older kids on the bus, it is grown adults who want their 6 year-old child to have a firm grip on reality and not believe in silly fairy tales. They got the next 80-90 years to deal with reality. Leave 'em alone.
Christmas awakens all these memories and emotions each and every years. Christmas specials, music, trees, decorations, treats, houses lit up with Christmas lights, egg nog...it all fits together. It brings this deep warm happy feeling not only for all the joy in past years, but for all the joy their is and all the joy there will be in years to follow. My family always made a huge deal out of Christmas and all it brings and I know that had a huge influence on me. I deeply look forward to passing that on to our own children one day. Tradition, creating memories and keeping strong links to the past have been hard-wired into to me, whether I like it or not.
My mom to this day, could go Christmas or birthday shopping for me and hit a home run with each gift. Or just a gift for no reason. I always said you could go Christmas shopping for me in a gas station. More or less, I haven't changed from since I was a kid in terms of personality and soul. It was never about the grandness of the gift, it was what it was and why I got it that mattered the most. I never owned a video game system as a kid (got a GameBoy when I was 8 as a 1st Communion Gift from my aunt and got 3 games Tetris, Bases Loaded and Madden '95...never spent a dime on it) and GASP! Never, in my life, have I had a TV to call my own and I don't feel cheated. I do however, have a Paul Stanley (KISS) Mr. Potato Head.
Christmas is happy. Christmas is the embodiment of happiness. It's kinda what I always say about the Grateful Dead (Dave Matthews Band also applies to this statement): If you could hear happiness, it would sound like the Grateful Dead. When people ask me to describe their sound, I can only respond with "happy." Christmas is happy.
Yea. I just managed to connect Christmas and the Grateful Dead.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
"Tis The Season."
These things should come with an advisory sticker.
#9 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Archway Cookies-Cashew Nougats.
These are, without a doubt, the greatest mass produced Christmas cookie ever. "A shortbread cookie infused with finely-chopped cashews, rolled into nuggets and carefully baked for a dense, crisp bite." Bite-size pieces of heaven. They are very dense, a crisp bite at first. the powdery sugar melts away, but these aren't overly sweet. I don't know how to describe them other than amazing. There really is nothing like them.
These have been a longtime favorite for years, as are the other Archway Classics like the iced gingerbread men, candy cane and the Bells & Stars, all easily available at Wegmans. We have been getting them for as long as I remember, often stocking up as they become increasingly hard to find as Christmas gets closer. Here in NC, they are a little bit harder to find and I must stock up when I can. Archway has the Christmas cookie market cornered. Aside from the old standby Pillsbury "slice and bake" cookies, there really isn't a company that packages Christmas cookies.
I know this entry is a bit on the short side, but how much can I really write about a single style cookie?
#9 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Archway Cookies-Cashew Nougats.
These are, without a doubt, the greatest mass produced Christmas cookie ever. "A shortbread cookie infused with finely-chopped cashews, rolled into nuggets and carefully baked for a dense, crisp bite." Bite-size pieces of heaven. They are very dense, a crisp bite at first. the powdery sugar melts away, but these aren't overly sweet. I don't know how to describe them other than amazing. There really is nothing like them.
These have been a longtime favorite for years, as are the other Archway Classics like the iced gingerbread men, candy cane and the Bells & Stars, all easily available at Wegmans. We have been getting them for as long as I remember, often stocking up as they become increasingly hard to find as Christmas gets closer. Here in NC, they are a little bit harder to find and I must stock up when I can. Archway has the Christmas cookie market cornered. Aside from the old standby Pillsbury "slice and bake" cookies, there really isn't a company that packages Christmas cookies.
I know this entry is a bit on the short side, but how much can I really write about a single style cookie?
"Ok Rudolph, Full Power!"
The Holy Trinity of Christmas Specials.
#10 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Rudolph, Frosty, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.
While A Charlie Brown Christmas & How The Grinch Stole Christmas are on their own level in their own right, these three are the foundation of Christmas specials. These three…are really something and through the magic of DVDs you can get them in one purchase (the bonus cartoons on these releases will vary as they have been repackaged several times over)
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (12/6/54 NBC)
This was one of those first Christmas specials I watched as a child on that famous Christmas specials tape circa 1989. For some reason, as a kid, I remember this seeming like it took forever to get through. I mean I loved it, but it seemed like a 3-hour full length motion picture. I guess it goes from fun and cute to kinda sad and scary (Rudolph and Hermey meet up, head out on their own, trying to find their way) and then it goes back to Christmas cheer. It also never occurred to me how many now classic Christmas characters were invented just for the special that were not in the original storybook
It doesn’t get much better than Burl Ives telling the story as Sam The Snowman, Ives was a perfect fit. Buy the Burl Ives Christmas album and buy the Rudolph Soundtrack. Do it for America.
Though I gotta say, looking back, it’s kind of a sad story. The entire thing revolves around Rudolph, Hermey and the inhabitants of the Island of Misfit Toys being outcasts, useless, laughed at and shunned from the group. Until they are needed and all of the sudden it’s all “Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?” Moral of the story: Be who you are and be okay with it.
Not to mention I got enough Rudolph stuff to make most people throw up and there is so much stuff out there. Rudolph, Clarise, Sam the Snowman, Hermey, Santa and the Abominable Snow Monster of the North are all sitting on my floor. Law of averages figures my mom to get me something Rudolph related for Christmas this year.
This is a great one. It is timeless, warm, fuzzy and truly belongs at the head of the Holy Trinity of Christmas Specials.
Frosty The Snowman (12/7/69 CBS)
The book and the song (most famously recorded by country star Gene Autry) came out in ’50. The TV special didn’t come out until ’69 and was narrated by the great Jimmy Durante.
As my stuffed doll of the very evil Professor Hinkle sits next to the TV in the living room, I am again filled with warm feelings as this was another must-see Christmas special growing up, and it still is. Though the true star of the show is Hocus Pocus the Rabbit, that little guy is hilarious. This one again is filled with Christmas cheer and just the one signature title track as the lone musical number, (far fewer than its’ fellow heavy hitters like Charlie Brown, Grinch, Rudolph and Santa Claus is Coming To Town). Then again maybe that’s part of the charm of this one, they just let the story speak for itself, without the music becoming a bit much.
The story itself revolves around the naughty Professor Hinkle telling the kids “When you’re grown up you’ll realize snowmen can’t come to life...silly, silly, silly.” What a terrible human being. Of course the kids solider on and truly believe in their hearts their friend did come to life. The story…well you now the story, though it does get kinda sad when Frosty is reduced to a puddle of water. Now that I think about it, parts of a lot of the classic Christmas specials are pretty sad and could be borderline traumatizing for a youngster.
Santa comes to the rescue and while I know it is dripping in cheese, clichés and Christmas cheer, it still makes me smile. He comes to comfort Karen and explains the magic of Christmas snow never really goes away. The snow comes back in the spirit of spring winds and summer rains “but you can bet your boots” that when Christmas comes around again, Frosty and his magic comes back, just as you remembered him.
I wonder if Professor Hinkle ever got done writing “I am very sorry for what I did to Frosty” the required a hundred-zillion times or if he ever got a new hat from Santa.
“I’ll be back on Christmas day.” Love it.
Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (12/14/70 ABC)
This 1970 masterpiece is most certainly another one that remains close. Got this on VHS tape, most likely for Christmas ’92 and loved it. I got an action figure set (courtesy of Santa) that is among my favorite Christmas decorations.
I do recall thinking the mail man/narrator S.D (Special Delivery) Kluger (Fred Astaire) was a bit odd in the opening sequence, dancing with his mailbag. Too much ginger ale for lunch I suppose. Anyways this one is unique in the fact that it attempts to “document” just how Santa Claus came to be and why he does what he does and why we do what we do. In this we “find out” where the Kris Kringle and Santa Claus monikers come from, why we hang up stockings, why he had to start coming down chimneys at night, why he only comes one night a year and why it is December 24, why he started growing a beard and how the reindeer fly.
Pretty creative to spin all this stuff together and oh to actually believe every word. The magic of Christmas and childhood wonder at its finest. I know I can vividly remember going to sleep Christmas eve and actually picturing Santa Claus standing in my living room later on that night. Magic.
It really is heartwarming to see the Kringles take in Baby Claus after the Mayor of Sombertown, Bugermeister Meisterburger and his loyal sidekick Grimsby didn’t want the baby (“Heir Burgermeister, Heir Burgermeister, look what was discovered on your front stoop!”). Once again it does get a bit scary when Kris and his pal Topper the Penguin cross paths with the Winter Warlock who hates Christmas and later on when the Burgermeister torches the toys in the town square (this scene is routinely cut out on television airings). Without giving a full on summary, this one does end happily and has secured its’ rightful place in the history of Christmas specials. There really isn’t another one like it.
These specials are slices of American Christmas lore and legend that no matter how far we technologically advance or how jaded the children become at an increasingly younger age, the specials will always be there.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
"Are You Serious Clark?"
“See kids, it means something different to everybody and now I know what it means to me.” – Clark W. Griswold Jr.
#11 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
This 1989 masterpiece is second only to A Christmas Story in my eyes for the title of Greatest Christmas Movie Of All Time. I would also dare say this is the best of the four Vacation movies.
Before we go any further in this entry, if Clark’s boss Frank Shirley looks familiar, you may remember him (Brian Doyle-Murray…yes Bill Murray’s brother) as Lou Loomis the boss of caddies at Bushwood Country Club in the modern day classic Caddyshack.
This movie is classic because it is the perfect blend of truly touching and hilarious moments that fit together just right in a rare mix.
One of my favorite little bits is Clark watching the long lost family home movies in the attic, where it’s just a man, his memories and emotion. Then he falls through the ceiling.
Clark trying desperately to give his family and loved ones the Christmas he truly believes they deserve, despite so many setbacks. When Clark Sr. & Clark Jr. talk about Christmases past and Clark asks his father how it got through those holidays that were “always such a mess,” Sr. responds with a simple, comical and oddly touching “I had a lot of help from Jack Daniels,” as if he was a real person.
Then there is the tirade. I don’t know how many takes this took, but I would kill to see the outtakes. It doesn't much more golden than this. (The great "Where's the Tylenol" line was cut, but it was hard finding a clip online that wasn't muted due to copyrights etc).
Then there is the other tirade about Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.
This movie works, as I said because it melts together the 2 truths of Christmas, that things will go wrong no matter what and being together with family and creating memories no matter how bizarre or comical is what we treasure for Christmases to come. So what if the holiday comes with dry turkey, burned down tree, no bonus (at first, of course), dead cat…all part of Christmas. There have been so many Christmas movies since this one, and many of them seem to fall short. You don’t hit a grand slam when you try to hit one, it just happens that way. Granted this script itself is a riot, but there have been tons of funny Christmas movies, but this one has staying power.
As with A Christmas Story, there is a website devoted to Christmas Vacation memorabilia, including Griswold #00 Chicago Blackhawks jerseys and shirts, the moose egg nog mugs, Cousin Eddie turtle neck and green dickie costumes and even the elaborate countdown to Christmas house that is shown throughout the movie. Lines are freely quoted around the holidays and there is no shortage of them. Not to mention a great soundtrack that is a Christmas must have (Okay, it was never an official release, but it's out there online, trust me).
This is the mark of a successful movie, that 22 years later, scores of people are either digging out their copy to watch or passing it along to kids who are now old enough to watch the movie (don’t even try watching it on television, it cracks me up when I see it is gonna air on ABC FAMILY). Sometimes, somehow, a movie resonates with people for any number of reasons. Do they see Clark in their dad or in themselves? Do they see this family of goofballs and crazies who deep down love each other and enjoy the time spent together in their own? When you hit these very sacred places, you have assured your movie will live on for ages.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
"Even A Miracle Needs A Hand."
I love the obscure and rare and Christmas specials are no different.
#12 of 31 Things I Love About Christmas: Obscure Christmas Specials.
This entry won’t talk about the merits of Rudolph, Frosty, Charlie Brown, The Grinch or any of the other heavy hitters. This will however, mention the specials you may have not seen or thought about since you were a kid, or ones you may never seen at all. These specials, both the classics and obscure, are just one more way to keep the passion and love for Christmas alive
These specials weren’t obscure to me because my parents compiled a tape of them when I was about 3 or 4 years old. The market wasn’t flooded with Christmas specials as it is now (yes, there is too much of a good thing and some of the modern specials are downright stupid looking) and these were fairly popular specials at the time. Through the magic of DVDs and that almost anything ever made can be found on an official release or bootlegged online, all of these treasures are out there waiting. There are many classics, everyone knows those, there are many that get forgotten about.
Each year, many Christmas cartoons are made, many of them suck.
Here come a list of those which do not suck.
Winnie The Pooh & Christmas Too (it's on YouTube)
Twas The Night Before Christmas
A Flintstone’s Christmas Carol
Cricket On The Hearth
Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus
Nestor The Long-Earred Christmas Donkey
Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol
The Year Without A Santa Claus
That's not even all of them, either. Those are just my favorites of the lesser known Christmas Treats. That’s not counting all of the classic TV Christmas themed episodes. Nick at Nite and TV Land, long before their programming took a drastic trip down the toilet, would air all Christmas sitcom classics all Christmas eve and day. I was such a classic TV geek I asked for and got the Nick At Night Board game, Christmas '96. CBS did a pretty good job gathering up a dozen or so spread out over 2 DVDs and there are countless others. Then there is the great Saturday Night Live Christmas collection DVD, which I remember watching on TV every year. The Simpsons have 2 Christmas DVD sets as well. Chances are if there is a classic TV series you love, there was at least one Christmas themed episode during the series run. There are tons and tons of Christmas DVDs and specials out thereThe one of course, which might not be suitable for family viewing is “The Draft Dodger” (airdate 12/25/76) of CBS’ “All In The Family” which was without a doubt, one of the greatest television shows of all time, which no network would ever dare taking a chance on in 2011. If you have no idea what I’m talking about and are at all interested in American TV history, watch. Carroll O’Connor delivers the performance of a lifetime.
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