I have always been a HUGE fan of playing Christmas music and watching Christmas movies non stop from Thanksgiving until New Years Day. As far as I am concerned, Joni Mitchell singing River, “It’s coming on Christmas. They’re cutting down trees…” is perfection. My go to album for background music for a day of cleaning or while having friends over is “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by that great jazz band the Vince Guaraldi Trio. This is awesome because there are very few vocals to distract a person, plus, when there are vocals I am whisked straight away to watching those great Peanuts movies. I feel like it just meant more in the “way back” when our only opportunity to catch these were to actually sit down as a family on the designated day that your local television channel ran these specials. Miss one and sorry, you were out of luck. I will be the first one to admit that I love owning DVD’s that can, and are, enjoyed as often as I like. It was an abomination (tip of my hat to Bumble, the abominable snowman from the Rudolf movie) of epic proportion if somehow we missed any of these classic kids cartoons during the season.
Most everyone has a favorite Christmas movie. Truth be told, as when Buddy the Elf’s boss told him to “make work his favorite”, I refuse to be nailed down to just one. One of my longest friends and her daughter and sister in law and I make a yearly pilgrimage to the Wichita Art Museums interactive screening “Elf”. This year I am throwing an interactive screening of Elf for three friends who have never seen it before. HORROR!! These girls need me to round out this holiday deficit in their lives! I can’t pass a channel if “Its A Wonderful Life” is on. It wouldn’t be Christmas Day if I didn’t have “A Christmas Story” on, non-stop, on the TBS channel beginning Christmas Eve. This gem about a middle class families Christmas in the 1940’s came out when my oldest daughter was 2, and I must admit that before I die, I am going to make one of my children wear a pink bunny pajama set like Ralphie. Also, I will always giggle when I see a frozen flag pole. I am grinning ear to ear typing the following short list: Miracle on 34th Street (original and remake), The Holiday, The Grinch That Stole Christmas, Scrooged, Fred Claus, Love Actually…You may snicker at the odd man out who might have Gremlins on their own list, but not me. I made a stand many years ago that, in my home, Die Hard IS a Christmas movie!
A few weeks back, I kidnapped my middle daughter and drove her through a not to be missed neighborhood light show on the far west side of town, “Candy Cane Lane”. She had a look of wonder on her face that I haven’t seen in years, just like the song Christmas Through Your Eyes waxes poetic about. I believe the only drawback for Jordan on this little adventure was that my all Christmas radio channel was a must for our background noise. Although this Christmas music nuisance brought one of the funniest moments for me. As Dean Martin finished Baby It’s Cold Outside, my daughter turned and looked at me in horror. “Did you listen to the words? She is trying to leave and he won’t let her. He put something in her drink! Is that song about date rape???” Google it. She is not alone on this theory.
