Covering Christmas

You might recall that I'm a bit of a music freak. You might also remember that I've already written a post about cover songs and how they aren't necessarily as terrible as everyone assumes. And it's also possible that you've read that I love me some Christmas music. Yes? OK.

Because of the nature of Christmas music, there are a LOT of covers out there. Most traditional songs don't really have an identifiable "original" version, and newer songs are still covered left and right because... well... Christmas! In other words, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Christmas cover. And that's OK. 

Personally, I think there are some songs that are just meant to be covered, especially in the world of Christmas carols. A  new take on a song can be a wonderful thing, and in some cases, it might make a less tolerable song something you actually enjoy listening to. 

That being said, here are a couple of my favorite Christmas covers and what makes them so delightful.

1) "The Twelve Days of Christmas" as performed by Straight No Chaser. I previously wrote that the only version of this song I can listen to more than once a season is John Denver & The Muppets. Since that was written, though, I have discovered the magic of Straight No Chaser. (In fact, Hubby and I just saw them live this week for the first time! What an epic show they put on, too!) If you're looking for a traditional version of this song, then this isn't the version for you. But, if you're looking for a fun, goofy, new spin on it, you need to give it a listen. Now. On a related note, their version of "Wonderful Christmastime" with Sir Paul is also a great cover; not that I don't love the original, but there's something about a capella that just gets me, man.

2) "The Little Drummer Boy" as performed by Bing Crosby and David Bowie. Hubby and I were in the car last weekend and I heard the beginning of this song and went to turn the radio down, saying, "Yeah, I just can't get into this song. It's not one of my favorites." And then I realized it was the Bing and Bowie version and turned it back up going, "Except for this version, because this version is epic!" Hubby laughed and told me I couldn't even hate something right, which I decided to take as a compliment. Anywhoozles, before this special existed, if you had told someone that Bing Crosby and David Bowie would be doing a duet together, most peoples' heads would have exploded from the sheer insanity of the idea. And then it happened. I'm pretty sure some heads did explode, but the song that resulted from this strange pairing is beyond what anyone could have imagined.

3) "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings" as performed by Barenaked Ladies featuring Sarah McLachlan. OK, this is technically two songs, but whatever. The point is that BNL took a couple of fairly traditional (and maybe a bit stuffy) Christmas songs and made them pretty freakin' cool. Partnering up with Sarah was a pretty genius move, too. Her vocals give back a touch of the traditional feel without going completely backwards. I love it.

4) "My Grown-Up Christmas List" as performed by Michael Bublé. I'm pretty sure he just makes everything sound dreamier. Other versions tend to get on my nerves, but Michael can bring it home like no one else. 

5) "All I Want For Christmas Is You" as performed by Mariah Carey featuring Jimmy Fallon & The Roots. Is it still a cover if the same artist is performing it? Whatever. The point is that this version makes my heart happy and makes me feel warm inside. If this doesn't say Christmas, I don't know what does.

And there you have it! 

What Christmas covers make the season merry and bright for you? Let me know so I can add them to my Christmas playlist! :)

Christmas 2012 : A Christmas Gripe

I'm not one of those ungrateful a-holes who is going to gripe about their presents. I loved my gifts, and I'm so thankful for each and every one of them! And I'm also not going to gripe about not getting gifts from everyone I've ever known in my entire life. I don't care. If you wanted to get me something and you did, that's awesome. If you didn't, that's cool, too! 

No, my gripe, unfortunately, has to do with my family. Once again, I will say that I love my family. Dearly. I love hanging out with you all and having fun together. I love spending Christmas surrounded by those I love! But you know what I don't love on Christmas? Being pressured to have kids.

I know you all want a baby in the family. I get it. I just became an aunt rather recently, and I have another niece or nephew on the way, and I'm totally psyched about it!! So I feel you. But can you please respect the fact that my husband and I do not want children?

I was nice enough not to get overly sensitive about it on Christmas, but in case you want to know how I feel, here's what I wish I could have said.

Argument 1: "Your mom said the same thing!"
Response: Yes, I know. Allow me to point out that 1) I'm not actually my mother (regardless of how alike we can be) and 2) by my age, my parents had changed their minds. 

Argument 2: "That's what I said, too. You'll change your mind."
Response: Well, I think it's pretty common knowledge that some people's minds are sort of changed for them (unplanned pregnancy has a way of doing that). Just because your situation changed, doesn't mean mine is going to. However, should I someday change my mind, that decision is up to me and my husband. Period. No one else's input is going to play a significant role in that.

Argument 3: "Don't you want your mom to have grandkids?"
Response: Of course I do. But if I did everything in my life because someone else wanted me to, I wouldn't be a very happy person, would I? Besides, my mom has a granddog (that she loves very much) and gets to play with kids as part of her job. I don't think I'm depriving her too badly.

Argument 4: "We need a baby in the family!"
Response: Really? Babies grow up, so even if I decided to have a kid, you'd only have a baby in the family for a short time, because I'm not about to turn into a baby factory. Besides, people all over are having babies. Odds are someone in your life will have one in the foreseeable future, so I think you'll be OK.

Again, I love you all dearly, but whether you're friends, family or complete strangers, your opinions on my reproductive habits are not going to get me to just start popping out kids. I don't want kids. Nor does Hubby. If we change our minds someday, then so be it, but don't assume that we will or try to talk us into it. I know a lot of it's in jest, but it gets really old, really quickly, and can make a fun time turn sour. 

Christmas 2012: We Survived (Part 2)

After opening presents, we finally headed upstairs for dinner (probably around 8:30 or so). I look forward to this dinner all year. Why? Because my mom makes some killer prime rib. Sides come and go, but the prime rib is always the star of the show. We had a minor issue during the cooking process this year that led to opening some windows to dissipate some smoke, but all's well that ends well, right?

We sat down to a fabulous dinner of prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, Brussels sprouts, baby red potatoes and a tomato dish with fresh mozzarella. A few minutes into the meal, I had a plate full of amazing food and was about to dig in when my mom reached for something and knocked over her glass. Her champagne drink landed all over the right side of my lap. Mom started apologizing and Dad started working on clean up. In the meantime, I was told not to move, so I sat there, a little cold and wet, and waited. Meanwhile, Hubby and Mam-maw were trying to situate the rest of the food on the table when my rum & coke got bumped and promptly spilled all over the left side of my lap. What did I do? The only thing I could. I laughed. I laughed hysterically. Dad told me to go change, so I put on pajama pants and a dirty shirt (just in case) and headed back up to dinner. The rest of the meal was largely uneventful, but it was tasty and wonderful and I was happy (and dry).

After we cleaned up a bit, we headed downstairs to finish off the evening. When everyone else had headed to bed, Hubby and I grabbed the puppers and headed over to pick up K  to go through the local light display. Finally, a tradition that we could uphold! We went through twice, just because, and though it was short, it was nice to spend some more time with K. I slept a little better that night (probably because I started on the couch, instead of the floor), but morning still came too early for my liking.

Per our family tradition, Christmas morning is for Santa presents, so I handed out stockings and gifts for everyone (except the pooch; she'd already gotten all of her gifts). I got some fun socks and more puzzles (yay!!), and Hubby seemed happy with his new wallet and the sweet mouse shaped like a race car. There was little time to relax, though, as Mom's family was due over around two. After a quick shower and some setting up, we had a few minutes to breathe before the madness.

I should explain that I love my family to pieces. I don't mean to say that the madness was a bad thing. I'm just an introvert, and a group that big (all 14 or so of us) in one house (or sometimes in one room - eep!) can be a bit much for me. I tried to help Mom as much as I could (and as much as she'd let me), but there's only so much I could do in the kitchen with her. Around 2:30 or so we opened presents, and though the adults don't get much, I really liked what I did get. The ornaments that my cousin's kids helped make were adorable, and the hand warmers that my aunt made are perfect for shaking off a chill while I'm working. And, of course, the money from my Grampa is always appreciated. This year, we're using most of our Christmas money to go on a mini vacation up in Door County, just Hubby, the puppers and me. No work, no school, just us and a little cabin and whatever we want to do. :)

Even though she had cleaned the oven to prevent it, Mom had another cooking incident that led to windows and doors getting opened. This one was even smokier than Christmas Eve, and when Dad opened the garage door to get some air moving through, we definitely felt it downstairs. Even so, dinner was fantastic. Mom made a HUGE turkey (24 pounds!), lots of stuffing, potatoes, etc. We had left over salad and cheese from the funeral, one of my aunts brought rolls, my cousin brought green bean casserole, and with the massive amounts of cookies in the house, I strongly doubt anyone left hungry. 

After dinner, my cousin's kids wanted to play a game, so we played Words With Friends. Yep. They have a board game edition now. Picture Scrabble with a slightly smaller board, some differences in point assignments by letter, and change where the extra score points are. There you have it. We played with partners, for the most part. Me not so much, since Hubby sat on the couch and my aunt decided we were too mean to play with. We didn't keep score, but we still had fun.

By around 7 o'clock, it was back to the 5 of us (plus Maxi). We spent a little time chatting and unwinding from the day, but Hubby and I still had to drive back to Milwaukee, so we couldn't stay too long. The drive home wasn't too bad (at least I assume; I was sleeping for most of it). We got the car unpacked, but not much more. I was pretty tired, so I lounged a bit before heading to bed. Then it was lights out for Miss Riki.

Working the day after Christmas is always a bum deal, but at least it was mostly quiet. I still have some wrapping to do, since my Hubby's family Christmas is tomorrow, but at least I'm not helping to host anything else. As wonderful of a holiday as it was, I need a break from all that. In fact, tonight I plan to be my introverted self and enjoy some me time while Hubby goes to the cigar bar to use one of his gifts. :)

Hope you all had a great holiday, and that 2013 begins a new year with lots of love, health and happiness. <3

Christmas 2012: We Survived (Part 1)

Not the Mayan apocalypse; I already planned on surviving that. But the rest of the holiday, I just wasn't sure.

Let's go back to last Wednesday, the 19th. Things were going fine until I got a call from my mom. She had three things to tell me, and none of them were terribly positive. 

The first was that because of the snow Madison was about to get on Thursday, no one was going to be able to pick my Grampa up from the airport here in Milwaukee. OK, no big deal, we can handle that. Mom booked him a hotel room (we don't have a proper guest room, and I doubt Grampa wanted to sleep on our sleeper sofa or the futon) and all we had to do was pick him up when his flight landed on Thursday around 3:50. Sweet. Sad that Grampa would have to spend the night in a hotel in MKE, but at least we could help.

The second was that Mam-maw (my dad's mom) - who is staying with my parents right now - had gotten in on the 15th, but had already been in the hospital. Ugh. She was dehydrated and sick, but fortunately my dad was able to go pick her up that afternoon and take her back to their house. Again, not good that she was sick, but good that she was being released.

The third had no up-side. My aunt's husband (my uncle through marriage) had been in a car accident and had died. That one made my heart ache. My aunt is one of the nicest, sweetest people you could know (a lot like Mom) and to know something so terrible had happened made the world seem wrong. Even worse was when I found articles online about the accident; it wasn't really a car wreck, it was a "freak accident" that killed him. There are so many questions that might never get answered, and I'm afraid the hurt will stick around for a long, long time.

On Thursday, the snow storm hit Madison, but we only got rain here for most of the day. Regardless, Grampa's flight ended up getting canceled, and Mom had to make arrangements for him to stay at the airport in Orlando and to get another flight booked (which meant Mom was on hold for almost an hour and a half). After my lunch break, Hubby asked me to check our basement for flooding, since  a coworker of his was having some issues. I ran downstairs to check, didn't find any water, and came back to work, only to find that my internet was out. Poor Hubby spent about 2 hours trying to help me troubleshoot (via text and phone call), but to no avail. He called our provider, but they couldn't get out to the house until 2 PM on Friday. Great. There goes the rest of my work week.

Even better was when the guy came and figure out what had happened. Our internet amplifier is in the basement and, for whatever reason, is hooked up to a light switch in the back room. (See where this is going?) When I had gone down to check on the flooding situation, I had flipped the switch, but when nothing happened, I assumed the bulb was out and I just moved on. Instead, I had essentially turned off our connection. (Insert facepalm here.) Thankfully, it turned out that had been only part of the problem; we also had a cable that had gone bad, and had he not figured that out, I might've gone insane trying to make our internet work on my desktop. Aye yi yi.

On the plus side, I got to spend Friday wrapping presents and finishing up crafts. I watched a couple of movies on demand (Mr. Poppers Penguins was pretty sweet) and cleaned some things up a bit. That cleared up some time on Saturday, which means I had time to make all 3 kinds of cookies I'd set out to bake. I made Oreo truffles, peppermint pinwheels, and meringue cookies with mini M&Ms (they were out of the dark chocolate and mint pieces by the time we went shopping). Unlike last year's meringue cookies, these didn't turn out to be globs of gooey messiness, so that was nice. And the Oreo truffles are kind of like crack (my dad told my family that the first one's free, but the rest are $20 each). And Mom really liked the pinwheels, which made me happy. Saturday evening, K got into town, and that night, she and S came by and we went out for dinner. I love having time with my sisters, and dinner was just what I needed.

Sunday we drove into Madison. Our original plan was to have our traditional dinner and gift exchange with K that night, but instead we went to my uncle's visitation and funeral. It was actually nice to spend some time with my family and it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as I'd imagined (except for the chairs, which were terribly uncomfortable; Hubby's leg even went numb at one point). We also got to have some awesome Italian food after the service (thank you, Biaggi's!), some of which we got to take home as leftovers. That night, we had a fire in the family room and sat around to enjoy it, just Mom, Dad, Hubby, Mam-maw and I. 

Christmas Eve Day meant more cookies! My mom made the traditional sugar cookie dough, and I rolled it out, used the cookie cutters and baked them up. While we let them sit, Hubby and I headed to grab some lunch (more Italian food; I'm not Italian, but I think my taste buds are) and then to the grocery store where K and S were ringing bells for the Salvation Army. Mom gave me $5 to donate (I give my money elsewhere) and we picked up some raisin bread for Mam-maw. When we got home, I made frosting and Hubby and I decorated the sugar cookies. We got to relax for a bit after that, and then eventually we opened presents (before dinner this year; another tradition broken). Hubby got me season 1 of Sherlock on DVD, Dumbo on blu-ray, and a couple other fun things. I also got a puzzle, a beautiful scarf, and we got a ginormous generator. Dad told us the idea was originally for camping, but that the unit he got was a bit bulkier than he anticipated, so we were given the option of keeping it or returning it to Gander Mountain and using the money for other camping stuff. (We're not 100% decided yet, but I think we're leaning toward returning it and getting a new tent and some other things.) Everyone seemed to be happy with their presents, and that's all I could really hope for.

More to come.

The Holidays are Over; Bring on Reality!

I guess I went AWOL for a bit there, hey?  Sorry about that.  Things have been busy.

Christmas was good to us, I will admit.  Christmas Eve Day I got to exchange presents with K at Ella's Deli (yes, we exchange Christmas gifts at a Jewish deli).  That crafty lady made me lip balm!  Seriously; she MADE it.  How cool is that, right?  Anywhoozles, that afternoon I decorated sugar cookies while Hubby napped.  Maxine, in her Christmas sweater, napped along with him for most of the afternoon, and I spent some good time with my parents.

Christmas Eve dinner was, of course, fantastic.  Mom made the best Yorkshire pudding ever, and when I found they were out of hot cocoa mix, Dad made me some from "scratch" by heating up some pieces of Dove chocolate and mixing with milk.  I have to say that my family is pretty great, and that helps make my holidays so wonderful.  Would've enjoyed some snow, but, it was still lovely.

My parents got me a 3,000-piece puzzle (which is HUGE, btw) and a Jambox (which will come in really handy for school).  They got Hubby a Gentleman Jack giftbox (so, basically, good booze and two glasses).  They got Miss Maxine a bunch of toys and treats.  Oh, and best of all, they got us a new water heater!  (Apparently I was thisclose to getting an iPad, but they decided to get us something practical instead.  Ah, the joys of being a homeowner!)

Hubby surprised me by getting us a bunch of stuff we can enjoy together, including a remote control for our PS3 (so we can watch blu rays without fumbling over the controller), season 2 of "Big Bang Theory" and season 1 of "Raising Hope," and new controllers for the Wii.  He also got me a gorilla pod (that I picked out myself) and a monopod (that was a complete surprise)!  Yes, it was a successful Christmas indeed.  :)

Christmas Day was spent with my mom's side of the family, and then watching the Packers beat the Bears before heading back home.  The day after was Christmas with Hubby's family, which, while a bit chaotic at times, was nice.  I got to spend a lot of time hanging out with my nephew and taking pictures of him (he's so freakin' cute!!), but after being exhausted from all the running around that weekend (and feeling like I was starting to come down with something), I wound up sleeping in the recliner for an hour or two toward the end of our visit.  In my family, it's not Christmas until someone falls asleep in the midst of the festivities, so I guess I was just carrying over the tradition.

You'd think a 4-day work week would go quickly, but it didn't.  It dragged.  A lot.  And while I looked forward to our weekend plans, part of me would've been content just sleeping through the whole thing.  Alas, after a bit of a struggle, we made our way to Madison for S's graduation gathering.  We spent the night at my parents' and the next day had lunch plans with a friend of mine and his wife.  I hadn't seen Mr. P since his wedding, which was in November of 2009 (they moved to Georgia the previous year), so this lunch was LONG overdue.  We actually made plans to stop in on our drive down to Disney in March, so it won't be nearly as long before we see them next!  Color me pleased. 

New Year's Eve was spent with my second family.  K, S and J (my "sisters") had all gotten new toys (iPhones, Kindle, etc) and much of the evening was spent in the same room, but each of us on our respective electronic.  K's dad and his new wife stayed around for dinner, but left around 10 or so.  See, the new wife has a rescue dog named Princess (a bichon, for those interested).  Since she can get along with Eva (J's dog), we tried bringing Maxine into the mix.  Bad idea.  Bad.  Those two were at each other's throats like you wouldn't believe!  My best guess is Maxi made an inappropriate "Yo Mama" joke and Princess was having none of it.  I'm probably wrong, but it works in my head.  So anywhoozles, they ended up crating Princess upstairs in the "other" condo, since the two couldn't play nicely, and so they left early to make sure Princess didn't spend the whole evening alone.  

We had a great time anyway.  K always makes my second favorite meal of the year for New Year's Eve: shrimp and potatoes.  Between that and all the snack foods available, I was stuffed silly.  We played some Apples to Apples and drank to ring in the new year.  Then we crashed at the condo (me on the couch, Hubby on the recliner/floor, Maxi on another chair).  New Year's Day we headed home to drop off the puppers and headed back to see part of Hubby's family for the Packers game (go Matt Flynn!).  Thankfully, we had nothing to do the next day, and we spent it like a couple of lazy bums.  It was lovely.

This week has been... interesting.  But this post is long enough, so I'll save that for another time.

Christmastime is Here

Well, I have my Christmas cards sent out, about half of our presents wrapped, and I've been listening to Christmas music (on my own) for about a week now.  Christmas must be a-coming.  

The concept of Christmas itself is sort of conflicting for me.  As we know, I'm completely a-religious, so I don't go to church or get into the whole nativity thing.  In fact, our neighbors across the street have a fairly gaudy plastic nativity decoration out front that drives me crazy.  Not because of the churchiness, but because you could probably land a plane on our street when it's lit up.  Aye yi yi.

I don't have a problem with using the abbreviation X-mas.  I understand the "Keep Christ in Christmas" thing, but personally, I don't think the two are related.  Are people upset when others abbreviate TGIF because they don't actually write out "God"?  Somehow, I think not.  And that's all X-mas is.  It's an abbreviation, not blasphemy.

I think people should wish whatever the hell they want during the holiday season.  I don't care if they wish me a happy holiday, a merry Christmas or just a nice day; I just appreciate the sentiment.  If you're offended because someone mentioned a holiday that you don't celebrate, I can't imagine what else offends you...

That being said, I love Christmas.  Not as much as Halloween, but it's a close second in my book.  I love the smell of a pine tree in my house and I love buying presents for people I love.  The past few years, I've taken to making Christmas crafts, and though I tend to end up with more glue on me than I could've sworn I even had available, I enjoy it.  I love being with my family and eating all the cookies I can shove in my mouth before my stomach registers that it's too much.  Getting Christmas cards in the mail makes me downright giddy, and I look forward to my mom's Christmas Eve prime rib the other 364 days a year.  T'is a wonderful holiday, indeed.

My parents will tell you that I'm a tradition nazi.  Actually, most people who know me would tell you that.  I just happen to think traditions are a integral part of the holiday experience, though, I may take things a bit too far sometimes.  My mom once made little tenderloin medallions instead of prime rib for Christmas Eve and I sort of threw a fit (even though it was actually in my best interest, since I always had an issue with eating too much prime rib and getting horrendous tummy aches).  Another year, Mom decided that she wanted their tree upstairs in the window instead of downstairs where it has ALWAYS been, and I tried really, really hard to talk her out of it, even though it was something she had always wanted to try.  Thankfully, I've gotten past most of those issues, but I still have to have my mug of hot chocolate in order to open presents on Christmas Eve and I have to put certain ornaments on the tree myself or else things don't feel quite right.  

The one thing I'm missing right now is snow.  We've only had one snowfall that stuck, and it was only around for an afternoon.  No one dreams of a grey, rainy Christmas.  No one sings, "Let it sleet, let it sleet, let it sleet."  There's a reason for this.  It sucks.  In my opinion, snow is the only acceptable precipitation this time of year and, as my family's motto goes, it's Christmas, dammit!  

Anywhoozles, here's hoping that you all have a wonderful season, however you plan to enjoy it!  :) 

Stupid Cookies

Here I am, trying to be a good little baker and make some meringue cookies and what do I get?  Piles of goo.  Yep.  Piles.  Of.  Goo.  FAIL.

How do you mess something up that's essentially made of eggs, sugar and air?  Seriously?  FCOL.

Well, at least I tried.  Hopefully my mom can give me some pointers over Christmas and I can try again next year.  Stupid cookies.

On the bright side, it's almost Christmas Eve!  Which means it's almost Christmas Day!  Huzzah!!  Here's hoping the rest of the holiday goes better than those cookies...

Christmas Time Is Here

Time for joy and cheer?  One can only hope.

I find the few days leading up to Christmas to be both exciting and dreadful at the same time. 

Exciting: Everyone's getting into the holiday spirit!  Lights and trees are up, presents are getting wrapped, cookies are being baked...  It's fun to get caught up in it and remember Christmases past. 

Dreadful: Constant worrying about whether I forgot to send a card to Great Aunt What's-Her-Name or didn't get the right gift for little cousin What's-His-Bucket.  Also, the concern of whether I have enough time and energy to pull everything off is exhausting to think about, let alone do.

But, all this aside, it really can be a great time of year.  I guess the best thing to do is try to push the negative thoughts aside for now and deal with them when they come up.  For now, I must focus on the good!  And fortunately, the good means cookies.  

Mmmmm... cookies.

It's Almost Here!

Yes, kids, Christmas is just around the corner!  In fact, one week from today I will be baking cookies with my mom and getting ready for the best meal of the year: Christmas Eve Dinner.

Ever since I can remember, Christmas Eve has been as big of an event as Christmas Day.  True story.  So it's only fitting that Christmas Eve Dinner be as fabulous (if not more fabulous) than Christmas Day's meal.  

Every year my mom makes prime rib.  It is by far the best prime rib you will ever have in your life.  It's so good that during the five years I went vegetarian, I always took Christmas Eve off so I could indulge in this magical meal.  

The prime rib itself would be a complete meal, but there's more.  Oh yes, there is more.  Mom makes Yorkshire pudding.  If you haven't had it, you need to try it (assuming you like things that are delicious).  Yorkshire pudding is the perfect compliment to the prime rib and is to DIE for.  Soooooo good.

As if that weren't enough, the table is also filled with things like salad, potatoes, green beans, black-eyed peas, and/or any other number of side dishes that my mom prepares.  In other words, if you walk away from the table hungry on Christmas Eve, you weren't at OUR table.

Top the night off with hot cocoa and opening gifts and you have a pretty perfect holiday.  :-)

Hump Day - You'll Just Have to Wait

Readers, I searched high and low (and lower) yesterday to find a good hump day story for you, but it just wasn't in the cards.  I tried again this morning, but to no avail.  I hope you'll forgive me - you'll just have to wait until next Wednesday.

In unrelated news, I am going to be an aunt!  My brother-in-law and his wife are expecting their first little one in July.  Huzzah!  I'm looking forward to having a niece or nephew to spoil.  :-)

9 days left until Christmas.  Are you ready?  I'm really not.  I think most of our shopping is done, but still no tree, nothing has been wrapped, no cookies have been baked...  There's a lot to do in the next few days!  Eep!

Deck The Halls

I finally (yes, FINALLY) started putting up Christmas decorations today.  The Christmas spirit just hadn't moved me until today.  I better get into the spirit, though, since I still have presents to get together.  And Christmas cards.  And a tree.  And...  Holy crap, man.  There are only 10 days left!  Ahhhhhh!!!!

Here's hoping I get everything together in the next few days...

Christmas Countdown

Yes, kids, there are officially 15 days left until Christmas Day.  If you're anything like me, that both excites you and terrifies you.  So much shopping, crafting, wrapping and baking to be done!  

To avoid too much stress, what better way to relax than with some awesome seasonal movies?  We'll go for 15 so you have one for each day left!

1. The Muppet Christmas Carol - Love the muppets?  I do.  This movie is a must-see every season!  I'm pretty sure Michael Caine was actually born to play Scrooge.
2. John Denver & The Muppets: A Christmas Together - Again, I love the muppets, AND I love John Denver.  Why wouldn't I love this movie?
3. A Muppet Family Christmas - I grew up watching this every year after my parents recorded it off TV and onto a Beta tape.  Man, I wish I still had it...  Quality stuff right here, kids.
4. Christmas Eve on Sesame Street - I think this was on the same Beta tape.  I LOVED this special growing up, and I'm pretty sure this movie is part of why I believed Santa was real for as long as I did.
5. Miracle on 34th Street - If you're going to watch this movie, do yourself a favor and watch the original.  I'm sure the remakes are fine, but the 1947 version is classic.
6. The Santa Clause - I won't lie, this movie still makes me laugh.  What can I say?  Tim Allen just cracks me up.
7. A Charlie Brown Christmas - Short and sweet, this is a true must-see.  I love to try to catch it when it's on TV.  I think it just feels more special when I know there are others out there enjoying it with me.
8. A Claymation Christmas Celebration - If you haven't seen this, go find it and watch it this season.  Claymation is one of the coolest things ever, and this special is hilarious (or, at least, I think it is)!
9. A Garfield Christmas Special - Another childhood favorite, I just love the scene with Garfield climbing up the tree to put the top ornament on.  Plus, how do you not love Odie?
10. The Nightmare Before Christmas - It's not just for Halloween my dears!  Tim Burton's masterpiece is great for Christmas, too!
11. It's A Wonderful Life - If you can believe it, I never saw this movie until I was probably 13 years old.  So for 13 years I missed out on a lovely movie that really captures the Christmas spirit.
12. Home Alone - Don't look at me like that.  You know you love it. 
13. How The Grinch Stole Christmas! - Not the blasphemous 2000 Jim Carrey version (no offense, Mr. Carrey), but the good old 1966 original cartoon. 
14. Holiday Inn - A true Christmas classic, this is a fantastic old movie well worth watching.  Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire... What more do you need?
15. A Christmas Story - Fa ra ra ra ra, ra-ra ra ra!!!

So there you have it - 15 fantastic films to get you through 'til Christmas!  Enjoy!  :-)

Did I miss your favorite Christmas movie?  Or do you hate my list?  Leave a comment and let me know!

Christmas Is Coming

I had a friend who posted her top 10 classic Christmas songs, and I thought, "Hey!  That's cool!  I should do that, too!"  So, just remember Kelly - copying is a form of flattery. ;-)

The following lists are not in any particular order, but rather as I come across them.

Riki's 5 Favorite "Traditional" Christmas Songs

Typical Christmas carols, with all the churchy goodness.

1) "O Holy Night" - There are a number of artists who have covered this song.  I remember first falling in love with it when listening to Hanson's "Snowed In" Christmas CD when I was 13.  I suggest the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's version of this song, but any will do.

2) "The Holly & The Ivy" - No idea what my favorite version of this song is.  All I know is that I love it.

3) "Angels We Have Heard On High" - Again, no clue what my favorite version is.  I know this is my mom's favorite Christmas song, though.  I grew up knowing that, and I think it just slowly became one of my favorites, too.

4) "The Twelve Days of Christmas" - There have been some great versions of this.  The only one I can listen to more than once a season, though, is John Denver & The Muppets ("Fiiiiiiive gooooooooold riiiiiings... Ba dum, dum, dum!").  Classic.  <3

5) "Silent Night" - It's too classic not to be on my list.  Instrumental versions can be just as beautiful as vocal ones, and no matter what, you'd recognize it as a traditional Christmas song.

Riki's 5 Favorite "Popular" Christmas Songs

The songs that everyone adores, but you probably wouldn't sing door-to-door. 

1) "Sleigh Ride" - Doesn't matter which version; it always gets me bouncing along.  Though, I do really enjoy the Boston Pops version (if for no other reason, than the whip noise they make).

2) "White Christmas" - My favorite version has to be The Drifters (a la "Home Alone").  What's more fun than singing, "I-yi-yi-yi'm dreaming of a white Christmas..."?  Few things, my friends.  Few things.

3) "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" - I adore Judy Garland singing this song, but my true favorite comes from the John Denver & The Muppets Christmas special.  John and Rowlf do this as a duet, and it melts my heart every time I hear it. 

4) "Santa Baby" - Eartha Kitt's version is the only one worth listening to (sorry, Madonna).

5) "Feliz Navidad" - I just want to rock out to this every time I hear it.  Kudos to you, Jose Feliciano!

Riki's 5 Other Favorite Christmas Songs

These are the songs that you probably have heard, but you might not even know they exist.  Some of them could be put into the category above, but they get a special place because I love them so much.

1) "The Chipmunk's Christmas Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" - Because every kid still wants a hoooooooola hooooooooop.

2) "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas" - Gayla Peevey had the original of this song.  I believe it has since been re-done, but I still go for Gayla's version.  :-)

3) "364 Days To Go" - One of my favorite Brad Paisley songs, this is a sweet song about waiting for Christmas.

4) "Song For A Winter's Night" - Sarah McLachlan does such a beautiful job with this song. 

5) "The Christmas Song" - Not the song you'd expect by the title, this is Weezer singing a fairly sad song that I can't help but love.

Now, you have to understand that I love probably 99% of all Christmas music, so this is just a sampling of the songs I truly enjoy each winter.  There are TONS more songs that I could've included, but there's only so much time in the day, my dears.

Now go get your carol on!