middlegirl (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
middlegirl) wrote2008-12-12 01:07 pm
middlegirl) wrote2008-12-12 01:07 pm
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Ten things that make my Christmas season awesome
1. Grant's Advent Calendar. It's a video podcast that he's done every year since 2005. Apparently this makes it the longest-running holiday video podcast on the web. Every year his mother puts together a little advent calendar (basically a small cabinet with 25 doors the perfect size for hiding small toys, candy, or cash), and every day Grant films himself opening that day's door. Sometimes he brings in friends to help him (he's a comic based in Hollywood, so he's even gotten Frank Conniff (aka TV's Frank of MST3K) to open a door), or whatever. Even though he's now done over 75 episodes over three years (Christmas this year will make #100), I don't think he's done two episodes the same way.
It's just not Christmas without Grant's advent calendar. Completely family-friendly, and completely awesome. (Of course, I'm biased, because I'm a big fan of his other podcast, The Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd, and his comedy music act, Throwing Toasters. Basically everything Grant does is brilliant.)
2. This song.
"Santa's Laughter Mocks the Poor" by The Attery Squash. It's just not Christmas without a little snark, and this is based on a riff from MST3K's episode "Santa Claus." It's a new favorite, along with the old standby, "Let's Have a Patrick Swayze Christmas." It'll get stuck in your head, and for that, I don't know if I'm sorry.
3. Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The single most awesome Christmas band in existence (although they also do other stuff - I'm aching to hear their rock-opera concept album "Beethoven's Last Night"). It's partially because of TSO that I'm starting to move away from the classic Christmas songs and more toward Christmas rock. (Does such a genre exist? It does now!) The Calling's "Carol of the Bells." Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime." Harry Connick, Jr.'s "It Must Have Been Ol' Santa Claus" (which is arguably more jazz than rock, but it rocks, so it counts.) Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Rockapella's "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." And it all started with a tune I first heard in high school...
4. Grandma's cooking. My grandma (mother's side) busts out all the old Scandinavian favorites every year. My favorites are her Swedish meatballs over rice and lefse. Lefse looks like a tortilla, but it's not as dense and made out of potatoes. You can go sweet with it (I love it with just a little butter and sugar all rolled up and heated) or savory (it is so good with the meatball gravy). I kind of lose all willpower when it comes to lefse and eat way too much. Oh well. It's only once a year.
5. Neighborhood light displays. It's not about buying out the entire lights section of your local Target (like one neighbor of mine), it's about arranging them cleverly and tastefully. Like another neighbor of mine, who went with a whole "Frosty the Snowman" theme, using wooden cutouts of different characters from the cartoon in addition to the large number of lights. Of course, this is the ultimate light display (which is cool also because it also features #3). I've got a couple of strands for decorating my room, I just don't know what to do with them...
6. My little Christmas tree. It's the perfect size for a dorm room, and it fits right on my dresser. It doesn't have a lot of ornaments, but it doesn't need them. One strand of 50 lights makes it brighter than our family tree, and it has the most awesome star on the top that flashes red, blue and green. It's very simple, but like the neighborhood light displays, simple is better.
7. Christmas movies. My favorites are still Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (because I love Hermey), Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Santa is an outlaw!), How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (because I love Max, and I'm talking about the animated original, not the Jim Carrey abomination), Home Alone, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (one of the reasons Joan Cusack is on my "Celebrities I Want to Hug in a Non-Stalkerish Way" list), and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (Experiment 321 of MST3K; this year I swear I'll finally watch 521 - Santa Claus). Also of note are the two Futurama Christmas episodes, "Xmas Story" and "A Tale of Two Santas." There are plenty of Christmasy things that can get bogged down in the sap (I'm looking at you, "Christmas Shoes!"), and it's easy to get overemotional, frazzled, depressed, or what-have-you, so I love anything at Christmas that makes me laugh.
8. Christmas parties. Newgen (the church junior high ministry) staff white elephant parties are the best. This year I saw the best white elephant gift ever. A pair of extra-large tighty-whities with the Newgen logo screenprinted right across the butt. I about died... (Close second - they may be tied - for best white elephant gift: a live lobster. Definitely went over the $5 limit.) Newgen also has an annual small group party, with a table-decorating contest, which we definitely won for use of color and light (250 lights on one table? Bring your sunglasses!), but lost overall, since it wasn't very imaginative. Next year (no lie!), I want to do a Hanukkah table. Why? Because it's definitely original... and nobody would get a Santa Claus Conquers the Martians table.
9. Christmas cards. Every year some of the members of the MST3K board I frequent do a Christmas card exchange, and I always get cool cards. Last year my efforts were rushed, thanks to finals and all that jazz; this year I sent my cards out early, and picked out cool ones. Imagine a picture of two snowmen standing over a puddle with floating bits of coal. One snowman is holding a hair dryer, and says to the flashlight-holding other snowman, "I'd say we found our murder weapon, Chief." Under the whole thing it says, "CSI: Winter Wonderland," and inside, it says "Warmest holidays wishes!" I thought they were hilarious.
10. Journey to Bethlehem. Every year, a local church converts the field next door into a large walkabout featuring live animals, people in authentic costume, and real flora. You meet a Jewish family headed to Bethlehem for the Roman census and are invited to travel with them. Along the way, you come across Roman soldiers who often keep a member of your party back for questioning, a local bazaar that lets you try things like dates and figs, meet the shepherds who have heard of something amazing that's happened in town, and at the end, you come into the stable, where Mary and Joseph are with the newborn baby Jesus. It's a great way to present the gospel and make the Christmas story literally come alive.
It's just not Christmas without Grant's advent calendar. Completely family-friendly, and completely awesome. (Of course, I'm biased, because I'm a big fan of his other podcast, The Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd, and his comedy music act, Throwing Toasters. Basically everything Grant does is brilliant.)
2. This song.
"Santa's Laughter Mocks the Poor" by The Attery Squash. It's just not Christmas without a little snark, and this is based on a riff from MST3K's episode "Santa Claus." It's a new favorite, along with the old standby, "Let's Have a Patrick Swayze Christmas." It'll get stuck in your head, and for that, I don't know if I'm sorry.
3. Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The single most awesome Christmas band in existence (although they also do other stuff - I'm aching to hear their rock-opera concept album "Beethoven's Last Night"). It's partially because of TSO that I'm starting to move away from the classic Christmas songs and more toward Christmas rock. (Does such a genre exist? It does now!) The Calling's "Carol of the Bells." Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime." Harry Connick, Jr.'s "It Must Have Been Ol' Santa Claus" (which is arguably more jazz than rock, but it rocks, so it counts.) Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." Rockapella's "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." And it all started with a tune I first heard in high school...
4. Grandma's cooking. My grandma (mother's side) busts out all the old Scandinavian favorites every year. My favorites are her Swedish meatballs over rice and lefse. Lefse looks like a tortilla, but it's not as dense and made out of potatoes. You can go sweet with it (I love it with just a little butter and sugar all rolled up and heated) or savory (it is so good with the meatball gravy). I kind of lose all willpower when it comes to lefse and eat way too much. Oh well. It's only once a year.
5. Neighborhood light displays. It's not about buying out the entire lights section of your local Target (like one neighbor of mine), it's about arranging them cleverly and tastefully. Like another neighbor of mine, who went with a whole "Frosty the Snowman" theme, using wooden cutouts of different characters from the cartoon in addition to the large number of lights. Of course, this is the ultimate light display (which is cool also because it also features #3). I've got a couple of strands for decorating my room, I just don't know what to do with them...
6. My little Christmas tree. It's the perfect size for a dorm room, and it fits right on my dresser. It doesn't have a lot of ornaments, but it doesn't need them. One strand of 50 lights makes it brighter than our family tree, and it has the most awesome star on the top that flashes red, blue and green. It's very simple, but like the neighborhood light displays, simple is better.
7. Christmas movies. My favorites are still Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (because I love Hermey), Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Santa is an outlaw!), How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (because I love Max, and I'm talking about the animated original, not the Jim Carrey abomination), Home Alone, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (one of the reasons Joan Cusack is on my "Celebrities I Want to Hug in a Non-Stalkerish Way" list), and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (Experiment 321 of MST3K; this year I swear I'll finally watch 521 - Santa Claus). Also of note are the two Futurama Christmas episodes, "Xmas Story" and "A Tale of Two Santas." There are plenty of Christmasy things that can get bogged down in the sap (I'm looking at you, "Christmas Shoes!"), and it's easy to get overemotional, frazzled, depressed, or what-have-you, so I love anything at Christmas that makes me laugh.
8. Christmas parties. Newgen (the church junior high ministry) staff white elephant parties are the best. This year I saw the best white elephant gift ever. A pair of extra-large tighty-whities with the Newgen logo screenprinted right across the butt. I about died... (Close second - they may be tied - for best white elephant gift: a live lobster. Definitely went over the $5 limit.) Newgen also has an annual small group party, with a table-decorating contest, which we definitely won for use of color and light (250 lights on one table? Bring your sunglasses!), but lost overall, since it wasn't very imaginative. Next year (no lie!), I want to do a Hanukkah table. Why? Because it's definitely original... and nobody would get a Santa Claus Conquers the Martians table.
9. Christmas cards. Every year some of the members of the MST3K board I frequent do a Christmas card exchange, and I always get cool cards. Last year my efforts were rushed, thanks to finals and all that jazz; this year I sent my cards out early, and picked out cool ones. Imagine a picture of two snowmen standing over a puddle with floating bits of coal. One snowman is holding a hair dryer, and says to the flashlight-holding other snowman, "I'd say we found our murder weapon, Chief." Under the whole thing it says, "CSI: Winter Wonderland," and inside, it says "Warmest holidays wishes!" I thought they were hilarious.
10. Journey to Bethlehem. Every year, a local church converts the field next door into a large walkabout featuring live animals, people in authentic costume, and real flora. You meet a Jewish family headed to Bethlehem for the Roman census and are invited to travel with them. Along the way, you come across Roman soldiers who often keep a member of your party back for questioning, a local bazaar that lets you try things like dates and figs, meet the shepherds who have heard of something amazing that's happened in town, and at the end, you come into the stable, where Mary and Joseph are with the newborn baby Jesus. It's a great way to present the gospel and make the Christmas story literally come alive.
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