Every year I hear people complain about the Christmas season starting too early. I have tried to understand their irritation. I have tried to sympathize with how they’re feeling. But I know I will never truly understand where they’re coming from because I am one of those people who adores Christmastime. I don’t really enjoy Christmas Day — in fact, I find it rather depressing — but I love everything leading up to it. Of all the things that bring me joy this time of year, here are the ones I love most:
Christmas Movies. I watch a lot of movies around Christmas, some old favorites and some I get sucked into on ABC Family and the like. The ones I watch nearly every year include …
Yogi's First Christmas
Home Alone
Elf
The Muppet Christmas Carol
A Christmas Story
Love Actually
and
Christmas Vacation
Christmas TV. I do believe I enjoy Christmas television programming even more than seasonal movies. I have a fondness for the cartoons, especially A Charlie Brown Christmas (which I rented and watched, along with Christmas Vacation, BEFORE Thanksgiving this year) …
A Charlie Brown Christmas
… but my heart really belongs to reruns of old sitcoms (think Home Improvement, That ’70s Show, Roseanne and Who’s the Boss?) and the occasional serial (like Beverly Hills, 90210). As of this writing, my favorite Christmas TV episode — well, it’s actually two episodes — is It’s a Bundyful Life, Married… with Children’s spin on It’s a Wonderful Life that features the kickass Sam Kinison.
Hood Golden EggNog. Sadly, I cannot get this brand of eggnog in the Midwest, but I go to town on a carton when I make it back to Connecticut for the holidays. Normally I would consider writing a letter to Hood, asking them to distribute out here, but it’s probably better for my heart and my waistline if I don’t.
Christmas Music. I’m a big fan of Bing Crosby (Did he really beat his kids? Someone mentioned that to me just recently …), Perry Como, Johnny Mathis and the like. One of my very favorite songs is Jim Nabors’ Go Tell It on the Mountain. My favorite CD is Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s Once upon a Christmas. I have a really hard time with a lot of newer stuff — like the Destiny’s Child Christmas garbage they were playing at the library last week — but I’m not fully opposed to it. For instance, Leon Redbone and Zooey Deschanel’s version of Baby, It’s Cold Outside totally rules.
White Christmas
Lights. My husband is not a big fan of Christmas (perhaps the understatement of 2009), but he humors my yearly request to be chauffeured around to look at Christmas lights. I just can’t get enough of all the good, the bad and the ugly. Now that we live in the ‘burbs it’s even better because, though I normally despise the McMansion neighborhoods that contain nary a full-grown tree, they often feature the best holiday light displays.
If you celebrate Christmas or another holiday around this time of year, what’s your favorite part?
Oh goodness, Hood has this sugar cookie egg nog that is one of the most amazing things ever!
I am putting up our lights very soon. (I know we are a little slow on the uptake)
But your card is now hanging on our wall of fame!
Awwwww yeah!
You got Christmas on the brain or what???
P.S. How many days now until you get the best present of all?
Always! I can’t help myself!
FOUR MORE DAYS! FOUR MORE DAYS! FOUR MORE DAYS!
Your mention of Zooey singing led me to youtube which led me to realizing I need to buy Elf. Thanks.
No problem! Enjoy!
Those are all of my favorite parts too
And the cookies!
I don’t mind the early holiday cheer. I cannot handle other holidays this early though!
The day after Christmas is the depressing one for me! Ugh! On with winter…
Mmmm … cookies! My mom makes the best sugar cookies on the face of the planet. And next Thursday is cookie swap day at work. Getting even more excited!
Egg nog and rum is seriously amazing together. We had some and dad downed like two glasses. Insane. And National Lampoons Holiday is such a classic. Love that movie.
It really is a classic … even my high school religion teacher played it in class around Christmastime!
I love Christmas and don’t get the complaints either. I actually have a game where I try to see how early the first holiday commercial comes on each year.
Ooh, I love games — that sounds like a fun Christmas one!
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I so agree with you! I love Love Actually, the Bing Crosby Christmas CD, and the egg nog shake at McDonald’s.
Early Merry Christmas to you!
Early Merry Christmas to you, too!
I love the album “A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector” and any Nat King Cole Christmas album.
I also have a lot of off-beat xmas tunes at home and always look forward to this every year: http://www.soundopinions.org/shownotes/2006/121606/shownotes.html
Sorry to be the bearer of bad Bing news … I thought everyone knew! But the good news is, it might or might not be true:
“After Crosby’s death, his eldest son, Gary, wrote a highly critical memoir, Going My Own Way, depicting his father as cold, remote, and both physically and psychologically abusive.” –wikipedia (it goes on to talk about how the claim was disputed among his kids — gotta love family drama!).
Erica, you have ruined Bing for me forever. I hope you’re happy.
my bday is xmas eve so i go gaga over this holiday.
Happy early birthday, Lynn! Thanks for stopping by!
I enjoyed this Bing post that Robert Ebert tweeted about … http://sunsetgun.typepad.com/sunsetgun/2009/12/bing-crosby-reminds-me-of-christmas-and-not-just-because-of-his-famous-movie-and-song-white-christmas-of-whichotisreddin.html
Ooh! Looking forward to reading it!