3 days till Christmas

3 days till Christmas
December 22nd
Movie of the day: Miracle on 34th Street (90s)
Mara Wilson and Dylan McDermott made this movie my favorite for many years but the old one has grown on me, making it a tie.

Christmas Carol of the day:
Do you see what I see?
This song reminds me of a book I had when I was young that had 3D images that appear if you stare at the images long enough. It was called Do You See What I See?: 3D Christmas Surprises from Magic Eye. The song always played in my head as I stared away at the images trying to make them appear.
http://www.amazon.com/You-See-What-Christmas-Surprises/dp/0836270185
Check out this wreath!

More lovely Christmas shredding!

4 days till Christmas

4 days till Christmas
December 21st
Movie of the day: Miracle on 34th Street (old)
For a long time I didn't know weather I liked the old version or the 90s version better. When ever I watch one or the other I wonder where some of my favorite scenes went. In the older version they bring in bags and bags of mail and in the new version they bring in a reindeer. I now enjoy each for their own merits and watch both every year.

Christmas Carol of the day:
OH Little Town of Bethlehem
http://www.christmas-carol-music.org/Lead_Sheets/OLittleTown_Louis.html


Christmas Trivia
(brought to you by howstuffworks.com)
What is the Origin of Holiday Carols?
In 1847, the music for "O Holy Night" was written by French composer Adolphe-Charles Adam, who also wrote the ballet Giselle. Now a mainstay for church celebrations and carolers, the song was first denounced by church authorities for its "lack of musical taste and total absence of the spirit of religion." The English words to the song were translated from French by American clergyman John Sullivan Dwight.
In 1857, James Pierpont, musical director at his brother's Unitarian church, was inspired to write a song about the rollicking sleigh races he watched as a young man. "Jingle Bells" was first published as "One Horse Open Sleigh," and though it was well liked from the beginning, it really took off when the Hayden Quartet recorded it in 1902.
Pastor Phillips Brooks wrote the words to "O Little Town of Bethlehem" in 1867, recalling the view of Bethlehem from the hills of Palestine at night. His church organist, Lewis Redner, added the music so that the children's choir could sing the song. The song "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" is usually considered anonymous, but some people claim that it was written by Wilf Carter, also known as country singer Montana Slim.
http://christmas.howstuffworks.com/games/christmas-trivia6.htm

Here is a little taste of some Christmas music the way I like it. Enjoy!

Watch this kid shred!

5 days till Christmas

5 days till Christmas
December 20th
Movie of the day: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
This one is a family favorite. We would quote lines from this movie year round just to get a good laugh.

Bethany: Is your house on fire, Clark?
Clark: No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights.

I am always reminded of this movie when we go out looking at Christmas lights. Here are a few memorable light shows that rival Clark's display.







Christmas Carol of the Day:
We wish you a merry Christmas
http://www.carols.org.uk/we_wish_you_a_merry_christmas.htm

Christmas Trivia
(brought to you by howstuffworks.com)
What is Figgy Pudding?
Before you sing, "Now bring us some figgy pudding," it might be helpful to know exactly what you are requesting. Figgy pudding is an English dish similar to bread pudding. Made from figs, bread crumbs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and milk, the pudding is baked, then topped with a scrumptious brandied hard sauce, custard icing, powdered sugar, or whipped cream.
The dish was immortalized in the song We Wish You a Merry Christmas and was served by Mrs. Cratchit in the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol.
http://christmas.howstuffworks.com/games/christmas-trivia8.htm

Comedian Gary Gulman has a great sketch about We wish you a merry Christmas and his problem with the Figgy Pudding part. I wish I could find a video to post. Here is the transcript:

"People used to Christmas carol in my neighborhood.
They would come to my house, even though we were clearly Jewish.
Clearly, because we were the only house in the neighborhood that didn't have a giant Santa on the lawn, a blow-up Santa.
We didn't have that.
We had a giant Neil Diamond on our lawn.
[Laughter] and he would sing "love on the rocks" every half-hour on the half-hour.
[Cheering and applause] and old Jewish women would come from miles around to pay tribute to him and his hairy chest.
[Laughter] my favorite one that they would sing to our, at our house, they would come by and they would do,
♪ we wish you a merry Christmas ♪
♪ we wish you a merry Christmas ♪
which was very nice, and you know, we don't celebrate Christmas, but they also wished us a happy new year, so I appreciated that, but then, at the end, you remember, they get really needy.
They're like, ♪ now bring us some figgy pudding ♪
♪ now bring us some figgy pudding ♪
♪ now bring us ♪
I'm like, "figgy pudding?
" ♪ we won't go until we get some ♪
♪ we won't go ♪
[laughter] like, guys.
You got to call ahead ?
[Laughter] it's a pretty obscure dessert.
What do you think, I got figgy pudding on the boil 24 hours a day?
No figgy pudding.
I've got some figgy newtons. "
http://www.livedash.com/transcript/gary_gulman__boyish_man/6426/COMEDYP/Thursday_October_8_2009/93122/

6 days till Christmas

6 days till Christmas
December 19th
Movie of the day: The Shop Around the Corner
This is the movie that inspired "You've Got Mail". This little film from 1940 is a delightful Christmas flick. "Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand one another, without realizing that they're falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal."-imdb.com

Christmas Carol of the day:
Oh Holy Night
http://www.8notes.com/scores/1537.asp
I grew up during the boy band craze. This has always been my favorite rendition.



Christmas Trivia
(brought to you by howstuffworks.com)
What Types of Materials were used to Wrap Gifts in the 1900s?
Believe it or not, Christmas gifts haven't always been presented wrapped in pretty paper. In the early days, toys and candies were dangled from the Christmas tree.
In the early 1900s, presents were wrapped in white tissue paper and red satin ribbon, with a bit of holly or fresh pine tucked into the ribbon. Straight pins were used to hold the paper together until tape became the standard.
http://christmas.howstuffworks.com/games/christmas-trivia9.htm

I had never heard of putting gifts on the tree till my mother read 'Ernest and Celestine' and 'Merry Christmas, Ernest and Celestine' to me. They were a part of our Christmas book collection when I was young.
"Ernest and Celestine, by Gabrielle Vincent. Greenwillow, 1982.
Celestine, a young mouse, and Ernest, her adult guardian (a bear), try to find a replacement for her favorite toy when it gets left outside in a snow storm and ruined. First, Ernest tries to buy a replacement and then makes one to the specifications of Celestine's drawing." - http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/FamilyLit/FFN/workshop3/booklistview.html
I wrapped gifts today. Depending on what I have on hand, I usually wrap. If I am in a hurry, I am known to use tissue filled gift bags. I have had a secret passion for wrapping gifts since I was really little. Every year around the holidays I consider getting a job in gift wrap... then I just think, "maybe next year."
I am going to a friend's house on Tuesday to help her wrap her gifts. I can't wait! We are going to have so much fun! Party!

7 days till Christmas

7 days till Christmas
December 18th
Movie of the day: The Family Man
I have never really been a fan of Nick Cage, but this is one of the exceptions. This is a bit of a sad story that glimpses the life a man could have had if he had married his love instead of going off in pursuit of fortune.

Christmas Carol of the day:
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
http://www.christmas-carol-music.org/Lead_Sheets/OComeOCome.html

This has always been my favorite rendition.

Christmas Trivia
(brought to you by howstuffworks.com)
What is Gingerbread?
Whether baked into delicious spiced cakes or crunchy, flat cookies, or used to build a "house," gingerbread has been a European delicacy for centuries. As the dessert spread throughout Western Europe, ginger-bread became a part of local traditions. In England, unmarried women would eat gingerbread "husbands" for luck in meeting the real thing.
On festival days, images of saints would be stamped in gingerbread and sometimes iced. Today, gingerbread is often associated with Germany and its holiday traditions. Gingerbread hearts are commonly found at fall fairs, decorated with colored icing and tied with ribbons.
In December in Nuremburg, the "gingerbread capital of the world," the Christkindlmarkt features the famous lebkuchen, which is considered to be the best gingerbread in the world.
http://christmas.howstuffworks.com/games/christmas-trivia8.htm

I have always been a fan of gingerbread as an art form. It is not really a holiday snack item, even though it is made of food. I found an intriguing recipe in Martha Stewart's Holiday Sweets magazine this year that suggested putting a gingerbread spice cake in the center of the gingerbread house. That way the gingerbread says moist. yum!
I have made gingerbread houses several times, but only once did I actually use gingerbread as the base. My family usually did the cheater method of gluing the cookie part to cardboard or just frosting and decorating cardboard. One of my good friends invited me over a few years ago to decorate 'real' gingerbread houses. We had a blast!


This is one I did in kindergarten (we decorated our milk cartons that year in school).


By PetitPlat by sk_, on Flickr


By by EmilyGracey, on Flickr
Check these out!!!
One of my favorite things to do this time of year is watch the Gingerbread House Championship on the Food Network. It really keeps you on your toes!

8 days till Christmas

8 days till Christmas
December 17th
Movie of the day: Holiday Inn
This delightful 1942 film with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire just warms the heart to the season! I stumbled upon this movie on netflix last year and was wonderfully surprised at how much I enjoyed it. "At an inn which is only open on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer."-Imdb.com

Christmas Carol of the day:
It came upon a midnight clear
http://www.christmas-carol-music.org/SATB/ItCameUpon_Carol.html
I somehow always get the feeling from the title of this one that it should be the name of some Christmas monster movie. This classic tune never fails to get stuck in my head though and is hummed much during this season.

Christmas Trivia
(brought to you by howstuffworks.com)
What is the Origin of the Traditional Mistletoe Kiss?
Who doesn't love hanging mistletoe? Although most mistletoe is parasitic, and, therefore, harmful to the trees on which it grows, the Celts thought it had magical powers for healing wounds and increasing fertility, so they placed it throughout their homes for good luck and to ward off evil spirits.
In ancient Britain, mistletoe was considered so sacred that it could only be cut with a golden sickle. Today, Americans decorate doorframes with this plant in hopes of catching a smooch from a sweetheart while standing under its leaves. This tradition is credited to Frigga, the Scandinavian goddess of love and beauty, and is said to date back to the eighth century.
http://christmas.howstuffworks.com/games/christmas-trivia5.htm


By Francois Vaillancourt, on Flickr

I've never had the pleasure of really being kissed under some mistletoe. My family on my father's side always hung it in the house in some unsuspecting spot, so you would always need to keep an eye out so you don't have to kiss a cousin or uncle or something.
I just love the part in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when the mistletoe appears above Harry and Cho and he says "probably full of nargles...". The scene right after the kiss always make me laugh!

9 days till Christmas

9 days till Christmas
December 16th
Movie of the day: The Family Stone
This is a great story of one large family's Christmas where the eldest son brings home his girlfriend (for the first time) and asks his mother for his grandmother's wedding ring. There are a lot of great actors in this one and you can tell they had a good time filming it.

Christmas Carol of the day:
God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
http://www.christmas-carol-music.org/SATB/GodRestYeMerry.html



Christmas Trivia
(brought to you by howstuffworks.com)
What is The Legend of Bûche de Noël?
A classic French dessert, Bûche de Noël is a delicious confection of chocolate cake and rich pastry cream rolled into the shape of a log. The cake symbolizes the belief that a large log should burn continuously on Christmas night.
If it goes out, it means bad luck in the coming year. The next morning, the ashes from the log are scooped up and kept as a good luck charm to heal sickness, bring on needed rain, and guarantee success in business.
http://christmas.howstuffworks.com/games/christmas-trivia8.htm


By PetitPlat by sk_ on Flickr


This one is made out of fabric! By thisisloveforever, on Flickr


This one has a vegan recipe attached. By laurat, on Flickr


By theMouseMarket, on Flickr


By distopiandreamgirl, on Flickr

I always do some sort of holiday baking: cookies, brownies and the like, but I have never tried a Buche De Noel. My mother and I make pretzel almond bark treats with M&Ms on them every year. One recipe I keep going back to is for Baileys brownies.
Brownies:
1 (19.8oz) Package fudge brownie mix
1/2 c oil
1/4 c Baileys Irish Cream liqueur
2 eggs
Frosting:
1/2 c powdered sugar
2 Tb. Baileys Irish Cream liqueur
1/2 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp milk

Heat oven to 350*F. Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan. In a large bowl, combine all brownie ingredients; beat 50 strokes with spoon. Spread in greased pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until brownies are set and begin to pull away from sides of pan. Do not over bake. Cool 45 minutes or until completely cooled.
Beat 1/2 c butter in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in all remaining ingredients; add enough milk for desired spreading consistency (for stronger frosting flavor, use Baileys instead of milk). Spread over cooled brownies.
Refrigerate till firm then cut into bars.
Enjoy!