How many days left till Christmas???
This entry was posted on 11/30/2007 2:05 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
Getting mired in the pre-Christmas panic? My advice: Take a deep breath and a step back from the mad rush of the holidays. Give yourself (and the folks you love) a moment to enjoy all the sappy stuff that's truly important—like being in the same room together, all at the same time.
• Did you know that "Jingle Bells" was the first song broadcast from space, in a Christmas-themed prank by Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra, December 16, 1965? Spend half an hour around the tree one night with the family—sharing Christmas music. Get the lyrics off the Internet and make everybody sing along with some of the old favorites like:
1. "White Christmas" by Frank Sinatra
2. "Blue Christmas" by Elvis
3. "Frosty the Snowman" by Burl Ives
4. "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" by Bing Crosby
5. "Little Drummer Boy" by Neil Diamond
6. "Silver Bells" by Bing Crosby
7. "Here Comes Santa Claus" by Alvin and the Chipmunks
8. "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" by Elmo & Patsy
9. "Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer" by Gene Autry
10. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" by Jimmy Boyd
And, of course, don't leave out any of the beautiful songs of Christmas like "Silent Night" or "Away in a Manger."
• Pop the corn, fill up a thermos of hot chocolate, and indulge in several movie nights, featuring the classics . You've got to love these old holiday standbys—they're appropriate for the whole family:
1. Scrooge (1951) with Alastair Sim
2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) with Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn
3. The Bishop’s Wife (1947) with Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young
4. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) with Jimmy Stewart
5. White Christmas (1954) with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye
6. Desk Set (1957) with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy
7. Three Godfathers (1948) with John Wayne
8. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) with Barbara Stanwyck
9. Holiday Inn (1942) Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire
• Be sure to schedule TV viewing time for those traditional Christmas cartoons. Check the TV guide, 'cause you won't want to miss:
1. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) narrated by Burl Ives
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) written by Charles Schulz, the comic strip creator
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) written by Dr. Seuss, directed by Chuck Jones, and narrated by Boris Karloff (The voice of the Grinch is also Boris Karloff, but did you know that Thurl "Tony the Tiger" Ravenscroft was actually the one singing, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"?)
4. Frosty the Snowman (1969) narrated by Jimmy Durante
• A Christmas Eve must, gather everybody together and read Twas the Night Before Christmas. Also called, A Visit from St. Nicholas, this poem was written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822. You can print it off the Internet, but you really ought to own a beautiful, illustrated edition.
