A Child's Christmas In the Grocery Store

I got up early enough this morning to get my Christmas cards done before I go to work. Only two cards get sent through the actual mail. All of the others are either part of packages or are given directly to the recipient. Saves me a lot of stamps, and I think it's more personal when you give them out instead of send them.

Ran Very Merry Christmas Songs while doing the cards. I was disappointed to see that the original wrap-around segments reusing footage from the 50s Jiminy Cricket Christmas special (and the song from that special "From All Of Us to All of You") have been exchanged for a more elaborate wrap-around featuring a huge model town and railroad and a ponderous narrator.

Otherwise, all of the sing-alongs from the original video are present and in their original forms (other than a remixed version of "March of the Wooden Soldiers"). Some of the additions are obvious shills for other Disney direct-to-video productions of the era; others, such as the Bing Crosby "White Christmas," are more welcome. And even the obvious plugs have their uses. This may be the only place to easily find "As Long As There's Christmas" from Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas. That "mid-quel" has been out of print for several years on video and DVD. (I'm surprised Disney didn't re-release it when they put Beauty and the Beast back out in October.)

Work was actually kind of fun, for once. I'm glad one of the managers called me in yesterday morning. First of all, I really need the extra hours. Second, it was on-and-off busy, which gave me a chance to finish the candy I started yesterday.

Third, we had four groups of kindergartners from different area schools touring the store today. Some of them had more time to spend at the store than others, but they were all really enjoyable to watch, and just so cute! I loved how they'd all say "Merry Christmas!" to everyone on the front end, customers and Acme employees alike.

I was done at 2:30, home by quarter after, and out again by 3. I really wanted to get some volunteering in at the Haddon Township Library. That was my original plan for today anyway. I avoided the worst of the traffic on Cuthbert by taking the path through Newton River Park both ways. It was windy, cloudy, and cold, but the park was surprisingly busy with joggers and walkers.

As it turns out, there wasn't a whole lot to do at the library. They already had several kids just out of school doing CDs and audio books. I put away the few DVDs and shelved kids' books. I ended up taking out the one Christmas DVD I could find, Max and Ruby's Christmas.

Went straight back to the apartment after I was done at the Library. I put chicken breasts in the kitchen to marinate in Teriyaki sauce for an hour, then put on Max and Ruby. My two favorite bunny siblings celebrated the holidays by waiting for Santa, learning to make a figure eight, building a snow queen, having a tea (and pirate) party, and holding a surprise party for Ruby's friend Louise.

Ran The Year Without a Santa Claus while having Teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli, brown rice, and eggplant Parmesan for dinner. One of the most famous Rankin-Bass specials tells the tale of how Santa caught a bad cold one November and decided to take a vacation from his usual duties...much to the consternation of his wife and the two head elves. They take it on themselves to find some Christmas cheer and restore Santa's good health, but they don't count on the Heat Miser and the Snow Miser and their ribald feud to make things a lot more difficult!

One of the funniest of the classic Rankin Bass specials is by far best known for the Miser Brothers and their crazy vaudeville numbers. They were so popular, they would be revived in a second special in 2008.