Went right into putting up the Christmas decorations as soon as I finished breakfast this morning. Started off with setting the Christmas bears under the tree. In 1987, Dad gave Mom the most adorable white stuffed bear from K-Mart who wore a red and green knitted scarf and hat with the year on it. She loved him so much, she grabbed a few of our bears, dressed them in scarves and hats and Anny's red velvet toddler dress she'd grown out of, and set them up as a Christmas display on her hope chest. They were an interactive display - we were encouraged to play with them and change their hats and scarves all season, as long as we put them back later. We even gave them party hats at New Year's. Mom put them out from the late 80's through the mid-90's. By around 1996, she'd finally gotten tired of dressing them and setting them out every year. When I moved out, she gave the remaining Christmas-only bears and their winter outfits to me. They go under the tree now, filling in that space (since I don't give enough presents to put under there).
The bears aren't the only display, either. Next to them on the record crates are Holly the 6-inch doll and the mini-Nutcracker, along with a basket of greenery and a tiny log cabin that's supposed to be used for incense. (Holly is technically an ornament, but she's too big to fit on my tree.) Two jolly porcelain bears in Santa outfits and the clay folk-ish candle holder from Willa and Richard are alongside the record player. Books on holiday history and humor are stacked on the dry sink. Mom also contributed the greenery and hand-made calico "gingerbread" people and stars gathered around the TV. The shelves are laden with stuffed animals, from holiday Beanie Bears to Marie from The Aristocats in chic winter gear to old printed stuffed elves Mom sewed years ago to my Webkinz penguins Elvis and Priscilla.
The new 18-inch tree went in the bedroom. It turned out to be too tall for the Ever After High and Star Wars dolls. I finally left it on top of the wardrobes with the collectible dolls and bears, decorating it with long strings of yarn and a red yarn bow. Took the chenille candy canes I bought at the Vermont Country Store last year off the big tree, along with a few other tiny ornaments that sort of got lost there. The Ever After High and Sailor Moon dolls also get the "Falala" and "Hohoho" signs Linda Young made me years ago. The Ever After High dolls on the top shelf get the smaller 12-inch tree and Winter Cinderella. The resin Santa statue is over by the window, next to the narrow book shelf where I put the three tiny porcelain teddy bears in winter outfits and a Santa hat.
Ran two specials on holiday history as I worked. Christmas Past is a documentary on the history of the holiday in England, as told by the people who lived through a lot of it. Interviewees included a female Father Christmas, a member of the gentry who remembered Christmas for his family and their servants, Scots who had their first real Christmases period in the 1950's, and a woman who was taken in by a wealthy couple when she was evacuated as a child during World War II.
Christmas Unwrapped is a somewhat similar History Channel special. This time, holiday historians (and Jean Shepard) explain how holiday customs migrated from Europe to the US, and how we created our own, including Santa Claus, Rudolph, and Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Headed out to stretch my legs around quarter after 1. It was a much nicer day than I thought it would be. It was originally supposed to rain today, but I guess the rain all came last night. It was also a bit warmer, probably in the 50's. The sun was trying to come out as I strolled into the Oaklyn Library. They were busy for that late in the day, with a man reading newspapers and two older ladies chatting at the table. I organized DVDs and looked at the board books in the kids' area.
Stopped at WaWa on the way home. I haven't had one of their Gobbler hoagies in ages. Grabbed a Cherry-Limeade sparkling ice to go with it.
Finished TV Guide Looks at Christmas while I ate. This one covers the history of Christmas on television, from beloved animated specials to favorite sitcom episodes to holiday movies shown again and again. I always like hearing about Christmas variety specials. I was born in 1979, when variety shows were dying on American television. I only knew Pee Wee's during my childhood, though I do have the soundtrack to Judy Garland's show.
Worked on writing for a few hours. I mainly revised the opening, moving it from an office with no bearing on the plot to the toy department. Poe and BB now encounter Snoke and Leia as they're coming from the offices through the toy department and arguing over the store's problems, and Kaydel works with the others in the toy aisles.
Had leftovers for dinner around 6:30 while watching the rest of Rick Steves' European Christmas. Rick takes us across the continent that birthed some of our most cherished holiday customs. The French skate on the top of the Eiffel Tower and make beef tenderloin wrapped in pastry for dinner. Austrians decorate their trees away from the kids, keeping it as a surprise. The Swiss make cutting down the tree and bringing it home a family affair. Italians have living nativities in Tuscany and huge dinners feeding the poor in Rome. Brits enjoy choir concerts and making Christmas pudding with their families. Germans hit their local markets for the best gingerbread, while their children ask for gifts from a beautiful angel. Sturdy Swedes celebrate St. Lucia Day with young Lucias singing for old folks.
Put on Santa Claus Is Coming to Town while cleaning up from dinner. This is Rankin-Bass' versions of the origins of everyone's favorite holiday gift-giver. Here, he's Kris Kringle, a young man raised by toy-making elves in the Whispering Woods. He wants to give their toys to the children of Sombertown, but the tyrannical Burgomaster Meister Burger has forbidden toys. Kris has to figure out a way around the Burgomaster's strict laws, with the help of the Winter Warlock and the lovely teacher Jessica.
Ended the night online with The Poseidon Adventure. Ten people from very different walks of life - a teen girl (Pamela Sue Martin) and her little brother (Eric Shea), a police lieutenant (Ernest Borganine) and his former prostitute wife (Stella Stevens), and older couple on their way to see their grandson in Israel (Shelly Winters and Jack Albertson), a shy haberdasher (Red Buttons), the ship's singer (Carol Lynley), a waiter (Roddy MacDowell), and an unorthodox reverend (Gene Hackman) - find themselves thrown together after the cruise ship they're on is turned upside-down by a massive wave. They have to rely on each other to get to the top and to safety. Not all of them will make it, but those that do continue learn a lot about what people will sacrifice to help others, and the importance of action in the face of adversity.
Wow. Worth seeing for the all-star cast alone. Along with those mentioned, we also have a brief appearance by Leslie Nielson as the ship's captain, almost a decade from his comedy career. The special effects are pretty incredible, too, especially when the ship is being battered around by the storm and is actually turning over. Winters was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her emotional turn as a kindly matron who is far more useful than she thinks. (The visual effects deservedly won.) Buttons, as the sweet shy guy who becomes the group's voice of reason, Hackman as the strong-willed priest, and Albertson as Winters' devoted husband are also excellent.
This was huge in the early 70's, in fact the biggest hit of 1972, and I can definitely see why. It even spun off a hit song in its Oscar-winning theme "The Morning After," still one of my favorite movie theme songs of all time. If you love any of the cast or disaster films, this is is a must-see movie in that genre.
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