Games for Christmas

Began a sunny morning with banana pancakes for breakfast and the 1965 edition of The Great Songs of Christmas. Goodyear put this series out from 1961 to 1977; I have about half of the ones released under the original Great Songs name. The '65 edition has long been my favorite, thanks to several rarities. Maurice Chevalier performs "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and "Silent Night," the latter partially in his native French. Diahann Carroll performs two lovely old carols, the medieval "Lo, How a Rose Er Blooming" and sweet "Some Children See Him." Sammy Davis Jr. finishes things off with the lively "It's Christmas Time All Over the World."

Tried calling Rose again before work; still didn't get her. Called Uber shortly after. My rides to and from work were very quiet and smooth. Got in with enough time to quickly buy a salad bowl for dinner. 

Work was on-and-off busy. On one hand, it could have been worse, particularly in the middle of the day. We did get busy around noon and later at 3, before the Eagles game started. Once the football games kicked in, our customers left. There were a few annoying customers, but nothing unbearable. We were so quiet by 6:30 PM, I volunteered to spend the last half-hour shelving returns. 

I got calls from Rose and Jodie while I was at work. Called Jodie first when I got in...and after calling me four times, she still didn't answer. Went over to her side of the house anyway. Turns out she was on the phone. She offered me mushroom pizza and ginger ale for dinner. She's really scared right now because a lot of her family, including her Aunt Colleen, have the virus and she has to buy their groceries and leave it on their porches. 

Finally got Rose when I came back. As I mentioned, the bike shop in Cherry Hill doesn't have online sales, and they're the closest to us. I have some ideas of what I want...but what I want is a cruiser bike, with single speeds and no hand brakes, and they're not common. Rose suggested we wait until after the holidays to deal with either my bike or my cell phone. I was hoping I'd at least have the bike back on the road as soon as possible, but I guess not. 

Spent the rest of the night watching Christmas game shows on YouTube. My oldest find was a 1968 episode of Concentration with its original host, the late Hugh Downs. This unique show was played with two Santa Clauses winning money for CARE. I won't give away whom the Santas really were...but one was very familiar to Downs...

Peter Tomarken dashed into the studio in his robe and nightclothes just in time for the Christmas Day episode of Press Your Luck in 1986. The lady who won eventually picked up a gorgeous fur coat (made in Camden!), announced by Rod Roddy in a Santa Claus suit. 

The episode of Super Password I went with is also from Christmas Day 1986. Southern belle Mary Anne Mobley and her host hubby Gary Collins keep it in the family this week, as they compete to see who can lead their contestant to the Super Password bonus round. Gary made it this time, but he had a much harder time with the actual round, including misinterpreting a word. 

Celebrities also figured into Christmas week on the 1979 Monty Hall Beat the Clock. Patti Deustch and Johnny Brown of Good Times managed to beat Joyce Bulifant and Ronnie Schell by a wide county mile and win money for their section of the audience. (Note Joyce mentions a movie she just filmed called Airplane. For those of you who are familiar with that classic disaster spoof, she was the concerned mother of the sick little girl.)

Battlestars lasted long enough in 1983 to have a very well-decorated Christmas episode. Celebrities answered goofy questions (and in the case of Richard Simmons, made weird faces) in this variation on Hollywood Squares featuring Alex Trebek. 

Christmas landed in the middle of Teen Week on Scrabble. A young man kept defeating all comers, but he claimed he couldn't win the Bonus Round. He managed to defeat two girls and a (slightly) older boy to finally win the money. 

Christmas Day 1981 on The Price Is Right kicked off with an extravagant gold and silver tree on the Price Is Right train that was a lot more expensive than anyone could have guessed! The rest of the show was less holiday-oriented and ran more-or-less as usual, including one young man who said he broke his wrist running into a guy in a wheelchair on his bike. (And I thought running into a car was embarrassing.)

Hope you enjoy these holiday blasts from the past!

Concentration (1968)

Beat the Clock (1979)
The Price Is Right (1981)

Battlestars (1983)

Press Your Luck (1986)

Super Password (1986)

Scrabble (1988)

Oh, and thanks the Eagles' replacement quarterback Jacen Hurts, they just managed to sneak past the New Orleans Saints 24-21. 

Christmas Comes But Once A Year

Began a sunny, warm morning with breakfast and Yogi's All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper. Yogi and Boo-Boo hop a bus to the city to visit their fellow Hanna-Barbara funny animals, unaware that they all went to Jellystone to visit them. While the others search for them, they befriend a little rich girl they find in a department store, then recruit the others when they arrive to find her businessman father. 

Threw on the short "Christmas Comes but Once a Year" while getting ready for work. Grampy from the later Betty Boop cartoons makes his only solo appearance when he passes an orphanage and hears sobbing. The kids are devastated that their Christmas presents fell apart when they barely played with them. Grampy makes use of household objects to make new toys and find a way to bring joy to the disappointed group.

Thankfully, work went far better than yesterday. It got a little busy around rush hours, but otherwise was pretty dead. Most people are likely still at the malls, or at least shopping online. We probably won't be that crazy until people start thinking of baking and Christmas dinner next week. A beautiful day likely helped, too, especially since it's supposed to snow next week. 

Thankfully, I also remembered my wallet this time and was able to do my own grocery shopping. Found shrimp with a manager's coupon that would be good for dinner and two boxes of cocoa-coated almonds on clearance. Bought coconut, maraschino cherries, whole wheat flour, parchment paper, and cake mix for making cookies next week. Restocked yogurt, sweet potatoes, cranberries, lemon juice, milk, cereal, Parmesan cheese, and ground turkey. 

Got to and from work quickly on Uber. Rose called again; once again, I called her back, but never heard from her. Changed, and then had shrimp and sautéed spinach and mushrooms for dinner while watching Cricket on the Hearth. I go further into this Dickens melodrama from Rankin-Bass at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Cricket On the Hearth

Finished off the night with Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales. This may have been created to fill an hour with A Charlie Brown Christmas, but it has it's own share of amusing material. My favorite skits include Sally writing to "Samantha Claus," how she gets a Christmas tree, and Lucy and Linus writing Santa. 

Blue Christmas

Began the morning with breakfast and the second season Christmas episode of Laverne & Shirley in honor of David Lander, who passed away on December 4th. "Oh Hear the Angel Voices" has Carmine convincing everyone to perform at a local hospital on Christmas Eve. Shirley is horrified when they realize it's a mental hospital. She's heard stories about the people who end up in mental facilities. Laverne's too busy flirting with the contestants to notice.

Switched to To Tell the Truth as I got dressed for work. I'm glad I put on the show after I ate. The first guest was a young man who funded graduate school cooking fancy Chinese meals at fine local restaurants. The panel was split between one and two; turned out to be knowledgeable two. 

Called Uber later than I should have and ended up being ten minutes to work. It was the beginning of a bad day. Several customers were nasty, grouchy, or just plain mean, including another person who demanded I put paper bags into plastic for her before I started. I'm not used to working 8 1/2 hours and was more than worn out by the end of the day. Not to mention, I did my grocery shopping before I realized I ran out this morning and forgot my wallet. I couldn't get anything and embarrassed myself.

At least I was able to get my schedule. In good news, Tuesday off, and my hours for most of the week are a little more normal. Bad news...another 8 hour day on Sunday, which means I have three in a row, and only one day off again. If today totally wore me out, I don't want to contemplate what three will do. We weren't even that busy today, except for at rush hour. It was on-and-off steady for most of the afternoon, normal for Friday in the middle of the month. 

Thankfully, the very sweet young lady Uber driver was early. Turns out she was dropping off someone at the Wal Mart behind the Acme. I got to and from work with no trouble whatsoever.

Changed and went straight into leftovers for dinner and Match Game '75 when I got home. They're still trying to get the champ to belly dance. Charles jumped in, pretending to be a snake charmer. It didn't work. Meanwhile, Allen Ludden keeps showing off his fancy watch to anyone who'll listen. Match Game PM brought in Betty White, Eva Gabor, and Dick Martin to make jokes about what the dullest book to make a movie about would be. (Of course, if you asked Betty, it would be Brett's life...)

Sale of the Century started over with three new contestants. The woman won two of the three Fame Games and bought an Instant Bargain in the beginning, but one of the men bought a second Bargain, won a Fame Game, and pushed ahead in the Speed Round. He picked up a computer desk on the Match the Prizes board.

Finished out the night with Babes In Toyland on Disney Plus. I went further into this charming Mother Goose fantasy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in November 2018.

Babes In Toyland (1961)

Busy Holidays

With a busy weekend coming up, I desperately needed to sleep in. Had breakfast during the tail end of Body Language. Brad Garrett and Dr. Joyce Brothers are the celebrities playing charades this week. Garrett's partner defeated a long-running champ and just missed getting the bonus money. Blockbusters continued with the mother-daughter duo, who had far more competition from a smart older lady than in any challenger they dealt with previously. They started playing a tie-breaker game as the show ended.

Put on The Devil's Brother (Fra Diavolo) as I did the dishes, wrote out my nephew Collyn's birthday card (it's on Saturday) and packed up Lauren's Christmas presents. I go further into this dashing Laurel & Hardy operetta at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

The Devil's Brother (Fra Diavolo)

Headed out to do the laundry the moment the movie ended. It was a gorgeous day for it. Sunny and breezy, in the lower 50's, not warm but decent for this time of year. I took the cart, and probably would have even if I had the bike on the road. It was too nice to rush the trip, and I had too much laundry to fit on top of the basket anyway. 

Not to mention, I had errands to run. My first stop was a very brief one at Dollar General. They were out of sugar, and that's what I needed, so I was quickly on my way. The Oaklyn Post Office is around the corner. I was surprised at how quiet they were. I only waited a few minutes to send out Lauren's package and drop a pile of out of town Christmas cards in the slot. 

The laundromat wasn't any busier. I saw the two managers fixing pipes behind the dryers and one other man, and that was it. Dropped the laundry in one of the front-loading dryers that doesn't take as long and hurried out. Family Dollar did have sugar; also picked up another cookie tin and one more Christmas bag. Worked on story notes while my laundry was in the dryer.

Put everything away when I got back, then watched more Buzzr during lunch. Mary Cadorette lead a very smart older lady to 5,000 in the Super Password bonus round and another 1,000 in the Ca$hword mini game on Super Password. The late Helen Reddy and her husband Jeff Wald were the big Tattletales winners today, over game show host Jan Murray and his wife Toni and mouthy plus-sized comedienne Totie Fields and her husband George Johnston. The champ had no problems winning Press Your Luck after her competitors kept hitting Whammies and she lucked into a vacation to Miami and a ski boat.

A package awaited me on the porch of the main house when I got in. It was Mom's gift from Swiss Colony. We've been buying petit fours - mini-cakes with cream between the layers robed in chocolate - from this catalog/online company since at least the mid-90's. This year, she sent me a collection of petis fours, including brownie bits with cream on top and coffee-flavored petit fours. Yum! They're as delicious as I remember them being in my teens. 

Worked on writing after the show ended. Captain Kennedy sent several of his men to be hired onto Goodson's ship the SS Todman and spy on their movements. Kennedy intends to follow them and raid the ship. Betty's worried that it may be a trap, but Gene will do anything to get his crew and treasure back...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had a baked wild tuna steak with roasted Brussels sprouts and mashed sweet potatoes while watching Match Game '75. The beauty who turned Richard's head was defeated by a lady who claimed she'd show off her belly dancing skills if she won money. Richard did win the Head-to-Head for her...but she didn't dance, mainly because they played a march instead. Match Game PM had just as much fun with a sweet aspiring singer and a laid-back nutritionist and health nut from Waikiki whom Brett seemed to have a bit of a crush on. 

Started chocolate chip-oatmeal cookies while Sale of the Century ran. The champ went for the whole pot today, including 50,000. It ended up almost the same as yesterday, only this time, he bought no Instant Bargains. The one lady won the Fame Games, but he won the Speed Round...and indeed, got his 50,000 to become one of the biggest winners the show ever had.

Switched to What's Happening!! on The Roku Channel as the cookies came out of the oven. "A Christmas Story" from the first season has Roger and his little sister Dee joining their father for Christmas dinner, since they think their mother will be working. Turns out, their dad Bill's girlfriend Nadine has a cold and ruins their dinner. Good thing their mother isn't as far as they think, and everyone in the neighborhood brought them food when they thought they'd be alone.

Finished the night on Hulu after a shower with Perfect Strangers. Balki and Larry also appear in "A Christmas Story" in their second season. Larry's devastated when a snowstorm cancels their flight home to Madison. Balki reminds him that even if he can't be with his family for the holidays, he still has him. 

"The Gift of the Mypiot" from the fourth season finds Balki inviting his much-hated boss Mr. Gorpley to his and Larry's Christmas party. Gorpley's not popular among his employees, and his sarcastic and nasty attitude doesn't exactly add to the holiday spirit. Turns out, though, that Gorpley never had a decent Christmas until Balki gave him one. 

Slightly White Christmas

Began a cloudy, cool morning with breakfast and A Walt Disney Christmas. I dubbed this collection of winter and holiday-related shorts off a vintage clamshell video about a decade ago. "Once Upon a Wintertime" is a romantic Currier and Ives rendezvous as two lovers go skating and end up being rescued by their animal friends. "Santa's Workshop" and "The Night Before Christmas" are Silly Symphonies depicting Christmas Eve at the North Pole and what happens when he delivers the toys. Mickey and the gang are "On Ice" as Mickey shows off for Minnie, Donald teases Pluto, and Goofy tries ice fishing. Huey, Dewey, and Louie turn "Donald's Snow Fight" into all-out war, but it may leave their uncle with that sinking feeling.

Took Uber to and from work with no problems. Work was only busy during the noon and 3 PM rush hour...and wouldn't you know it, we suddenly lost power around 12:30. It was only for a minute, but long enough for the registers to go out. And of course, my register was the only one that didn't come back up right away. I had to move everyone to the next register. Other than that, there were no major problems, no obnoxious customers. It even flurried at one point, and started briefly again when I went home. In both cases, it stuck around long enough to look pretty and not much else.

Rose called while I was at work; I called her back when I went home. She and Craig did take the bike to Erlton Bike Shop in Cherry Hill. As it turns out, they're not concerned about getting the bolt off. The bike isn't fixable. The front wheel and frame were bent, likely from the car accident in May. They're surprised I was able to ride it for so long without it falling apart.

I didn't know. Other than the loose chain and popped inner tube that just happens after a while, I've had no problem riding the bike since I was able to get back on it. There didn't look like there was anything wrong with it after the accident, either. They want me to get baskets for the back or some kind of storage that'll balance the bike better, too. I run a lot of errands on my bike. 

After that, I could barely focus on writing. Allen and Betty reveal that they intend to use their part of the money from taking on Goodson to fund a refurbishment of The All Star and a new crew. Tom explains he already has several pirates who infiltrated Goodson's crew and will let them onboard.

Broke for leftovers at 6:30. Match Game '75 started with jokes about where Grandpa found Grandma's false teeth and ended with a gorgeous contestant turning a lot of heads, including very obviously Richard's. Robert Walden and Judy Landers joined Billy Daily, Gene, and the regulars to help an ensign figure out what a "grand old blank" a songwriter's mother in law was on Match Game PM. 

There was barely any contest on Sale of the Century. The champ dominated full-stop. The other man did get two out of the three Fame Games, but he bought all three Instant Bargains and won the Speed Round even with missing a bunch of questions. He picked up the 10,000 and eventually opted to return and try for 50,000.

Let Buzzr continue in the background as I wrapped presents. My final gift for Jodie arrived today. Lauren said she's not interested in cookies this year, so I'll be sending out her box tomorrow. Mom and Anny's boxes should go out by the end of next week or the beginning of the week after that. 

It took me so long to do them, I only had the time for Mickey and the Roadster Racers before the Match Game '90 YouTube premiere when I got online. It's a "Happy Hot Dog Diggity Holiday" when the racers have to find three ornaments all over town in order to win the honor of placing the Golden Star Tree Topper on top of the town tree. Chip pairs with Goofy and Dale with Donald in order to win the Topper for each other. "Happy Holidays Helpers" end up doing everything from unblocking Clarabelle's chimney to digging out a snowbound Grandpa Beagle, but Minnie's worried they won't get their own party ready in time for the guests to arrive. 

Finding Christmas

Began the morning with breakfast and The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas. Ted E. Bear (voice of Tom Smothers) is a bright little fellow who is very curious about Christmas. Most bears hibernate before the holiday begins, but Ted is determined to stay awake and see it for himself. He eventually ends up in New York City, where Santa Claus (Robert Holt) directs him to a place where he'll discover that Christmas is more than a time of year. It's a special feeling...and one that's best shared with those we love.

Tried calling the Erlton Bike Shop in Cherry Hill twice after I got online. I never reached them. Worked on writing instead. Captain Allen Ludden and his wife Betty White are also seeking revenge on Goodson, who confiscated their ship the All Star. While a big score has allowed them to build another ship, they're banding together with Kennedy to get back at Goodson for taking their first one.

Rose called shortly after I got off the computer. Erlton's website does have an e-mail, so she suggested I e-mail them. Couldn't figure out how to do it on my phone, so I went back on the laptop and sent them a short note asking if they needed an appointment, or if we could just drop off the bike. 

(They responded later in the afternoon. No appointment needed. We can just drop off the bike for curbside pick-up. I texted Rose, but haven't heard from her. I'll call her tomorrow.)

Threw on Mickey's Christmas Carol while getting ready for work. This is the featurette version of Dickens' Christmas Carol, released in 1982. Uncle Scrooge is, of course, his namesake. Donald's Nephew Fred, with Mickey and Minnie as the Cratchits. Also ran the adorable short "Pluto's Christmas Tree" with Pluto chasing Chip and Dale out of the tree Mickey just brought home.

Took a quick Uber trip to work. I did spend a lot of another gorgeous, chilly day outside pushing carts...when they weren't calling me in to take a register because one of the cashiers called out. Had to deal with a very rude man who demanded I put the paper bags in the plastic bags first to make things faster. When I took a question from a woman who needed to know how to find the baby formula, he told me to get back to his order this second! I told him quite bluntly he was being rude and needed to let me do my job. I thought I lost my temper, but I guess the other women in the line approved. I got nothing but praise for how I dealt with him from the customers behind him and the woman running Instacart curbside pick-up orders.

I needed to go right into Match Game '75 and leftovers for dinner after I got home. Arrived just in time for jokes about Fannie Flagg's sweater with the hands on them. The second episode began with Gene laying on the floor, taking a nap, and ended with jokes about how Avery Schreiber combs his wild curls. Another comedian known for their wild hair, Phyllis Diller, joined the fun on Match Game PM. While Charles refused to answer a question because Gene acknowledged Fred Grandy's bow tie and not his, Phyllis helped a young lady who wanted to win $7,500.

The champ continues to dominate Sale of the Century. One of the other men did win the third Fame Game board, but otherwise, it was all him. Trouble is, he keeps jumping in too early...and being lucky that so is everyone else! Everyone kept jumping in too early on the Speed Round and giving weird answers, to the amusement of Jim Perry. In the end, the champ once again barely got through the Speed Round and picked up $3,000 on the Match the Prizes board. 

Worked on my Christmas cards after dinner. I hope I'm just able to give some of them out. All the ones being sent in the mail should be out tomorrow or Thursday, but I'm not sure I'll see some family members who would usually be around for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Jodie actually came to me at one point in the evening and claimed she wasn't going to put up a Christmas tree because she was too depressed. I think putting up the tree will make her feel a lot less depressed.

Finished the night after a shower with The Bohemian Girl on TCM. I go further into the first of two Laurel and Hardy operettas I'll cover this week at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

The Bohemian Girl

Out In the Sunshine

Kicked off the morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. "The Doc McStuffins Christmas Special" is from the final season of the show set in McStuffinsville, a land of toys. Doc and her crew are horrified to come downstairs on Christmas morning and discover no toys under the tree. She uses her magic stethoscope to go back in time with the toys and talk to Santa at the North Pole. Turns out Santa's workshop lost electricity, and Santa himself is stranded up in the air. Doc recruits her toys to find him, make more toys for the kids, and see to it that one lonely little girl gets a special doll.

Betty White and Jamie Farr were the ones "showing that they can dance" on Body Language. Jamie Farr's tumble to illustrate "gymnast" was awesome! And from his big smile afterwards, he clearly enjoyed himself. Betty White, however, knows game shows better than anybody. Not only did she lead her gentleman to the final round, they won with time to spare, too. 

Blockbusters started as I got dressed. The mother-daughter team continues to defeat all comers. They'd just won the Gold Run round again as I called Uber, and were working on their next challenger as I grabbed my coat and headed outside.

No problems with Uber today - not even with the guy who was late picking me up last week. Both rides to and from work were smooth as can be. I got into work literally with no time to spare.

Today was the first of two days in a row I'm bagging. The young woman who's been working with the head bagger has today and tomorrow off. While I did sweep, round up trash and recycling, and clean up a few messes, I mainly spent the afternoon outside with the carts. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. While it's cold, in the 40's, it was also sunny and breezy. I'm surprised at how busy we were! I had a hard time keeping up with the carts for most of the day. I figured most people would be at the malls or shopping at home and avoiding the malls.

When I got in, I called Rose. She tried calling me around 4, but I was out with the carts. She wants me to call the bike shop in Cherry Hill tomorrow and see if they're appointment only, or if they can bring the bike around normally. I'll have to call them tomorrow, then call Rose.

Worked on writing after I got off with her. Tom Kennedy isn't the only captain on The Golden Medley. Captain Allen Ludden and his wife Betty White are also aboard, having been rescued from their lost ship The All Star. Ludden also lost treasure and his crew, and he too is looking for revenge...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Watched Match Game '75 while eating leftovers. Kate Jackson, later of Charlie's Angels and The Scarecrow and Mrs. King, appeared on the show as the designated ingénue this week. She avoided Gene and his breath spray, but did watch Richard help a contestant with a lovely smile and a pregnant wife win the Head-to-Head Round. Match Game PM went to the dogs when Gene brought his daughter Lynne's sweet old pooch Trotter on stage. Charles may have been leery of her, but that dog behaved better than most of the panelists. Animal-loving Betty White took good care of her.

Made pumpkin muffins while Sale of the Century was on. The champ kept jumping in fast early in the question, prompting the other two contestants to do this as well...often before Jim read the clues that would allow them to answer the question. Thanks to the too-early responses, this wasn't one of the higher-scoring games. The champ just barely won in the Speed Round and picked up his and hers fur coats on the Match the Prizes board. 

Finished the night online with Santa Claus: The Movie on The Roku Channel. Santa (David Huddleston) and his wife Anya (Judy Cornwell) were once a loving couple with no children who made toys for the children of their village in the 14th century. After getting lost in the snow, they find themselves at the North Pole. The elves who live there believe Santa to be the one said in a prophecy to deliver their toys to children all over the world. 

Santa does this just fine for seven centuries...until the 20th century brings a population explosion that wears him out so much, he agrees to take an assistant. Patch (Dudley Moore) is an elf who's eager to show off his machinery and bring Santa's workshop into the digital age. Trouble is, Patch's machines may work fast, but they also make shoddy toys that damage Santa's reputation. Patch leaves the North Pole and finds himself in New York, where he meets a sleazy toy executive named BZ (John Lithgow). BZ also got into trouble for peddling shoddy merchandise, and he thinks Patch and his North Pole magic are his ticket back to children's good graces. Santa, however, has befriended an orphan and BZ's neglected niece, who are more than willing to help him and restore his reputation with children everywhere.

I loved this movie as a child in the mid-80's, and there's still some things I enjoy to this day. The colorful costumes and lavish sets do equally well representing Santa's old-fashioned workshop and the gray world of New York in the 1980's. Huddleston isn't a bad Santa, but it's Lithgow and Moore who walk away with the movie as the cartoonishly villainous businessman and the innocent elf who wants nothing more than to make Santa happy. Gorgeous score by Henry Mancini, too, with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. 

Wish they'd thrown as much attention on the plot and script. You can tell this was made by the same producers who did Supergirl and Superman III. The dialogue is wooden, the orphan kids' stories are dull and cliche, and while the special effects were much-touted at the time, all that green screen going behind Santa when he's in the air looks a little too obvious today. The emphasis on Santa as a "chosen one" makes this feel more like a Christmas comic book than your usual holiday fare. 

I have enough fond memories for me to have enjoyed seeing this again, but I'm going to say your mileage may vary. If you prefer your holiday stories on the campy side or are looking for a different Santa tale for your older elementary school-age kids, this is worth flying over to check out. 

Tic Tac Holidays

Began a sunny, very windy morning with chocolate chip pancakes and holiday kid records. Holi Daze is a quartet of four Looney Tunes stories with Christmas themes. The title story has Granny and Bugs stranded in Arizona when Sheriff Yosemite Sam mistakes them for bandits. They ultimately help him catch the real crooks shortly before Christmas. "Bugs, the Red-Nosed Bunny" brings his friends along to help Santa when Rudolph has a cold. Millionaire Elmer believes he has "Santa Claustrophobia" can can't stop giving away his dough. Bugs and Daffy pose as a psychiatrist and his nurse in order to get the reward he promises to anyone who can cure him. "'Twas a Sight Before Christmas" as Bugs interviews the other Toons about Santa in order to convince his nephew that the jolly man in red is real.

The Care Bears also await Santa in The Care Bears' Christmas. When he doesn't appear, they think he's forgotten them. He really has a big surprise for all of them at the end.

Rose called while I was finishing breakfast. I finally called her back while the Care Bears were running. She sent Craig and Khai over to try to fix my bike; they should have already been there. I called Uber for a ride and went to talk to them.

They were, indeed, trying to get the tire off when I came out. Even with the right wrench, Craig still didn't have any more luck than I did. I just stripped the bolt too much trying to get it with my wrench. He and Rose will take it to the bike shop in Cherry Hill or see if they can find the right bolt at Home Depot. 

My Uber rides were smooth sailing both ways, with little trouble. To my surprise, so was work. We were off-and-on steady all afternoon, with plenty of help. By the time it started getting busier, I was just about done. One of the managers pulled me with a half-hour left to sweep the store, as the bagger on duty had been assigned to help with dairy stocking. Other than that, there were no major problems.

Went straight online once I got home. Captain Kennedy knows his brother Jack Nartz is alive because he alone knew where a treasure he'd stolen from an English ship was buried. Goodson wants to return that treasure to Spain for the reward money. Tom has friends who'll help them rescue the others, friends who have their own beef with Goodson...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while listening to more records. The Pac Man Christmas Album takes us to Pacville as Pac Man, Mrs. Pac Man, and Baby Pac are about to celebrate a season of magical surprises and "Snowflakes and Frozen Lakes." In order to do one good deed to make their holiday complete, they invite the ghosts over to celebrate Christmas Eve. The ghosts think they want to be chased, and are more than a little surprised when they're offered presents and friendship instead.

Dickens' Christmas Carol is the original LP version of Mickey's Christmas Carol. There's a few things that are different here, starting with the addition of 8 original songs. Most of them are pretty bland, though I do like the delicious "Money" for Scrooge and Mickey Cratchit. Merlin from The Sword In the Stone is the Ghost of Christmas Past; the wicked queen in hag mode from Snow White is the Ghost of Christmas Future. 

Finished the night on YouTube after a shower with the next Match Game '90 premiere and more vintage game shows. Tonight, I honored beloved host Wink Martindale, whose birthday was yesterday. After a string of flops, Martindale's first big hit was Gambit. Inspired by blackjack, two married couples answered questions to earn cards. Whomever got closest to 21 first without going over earned the chance to check out the Bonus Round and flip cards over on a big board to win prizes. Sadly, though it ran from 1972 to 1976, only five episodes remain today, including this one.

The show was revived in 1980 as Las Vegas Gambit. The first half with the cards and the questions remained the same. The Bonus Round, however, is very different. This time, contestants roll dice rather than flip cards. It's more like High Rollers than blackjack, but just as effective. The couple on the episode I watched won all the prizes on the board, including a gorgeous fur coat for the grateful lady, and became the show's all-time winners with over 50,000.

My personal favorite Martindale show has always been Tic Tac Dough. I loved watching that on USA and in syndication in the 80's and early 90's. It was fun to answer trivia and see how far the contestants could get before hitting the infamous dragon. The episodes I chose are the first shows from the network and syndicated run respectively, both from 1978. (Interestingly, the syndicated run far outstripped the CBS network version, which barely lasted the summer.)

I have some fond memories of the 1985 show Headline Chasers from its USA Network run. Martindale posted a very different pilot on his own YouTube channel. The set and gameplay are entirely different, there's no bonus round, and the first round gets more into the use of famous historical faces and clips. 

High Rollers was another favorite of mine during the late 80's. I had no idea the Alex Trebek versions even existed until I ran into them on YouTube. Wink's version is more-or-less the same as the late 70's Alex show. We get another all-time winner here, the show's biggest with over 40,000 in prizes. 

Trivial Pursuit from 1993 is a new one on me...and seems to have been a new concept for the time. We had our cable turned off a year before The Family Channel started Wink's "interactive games." The first half of the game has nine contestants answering trivia questions, before being whittled down for the main game. That has three contestants answering questions from a rainbow pie. The person who can get closest to the whole pie wins the game and gets to answer more questions in the bonus round. The "interactive" part seems to have been a series of questions asked during "playbreaks" that you could call and answer. The "interactive" idea is kind of complicated, but the rest of the show is more of a typical, albeit enjoyable, trivia game.

Hope you enjoy this dive into the past with this former disc-jockey-turned beloved host, with Las Vegas Gambit and Headline Chasers coming from his own "vault" channel. (And look for the original commercials on several episodes!)

Gambit (1974)

Las Vegas Gambit (1981)

Tic Tac Dough (CBS Premiere 1978)

Tic Tac Dough (Syndicated Premiere 1978)

Headline Chasers Pilot (1985)

High Rollers (1987)

Trivial Pursuit (1993)

Oh, and the Eagles still can't catch a break. They lost to the Packers 30-16.

Bikes and Matches

Slept in for my last vacation day, then kicked off the morning with breakfast and Bugs Bunny's Christmas Tales. Yosemite Sam is a perfect Scrooge and Bugs is Nephew Fred in a condensed version of A Christmas Carol. The second short has Wil E. Coyote and the Road Runner taking their usual antics up north into the snowy mountains. Bugs returns for the third short, as he deals with a hungry Tasmanian Devil dressed as Santa Claus in his house.

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus from 1975 tells the real-life story of Virginia O'Hanlon, a little girl who wrote a letter to the New York Sun asking about the existence of Santa. Many of her friends made fun of her for believing in him, and her parents don't really know what to tell her. Frances Church, the head of the Sun's editorial department, is ready to dismiss her letter, until a newsboy and his family show him some true Christmas spirit.

After breakfast, I went out to work on the bike. It wasn't raining, but it continued to be cloudy, cold, and very windy. Wasn't really a great day for doing much of anything else. Didn't turn out to be a great day for the bike, either. I got the one bolt off, but no matter how much I fought with it, I still could not get the other bolt off! I spent over two hours fighting with that thing, and it simply refused to budge. I oiled it, banged at it, and yanked at it. Nothing worked. It got colder and windier. 

As Jodie climbed into her car for a dental appointment, she suggested I call Rose for help. I really didn't want to, but I had no choice. I just could not get the darn things off, and I had to change that tire. I went inside and called Rose. She replied about 20 minutes later, after I spent more time messing with the bike. She'd be over with the kids shortly.

It was another 20 minutes or so before she arrived with Finley and Khai. The kids first went down to check out the river while I continued to fight with the bike. I finally turned it over to her and took the kids to my side of the house. Khai admired the view of the river from my living room/kitchen, while Finley played with the Cabbies and tried to play with the glass Mickey Mouse ornament on the tree in my room. 

Verdict - the bike isn't fixable in its present state. Those bolts are too stripped to come off. Rose said she and Craig will hit Lowes or Home Depot to find the right size. Until then, I'm just going to have to stick to Uber.

I wasn't terribly happy to hear that. I wanted the bike back on the road. I didn't mean to strip the bolts. This is what I get for always letting my neighbors fix everything and never having bothered to learn to fix the back tire myself or get the right tools for it. Of course, I haven't had the money for a fancy tool box until the last few months, either.

Lauren sent me a lovely Christmas tree card with a sugar cookie recipe and 20 dollars from her folks earlier this morning. I treated myself to a broccoli and cheese Stromboli from Phillies Phatties while watching Billy Rose's Jumbo on TCM. I go further into this old-fashioned circus tale with Doris Day and Jimmy Durante at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - Billy Rose's Jumbo

Worked on writing while watching the movie. Captain Tom Kennedy tells the recovering Gene that he's the only known survivor of The Marauder...but he believes that the others are alive. He also believes his older brother Captain Jack Nartz didn't perish when his ship The Concentration was blown out of the water. Goodson wants to bring as many pirates to the gallows as he can. Gene adds bitterly that he was used as a demonstration of what would happen if they misbehaved. 

Broke for gingerbread at 6. Watched The Price Is Right on Pluto TV while I ate. Pluto TV just started running an all-Bob Barker Price Is Right channel on Tuesday. Right now, from the clothes and hair, I'm going to say they're somewhere in the early 80's. Barker's reputation is somewhat tarnished today, thanks to the trouble he had with his models towards the end of his run, but I loved watching the show when I was a kid. It was great to see all the old games again, like Pick a Pair on the Ferris wheel, the Poker Game, the Golden Road, and the Range Game. These are hour shows, so they have the wheels and Showcase Showdowns, too. 

Finished the night back online with another Match Game marathon. This one varied things a bit as the channel saluted prime time soap star Abby Dalton, who passed away on November 23rd. Dalton was a game show fixture going far back as the original Hollywood Squares. She joined Barbara Eden, Walter Matthau, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Wally Cox, and Charley Weaver, among others, along with host Peter Marshall for a rare 1968 nighttime episode. 

She appeared twice on the 70's and 80's version of Match Game. Her 1974 week was on Buzzr recently. She joined Gene, the regulars, Orson Bean, and Fannie Flagg for jokes about Fannie's weird t-shirt with a woman's face on it and to walk out with Fannie and Brett at the answer of "boobs" for a question. She didn't turn up on the show again until 1981, when the syndicated run was almost done. By far the funniest episode of her week was when Brett showed up late to the Friday episode because she claimed Charles locked her in the bathroom. 

Dalton appeared on less goofy celebrity-based game shows, too. I was also a big fan of The New 25,000 Pyramid as a kid. For all I know, I may have seen the week she played with Roger E. Mosley of Magnum PI. She got her contestant to the Winner's Circle both times, but just couldn't finish the pyramid. Dalton did better playing with Charles Nelson Reilly on Super Password in 1985, missing just one word on the Super Password bonus round. 

Here's the full marathon, so you can play along with one of Falcon Crest's most popular ladies!

Abby Dalton Tribute

Afternoon In the Rain

Began the morning with breakfast and Christmas Unwrapped. This History Channel special goes further into the history of Christmas in general and how it evolved once it came to America. I love hearing how the holiday went from a noisy community affair through the Middle Ages to quiet domestic holiday in the Victorian era with mistletoe and Santa, to the holidays of today that (normally) manage to be a little bit of everything.

Switched to Match Game '74 as I got ready to head out. It started with Gene trying to drag out a plastic limb, and didn't get any less crazy from there. Gene did a bad Columbo impression, complete with fake cigar, for one question, and the panel giving interesting answers for what Tinkerbell lost in Never-Never Land in another.

Called Uber to get me to the Acme for this week's grocery shopping, and probably would have, even if the bike was in good shape. It was rainy and cold off and on all day. Thankfully, both Uber trips were on time, quick, and quiet, no problems going to or from Audubon.

Didn't have a huge order anyway. I ate out of the fridge a lot this week. Had online coupons for brown sugar and bananas and another for free eggs. Found a pack of all-natural ground turkey with a manager's coupon. The small frozen fish fillets were buy one, get one - got those wild tuna steaks. Restocked milk, yogurt, canola oil, pumpkin, unbleached white flour, and orange marmalade. 

I'm less happy with my schedule next week. I'm working 40 hours, including two 8-9 hour days in a row, with only Thursday off. I'm supposed to be part-time. I asked the younger front end manager what was going on. Apparently, between people taking time off for the holidays and people on leave because they don't want to deal with the virus, we're critically short-handed this week. 

When I got home, I put everything away while watching TV Guide Looks at Christmas. Lea Thompson hosts this salute to almost every type of holiday programming found on television, from beloved sitcom episodes to vintage commercials to favorite movies. I'm especially fascinated by variety shows, like the series Perry Como did set in other lands, or the ones featuring Bing Crosby. Most of these shows were long gone by the time of my childhood, and many have only just started appearing on YouTube after having been missing for decades. 

Had a very late and fast lunch while Tattletales was on. This time, Bill and Pat only got one answer right. The big winners were Scoey and Claire Mitchilll, who are still going strong together to this day. Put up the general winter decorations during Press Your Luck. The Russian gentleman just couldn't get anywhere. He got slammed with Whammies in the second round, allowing the one woman to pull ahead and win. 

Did some writing after I put the crate with the winter decorations back in the hall closet. Dolly's not the only one who's concerned about someone Governor Goodson arrested. Captain Tom Kennedy tells Gene that his own older brother, Captain Jack Narz of The Concentration, is currently a prisoner on Goodson's ship the SS Todman. Goodson's subordinates destroyed The Concentration just a few weeks before.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Tonight's Match Game '75 episode is one of the funniest from that year. Hard pressed to find an answer for the Audience Match question "Trench ___," Richard comes up with the dreaded "Trench Hand." Everyone continues to make jokes about giving to eradicate "Trench Hand" for the rest of the episode. Match Game PM had everyone making jokes about what the Welcome Wagon lady drives in a bad neighborhood and Charles helping a young lady out with winning 10,000.

The champ finally got pushed around in the beginning of Sale of the Century by a young gentleman, which may be why he didn't buy the first two Instant Bargains. The third was a trip to Palm Springs...which happened to be the champ's current home town. Jim Perry switched it to San Francisco in order to convince him to buy. He did end up winning again, this time picking up luggage for all those trips he won.

Finished out the night on Hulu with classic Christmas sitcom episodes. "Scrooge Wins an Oscar" from the first season of The Odd Couple has Oscar Madison (Jack Klugman) refusing to appear in his roommate Felix Unger's (Tony Randall) stage version of A Christmas Carol after his wife Blanche demands more alimony. Oscar finally dreams that a very familiar and peculiar ghost shows him what it'll be like if he doesn't change his grouchy ways.

"Dear Dad" from the first season of MASH is the first of many, many episodes throughout the season to depict someone from the 4077th writing a letter that reveals their points of view. Hawkeye (Alan Alda) writes to his father and tells him about the goings-on in Korea during the Christmas season, from Frank (Larry Linville) and Hot Lips (Loretta Swit) continuing their affair to Radar (Gary Burghoff) sending a jeep home piece by piece to Henry (McLean Stevenson) attempting to lecture the doctors on sex. Hawkeye is supposed to be Santa for the orphans' Christmas party, but he ends up having to take a helicopter to the front in costume. 

Friends at Christmastime

Awoke to sunshine this time and a quick breakfast. Watched the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas while I ate. All the Whos down in Whoville like Christmas a lot. Too much, if you ask the grouchy Grinch up on Mount Crumpet. Tired of all the noise on Christmas Day, he dresses as Santa and takes his dog Max to steal their holiday goodies. 

Ran Christmas Past while wrapping the lights and garland around the tree. This documentary covers the history of the holidays in England, as told by many of the people who lived it. Among the interviewees are a female Father Christmas, a nobleman who grew up in a Downton Abbey-esque manor house, a woman who got her first nice Christmas when she was evacuated to the country during World War II, and a Scottish couple who celebrated their first Christmas period around the same time. 

Switched to Doc McStuffins as I made the bed and vacuumed around the tree. It's "A Very McStuffins Christmas" in the second season when she and her toy buddies discover an elf under the tree Christmas Eve night. The poor fellow is upset because he accidentally broke the Commander Crush toy her brother Donnie wanted badly. Doc and her toys follow him to the North Pole, the only place where a replacement part can be found quickly...but Stuffy gets lost in Santa's workshop and Lambie and Chilly have to go after him.

Amanda was supposed to arrive at 11:30. It was closer to quarter of 12 before she finally pulled in at the curb in front of the pool area. Hillcrest is in the back of Oaklyn on the end of a dead-end street and is hard for a lot of people to find. I slid in, and we headed on our way. Amanda wore her mask for most of the day. Like Lauren, she lives with her parents and was concerned for their health. 

We didn't go far. She and I normally hit a diner or a local restaurant when we get together, but most diners don't have outdoor seating. There's outdoor seating on West Clinton, and since the local kids were either in school or taking at-home lessons, they were empty. It got warm enough for us to enjoy coffee, hot chocolate, chicken gyros, and extra-crispy fries from Common Grounds and Phillies Phatties together at the picnic tables. 

At least it was a gorgeous day for it. The clouds had been replaced by sunshine and fairly warm temperatures, probably in the lower-mid 50's. It was still a bit windy, but not enough to make eating outside difficult. 

When we got back to my place, I showed her around, and we opened gifts. Amanda always gives me fancy lotion and soaps for Christmas, and this year, she found them with kitten labels. She's a vet technician who loves her own pet kitties! I also got two "fragrance mists" from Bath and Body Works and an adorable Hallmark ornament with a kitten climbing on a hamster's cage. 

After we opened presents, we started in on the tree. I have so many ornaments, I really can't hang them by myself anymore. There's metallic glass balls I bought from the Family Dollar in North Cape May and fancy glass ornaments Mom gave me for Christmas from Winterwood in Rio Grande. Mom made several folksy felt and cotton ornaments in the 90's, including a folk heart in a circle, a Santa face, and Holly Hobbie in Christmas colors. She made the clothespin toy soldiers, too. We hung candy canes and plastic Family Dollar icicles on the very tips of branches. Put characters like Winnie the Pooh in angel wings, the Disney Cinderella with her mouse friends, and Yogi Bear with his pic-a-nic basket full of candy canes out where Finley can see them when she rushes to the Cabbies. I remembered to hang the gold fabric and wood angel I bought last month from the thrift shop in Collingswood, too.

We finished that so quickly, we dressed the bears and put them under the tree. Mom started this tradition when Dad gave her a big stuffed polar bear in a red knit hat and scarf in 1987. She named him Chester, sat him on her hope chest, and surrounded him with other bears and stuffed animals in old baby winter and Christmas clothes. It was an interactive display. We'd play with them throughout the holiday season, and even swapped their knit hats for tiaras at New Year's. By the turn of the millennium, she'd grown tired of dressing them, and Keefe was too old for the display. After I moved, she turned Chester and the remaining Christmas-only bears and clothes over to me. 

Even with doing the bears, there was still plenty of time to put out the rest of the decorations. The big resin Santa statue went on the ledge in my bedroom next to the tree. Winter Cinderella, with her glistening white gown, joins the collectible dolls on the dresser. The metal trays with the Currier and Ives scenes and the big Whitman tin were perfect for the square windows. The Christmas Beanie Babies and stuffed printed elves Mom sewed ages ago went on those empty shelves in the hall, as did the mini-tree I've had since college. Another garland was layered on the entertainment center, with Mom's hand-made stuffed gingerbread people nestled amid the greenery. The big sequin-trimmed snowman stocking Aunt Terri made for me when I was a toddler dangles on the book shelf in the living room; the less glittery one Mom made in the 90's hangs from a metal stocking holder on a window ledge. 

Amanda and I sipped iced tea and talked about our difficult and demanding jobs and her problems with her co-workers while Tattletales was on. There was a tie for the second day in a row. This time, Scoey Mitchilll and his tough wife Claire and Bill Daily and his calm wife Pat were the big winners, splitting the pot for the red and "banana" (yellow) sections.

She headed out shortly before Press Your Luck began. Once again, things started slow, with everyone winning something in the first round and no Whammies. The champ and a young man kept swapping turns, and she got hit with Whammies...allowing a Russian refugee to sneak in and win the game. 

Finished hanging paper decorations as Press ran. The two candy canes crossed were perfect for the window overlooking the neighbors' house, and some of the larger ones went on the windows overlooking the river. There wasn't room for most of the small ones, though. I still don't want to tape anything on the walls. 

Worked on writing after the show ended. Gene awakens in the captain's cabin on board The Golden Medley to find a pretty British redhead nursing him back to health. Dolly Martin, the wife of one of his crewmembers Dick Martin, is worried about her husband. Everyone on The Golden Medley heard the explosion that destroyed The Marauder. She's desperately hoping he was able to get to safety before it blew.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Match Game '75 began with Charles insisting that he was going to play without his glasses today. Jo Ann Pflug was a little too modest for the audience - and Burt Convy - when she answered a question about what Weird Willie burned to feel liberated. David "Bosley" Doyle worked with a gentleman who wrote several best-selling cookbooks who hit the double for 20,000 on Match Game PM. 

Slid gingerbread into the oven while Sale of the Century was on. The champ still dominated, but not to the extent he has the last few days. He keeps jumping in too early on the questions and not having the right answers! Once again, the one woman won at a Fame Game board and the champ bought an Instant Bargain, managed to squeak by in the Speed Round, and won a trip to Jamaica on the Match the Prizes board.

Watched Broadway Hostess on TCM when I went online. I go further into this small-scale nightclub melodrama at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Broadway Hostess

Finished the night on YouTube before the Match Game '90 premiere with the Dean Martin Christmas Show from 1972. For a show that starts with Martin singing his hit "Marshmallow World" and ends with cop Dom DeLouise giving Santa a ticket, this isn't really that Christmas-feeling. Most of the numbers are standards heard at any time of the year, including a medley of Jerome Kern songs in the finale. I did think a sequence with Dean chatting while getting his hair done by barbers DeLouise and Nipsey Russell was pretty funny. 

Here's the full special, to be played in the background of your own holiday cocktail party!

Dean Martin Christmas Show 1972