The Secret of Snow

Began the morning with breakfast and the first holiday episode of The Backyardigans. Uniqua travels to the frozen north to learn "The Secret of Snow." Ice Lady Tasha has no time for her queries and first sends her to the desert, then the jungle. Her assistant Austin helps Uniqua, Cowboy Pablo, and Tarzan Tyrone out of jams, then gets them up north. They're happy together even after Tasha puts them to work. When they save Tasha, they learn to appreciate and have fun with their friends no matter what the weather.

It was just cloudy, chilly, and damp when I headed out late this morning. My first stop was Target. Needless to say, they had long lines, but there were a few things I couldn't avoid. Picked up pet gifts for Rose's dogs and cats and a friend's cat and the cherries with stems my friend wanted. (In fact, they turned out to be cheaper at Target anyway.) I also peeked in Dollar Tree, but only walked out with powdered sugar for the Cherry Coconut Bars crust. 

Dawn called while I was in Target and said she'd be slightly late arriving at the Haddon Township Library. That worked out very well. I saw a book on adults with the inattentive form of ADHD on the new releases shelf and was reading it when she arrived.

Frankly, we've had very little luck checking for jobs recently. I found one online in the past week. Dawn decided we needed a break and offered to take me out to lunch instead. I suggested the Westmont Diner on the hill under the Library after I checked out the book. It would require less driving than a trip to Collingswood, with easier parking. 

I'm glad we went. They were busy when we arrived, but we didn't have to wait too long for a table. They're having winter lunch specials that come with soup or salad, pudding or ice cream, and beverages. She had a giant plate of chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese surrounded by tons of buttery mashed potatoes. I had a turkey wrap with tasty fries. She apparently loves rice pudding. I had pumpkin pie ice cream. She had a diet Pepsi, I had iced tea. We both had a spicy seafood bisque with real crab pieces. (And we got the same gift certificates they gave last year to be opened by the waitress between January 1st and 31st. I'll have to eat there on New Year's Day again.)

Whomever does the painting on their windows is really creative. The pumpkins and squash from last month had been replaced with Christmas lights and garland. It looked pretty and colorful as we ate. 

(Oh, and this is likely the last time I'll be getting together with Dawn for the year. She's off for the next two weeks after this. I'll text her again with my schedule the Friday after New Year's.)

Dawn drove me back up the hill, and I dodged traffic and very light rain on Cuthbert riding home. When I got in, I went straight into making the truffles. Of course, first of all, it turns out the chips I bought were green mint white chocolate, not chocolate. Oh well. They'd just be green mint truffles. And then the candy wouldn't set after I'd boiled and whisked it. I left it in the fridge overnight to see if that made it more easy to handle.

Making the coconut cherry bars turned out to be much harder. I couldn't find the square cake pan...because it turned out that the owner saw the non-stick coating was coming off and threw it away. I used two cake pans instead. And I almost forgot to add the coconut. At least everything went fine once I did add it. The crust and topping baked fine and were easily cut.

And that means...yes, other than shaping the candy, everything I need to do for Christmas is now complete. The cookies are made and boxed. The gifts are wrapped and either sent to their intended destination or waiting to be given to their recipients. Now everything just needs to be given out.

As I made the coconut cherry bars, I happened to look up at the window overlooking the refrigerator...and saw snow. It actually snowed pretty heavily for a while. Nothing stuck to the ground and it turned into all rain later, but it still looked pretty, and we can still say we got snow for Christmas. 

Threw on two classic holiday sitcom episodes next. Finished out The Monkees with "The Christmas Show" from the second season. The guys get roped into babysitting for the nephew of a wealthy woman while she's on a holiday cruise. The boy is a grumpy human machine who resists all of the Monkees' attempts to show him the Christmas spirit...until Mike Nesmith figures out what he really needs.

Laverne and Shirley are devastated in "Oh Come All Ye Bums" when Laverne's Dad Frank is fired from his job as a department store Santa and declares he won't be able to have his annual Christmas dinner for the homeless in Milwaukee. The girls and Carmine try singing for the money first, but they just end up in trouble. The girls and the homeless are the ones who finally take it on themselves to bring Christmas dinner to Frank.

Checked my schedule online next. In good news, I did get my vacation days, which means I'll be off starting Christmas Day. On one hand, I'm also working from tomorrow through Christmas Eve. On the other hand, the only long shift is Sunday, and that's a normal six hours. My other shifts are all four hours and relatively early. I'll be able to finish the candy and deliver everything.

Switched to Match Game Syndicated next while rearranging the Seasonal inventory. McLean Stevenson joins the crew for the first time since 1978 here. He would stay on permanently starting in the next season. This time around, he had a lot of fun sitting between Jonnelle Allen and Debralee Scott and watching a smitten contestant flirt with the former.

Watched The Muppets Christmas Carol during dinner and Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol afterwards in honor of having started my annual reading of A Christmas Carol yesterday. I went further into these in 2018 and 2019 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

The Muppets Christmas Carol

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol

Moved to Disney Plus for Mickey's Christmas Carol. Here, Uncle Scrooge is his namesake miser who learns the holiday lesson. Mickey is Bob Cratchit, Donald is Nephew Fred, Daisy is Belle, Goofy is a hilarious Jacob Marley, and Big Pete puts in his scariest performance as a very dark Ghost of Christmas Future. Other than I never understood why Disney went for the fire and brimstone in the Future segment, this is far and away my favorite condensed half-hour version of this story.

Finished the night at YouTube for a holiday special that's so weird, I've watched it for a decade and still can't believe it exists. Amazingly enough, The She-Ra He-Man Christmas Special really is a thing. Orko is stranded on Earth after he crash-lands an experimental spaceship and befriends two human kids who teach him about Christmas. She-Ra and He-Man are having their own problems dealing with Hordak's rock monsters who are bullying a group of small but feisty locals. Orko accidentally brings the kids to Eternia after Man-at-Arms figures out how to get him home. Neither Skeletor nor Hordak want these shining beacons of goodness around. Skeletor tries to kidnap them, but (very) reluctantly ends up learning his own lesson in the holiday spirit when he defends them from Hordak and his boss.

Let There Be Lights

Began the morning with breakfast and A Scooby Doo Christmas at Tubi. Scooby and Mystery Inc. find themselves stranded in a small western town during a blizzard after they discover that the bridge is out. This town doesn't celebrate Christmas, thanks to the Snow Demon who destroys their homes every year around the holidays. The gang takes it on themselves to bring Christmas to the town and figure out what it is that scary snowman is really after. 

Watched the second half of Tattletales next. They're just running the week with Betty and Allen, Jo Ann Pflug and Chuck Woolery, and Bill and Ann Cullen again...but that week was so funny, I have no complaints. Bill tells them in one question that he once took a photo of Ann doing a headstand when her skirt fell down and revealed far more than she wanted to, while the ladies admit they have no problems with joining their husbands to watch a woman dressing in a window. 

Let it run into Press Your Luck while making my grocery list and getting ready to run errands. The first half went wild with Whammies. All of the contestants hit at least one, and two of them got two within the first minute. Things went better in the second half. The young man who won took home a trip, a sailboard, and a pile of cash.

Headed out after the show ended. The weather was really nice this afternoon, sunny and chilly for this time of year, but not too cold. I wanted to take advantage and get shopping done before it rains tomorrow. Stopped at Sprouts first for two Nixie sodas, a box of cranberry oatmeal cookies off the baker's clearance rack, a bag of Cortland apples, a bag of good chocolate mint chips to melt for truffles, and dried apricots and unbleached flour from the bulk bins. Restocked yogurt, clementines, and bagels and picked up three Olipop sodas at the Acme. Bought heavy whipping cream for the truffles and got free butter with an online coupon. 

Took the shortcut back to Oaklyn across Newton Lake Park. It's really winter there now. The trees are bare, and the grass remains yellow and appears to have not recovered from the drought in October and early November. Taking the path up the hill probably wasn't the best idea I ever had. For one thing, it was slippery and very muddy. For another, there were men near the Environmental and History Center who were blowing leaves off the path. 

Stopped at A&A Pretzels for a really quick lunch. They were out of the stuffed cheesesteak pretzels, so I went with pepperoni and two regular ones. Got a can of Diet Pepsi, too.

Ate lunch while watching Super Password. For the first time that I can remember, along with the Betty White Christmas marathon, Buzzr is running holiday episodes of their regular shows during the actual holidays, not just in July. Ilene Graff of Mr. Belvedere and Pat Harrington of the original One Day at a Time celebrated the holidays with a battle of sitcoms that ended with Graff getting her contestant to the Super Password bonus round.

Spent the next few hours downstairs, baking my Christmas cookies. I make five kinds of cookies and give them away to neighbors, to family, and to the Acme for their employee luncheon. The last-named is this Saturday, which is why I wanted to do it today. The cake mix peanut butter came out beautifully. The ginger molasses had browned bottoms, but weren't that bad, and they smelled amazing in the oven. (And they used up the last of my black strap molasses, which is why I wanted to make them.) I read the recipe wrong and put baking powder instead of soda in the oatmeal chocolate chip, so they didn't spread right. Made up for that by adding the chocolate chips from Sprouts and other half of the white chocolate chips from the Red Velvet Yum Yums yesterday.

Listened to Christmas records while I worked. Holly-Daze features four Looney Tunes stories revolving around the holiday. "Bugs the Red-Nosed Bunny" goes all the way to the North Pole to help Santa when Rudolph gets sick. Elmer claims he'll give his entire fortune to anyone who can cure his "Santa Claustrophobia." Bugs and Daffy pose as a psychiatrist and nurse to help him with his problem and get their hands on those millions. Bugs and Granny are in a "Holly-Daze" when they're stranded in a western town on Christmas Eve and Yosemite Sam thinks they're notorious bank robbers. "Twas a Sight Before Christmas" has Bugs interviewing the other Toons to convince his skeptical nephew that Santa does exist.

Albert Finney may seem to be a strange choice for Scrooge, but he's not too bad in this lovely musical version of A Christmas Carol. The rousing "Thank You Very Much" was Oscar-nominated, and I've heard the number at the Fezziwigs' party "December the 25th" pop up elsewhere as well. My favorites are "Christmas Children" for Bob Cratchit and his little ones as they do their holiday shopping and "I Like Life" for the Ghost of Christmas Present.

The best of the Great Songs of Christmas albums came out in 1965. Diahann Carroll has two lovely old ballads, "Some Children See Him" and "Lo, How a Rose Er Blooming." Anna Maria Alberghetti sings the sprightly "Caroling, Caroling" and the gentle "Star Carol." Steve Lawrence and Eyde Gorme enjoy their "Sleigh Ride," while Maurice Chevalier sings about "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and wishes us a "Silent Night" partially performed in his native French. The album ends with Sammy Davis Jr. showing a passel of kids why "It's Christmastime All Over the World."

The Beach Boys were at the height of their initial success when The Beach Boys' Christmas Album debuted in 1964. It introduced the holiday standards "Little Saint Nick," "The Man With All the Toys," and "Santa's Beard." Some of the covers are a lot of fun, too, notably 'Frosty the Snowman" and "We Three Kings of the Orient Are."

Oh, and I got my Christmas present from Lauren and her parents when I brought in the mail. Lauren's parents always send me $20 for lunch when I go out Christmas week. Later, I checked my e-mail and discovered Lauren gave me a very generous online Amazon gift card as well. 

After I finally got everything cleaned up, I decided to go for a walk to check out lights in my neighborhood. I love how festive Oaklyn gets in December. I strolled down Clinton and back around towards the lake and saw everything from a house sporting a single porch light that blinked red, purple, and green to houses wrapped in lights, with every possible Christmas icon studding their front lawn. My favorite of the few inflatables I saw was Santa riding a very happy Tyrannosaurus Rex. Loved the fabric and lights statue of the cowboy snowman on Beechwood, too. 

Made a brief stop at Dollar General. I forgot to buy a friend maraschino cherries with stems earlier. They didn't have them, either. I did get gift tags...and forgot what else I was there for, which was pet gifts for my sister's dogs and cats and a friend's cat. I'll do that tomorrow, too.

Watched Yogi's All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper while eating dinner when I got home. Yogi and Boo-Boo evade Ranger Smith long enough to head to the city to see the Hanna Barbara funny animal crew, not knowing they went to Jellystone to visit them. They hide from zoo keepers in a department store and pose as Santa and an elf to evade them. Little Judy Jones thinks Yogi really is Santa and tells him she just wishes her father was there, which makes Yogi believe she's an orphan. As it turns out, she's the daughter of a wealthy businessman who is too busy for her. While he sends cops to search for her, the others look for her family with the help of Pixie, Dixie, and Mr. Jinx and Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. 

Switched to It's Christmas Again on Tubi after a shower. I go further into this Christian teen musical that gives us the birth of Christ through the eyes of a modern teen boy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

It's Christmas Again

Finished the night with Happy Holidays Vol 31. This is my favorite of the CDs I bought in Cape May along with Vol. 28. I first heard Eartha Kitt's version of "Santa Baby" and "Carol of the Bells," here performed by Kenny Rogers, on this album, and "Little Saint Nick" pops up here, too. Other fun numbers include Frank Sinatra singing "I'll Be Home for Christmas," Donna Summer's lovely "White Christmas," Amy Grant's brief but adorable "Santa's Reindeer Ride," and the original "Snoopy's Christmas" by the Royal Guardsmen. 

The Man With All the Toys

Began the morning with breakfast and Ziggy's Gift on YouTube. When comic strip character Ziggy gets a job as a sidewalk Santa, he thinks he's helping the homeless. Turns out the job is a scam. A cop is already on his tail, along with a thief who is after the money he's collected. All three learn a lesson in the holiday spirit when Ziggy first takes in a stray cat, and then they end up at an orphanage and the kids think the thief is Santa.

Work didn't start out too badly. It wasn't busy when I arrived at 9 AM, but it picked up by 11:30 as people came in from the lunch rush hour. They kept calling me to do stuff when I was trying to do something else, including calling me in the middle of my break to bring an old man an electric cart. Thankfully, it was starting to slow down by the time I finally finished. The weather helped, too. It was sunny and warm-ish, chilly but not overly so for this time of year, probably in the lower 50's. The clouds didn't start rolling in until I was going home. 

Had lunch and set up the cookie boxes while watching the second half of Tattletales and the Rankin-Bass Frosty the Snowman. Frosty (Jackie Vernon) comes to life after the local kids give him the hat belonging to a phony magician Professor Hinkle (Billy De Wolfe). Hinkle wants the hat back now that it seems to have magic, so little Karen (Suzanne Davidson) and Hinkle's sympathetic rabbit Hocus Pocus (Paul Frees) take him up to the North Pole to dodge the clumsy and inept magician. 

After lunch, I made my first batch of Christmas cookies. The Chocolate Yum-Yums from the Christmas Is Coming 1988 craft book became more festive Red Velvet Yum-Yums, replacing the devil's food cake mix with red velvet cake mix and pecans with white chocolate chips. I didn't try them, but they came out perfectly and smelled amazing in the oven. 

Switched to Ernest Saves Christmas after I came back upstairs. Despite living in sunny Orlando, Florida, Ernest P. Worrell (Jim Varney) is a huge Christmas fan. He's as surprised as the next guy when a man claiming to be Santa Claus (Douglas Seale) turns up in his taxi. Seems Santa's been doing his job for too long and has chosen former local kids' host Joe Carruthers (Oliver Clark) as his replacement. Joe's sleazy agent Marty (Robert Lesser) is trying to talk him into doing a Z-grade Christmas horror movie, but Joe doesn't appreciate the violence and bad language in the script. Marty has Santa arrested for vagrancy, prompting Ernest to break him out. Ernest also has to deal with teen runaway Harmony Starr (Noelle Parker) who covers the pain from her parents' divorce with lying and acting older than her age and with driving the sleigh and getting it to the new Santa before midnight!

This is an old childhood guilty pleasure of mine. No wonder it would be far and away the biggest hit of the long-running Ernest series. Varney has a blast with Ernest's holiday fandom, especially when he and Harmony descend on poor Vern's Christmas party early-on. Douglas Seale made such a convincing holiday gift-giver, he was the actor I imagined when I thought of Santa well into the 2000's. Not a bad place to start if you want to introduce older kids to Ernest's world, or you're just looking for a good, goofy Christmas comedy.

Worked on the Seasonal inventory next. Added all of the A Winter's Solstice albums on CD along with the similar On a Winter's Night, Autumn Dreams by Danny Wright, George Benson's Autumn, the two Halloween CDs, and Blues, Blues Christmas, a collection of R&B and blues Christmas songs I picked up from the North Cape May Big Lots in December 2005, two months before I moved to Oaklyn. Most of the others don't go back nearly that far. On a Winter's Night is the second-oldest in this batch, having turned up in a yard sale in 2011. 

Watched Match Game Syndicated during dinner. The first episode finished up the Marjorie Wallace/Bob Donner week. Gene mixes up Marjorie and Marcia, prompting the latter to point out how much they had in common. The second brought in Richard Paul and for the first time since the mid-70's, Jo Ann Pflug. An older woman contestant is more than happy to claim she can take Brett's place in Encino with Gene!

Did The Year Without a Santa Claus after I ate. I went further into my personal favorite Rankin-Bass special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews way back on Christmas Eve 2019. 

'Twas the Night Before Christmas and The Year Without a Santa Claus

Moved to chilly New York City in 1947 for my next movie on the existence of Santa, the original Miracle on 34th Street. Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) is just about the most perfect Santa Macy's ever had. He's even gotten Macy's and their rival Gimbels to share ideas. There's just one problem. He keeps insisting that he really is Santa. This particularly disturbs store manager Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara). She raised her precocious and intelligent daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) not to believe in fairy tales or fantasy of any type after she was burned by a bad divorce. 

The other person at Macy's who isn't enamored with Kris is Mr. Sawyer (Porter Hall), Macy's psychologist who doesn't appreciate Kris' ability to see through his abrasive personality. After he starts telling employee Alfred (Alvin Greenman) he has a guilt complex, Kris finally attacks him. Fortunately, Kris is roommates with lawyer Fred Gailey (John Payne), who turns his insanity hearing into a media sensation. Most of the law officials in charge think there's no chance Kris will be acquitted...but it's Kris and the US Mail system who finally teach everyone a lesson in faith, trust, and the Christmas spirit.

One of the most beloved holiday film of all time. Gwenn made such a wonderful Santa, he won a supporting actor Oscar. The adapted screenplay won as well. O'Hara is lovely as the frazzled store manager, matter-of-fact Wood is charming and intelligent playing off of her, and John Payne is far more comfortable here than he ever was trilling with Fox blondes in their musicals. I also appreciate that the law officials aren't played as bad guys. Sawyer is the only real villain here. The lawyers and judge admit that they even like Kris and are just doing thankless jobs. I've heard the 1994 version with Richard Attenborough as Santa has its moments, but this one is still highly recommended as well.

Moved to YouTube for The Bernstein Bears' Christmas Tree. I went further into the first Bernstein Bears holiday special at my Musical Dreams blog in my big Christmas entry last year.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Bernstein Bears' Christmas Tree

Finished the night with another YouTube production. Keven Perjurer of Defunctland created an almost two-hour documentary on the history of Disney's Audio-Animatronics. From the early "automatons" that were popular during the 19th century to Disney's own Mr. Lincoln and Carousel of Progress at the 1964 World's Fair, this teaches you everything you ever wanted to know about moving mechanics and robots, and does it in an informative and entertaining way.

(And if you haven't checked out the rest of Kevin's Defunctland channel and share my interest in theme park history, by all means, please do so. He discusses everything from the infamous Action Park in North Jersey to the aforementioned New York World's Fair to the history of Coney Island to why Disney was never able to pull off the Virginia-based park Disney's America. Each and every video is well-made, informative, and frequently some of the funniest stuff online. There's even excellent original music and amazing graphics that are often in line with the time period being depicted.)

Defunctland: Disney's Animatronics - A Living History

No Day Like Today

Began the morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Kittens Abe and Babe think they've been so bad, they got coal for Christmas. They learn "Abe and Babe's Christmas Lesson" when the electricity goes out in Busytown and they find a use for all that coal. "Sally Cat's Christmas Dream" takes her to the North Pole, where she helps a familiar-looking Santa and Mrs. Claus The kittens and Lowly get "The Best Christmas Present Ever" when they awaken to see no tree, but Grandma tells them their parents have an extra-special surprise for them at the hospital. 

Made the bed and worked on the inventory while watching Rent Live! I go further into this TV version of the popular 1996 rock opera at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Musicals On TV - Rent Live! (2019)

Oh, and I got started on the seasonal CDs today. Added the soundtrack from Easter Parade, George Winston's Summer, and the two summer-themed collections I picked up earlier this year. None of these go very far back. I've had Summer the longest, and I got it from the Audubon Goodwill in 2021. I've had a hard time finding spring and summer seasonal albums. 

Went to work after Rent ended. I had to sweep and do the carts after the head bagger ended up spending most of the evening in a register, and I fell behind on the carts at one point after having to find a box to dump the remains of a broken candle in. Thankfully, I managed to catch up by the time I left, and there were no other problems. 

Watched Match Game Syndicated while eating dinner. Former Miss World and future hostess Marjorie Wallace joins Robert Donner, Bill Daily, and Marcia Wallace here. Brett jokes about how Marjorie's wide white beauty pageant smile keeps blinding her, while Bill Daily ogles an attractive 19-year-old contestant.

Finished the night after a shower listening to Christmas music as I worked on the Rent review. Christmas With Andy Williams and the Williams Brothers is by far my favorite of the two Williams holiday albums I own. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is probably the best-known song here, but I equally love the two numbers Andy did with his brothers, "The Holiday Season" and the rollicking "Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells." 

A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra was his first Christmas album, and it too debuted a standard now associated with the singer, the ballad "Mistletoe and Holly." The other songs are all more familiar carols, but there's some good performances among them. I especially like his "The Christmas Waltz" and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear."

Although The Christmas Song is probably the holiday number most associated with Nat King Cole, it's not my favorite song on the album of that title. That would be the touching "A Cradle In Bethlehem." His "Caroling, Caroling" is also a lot of fun.

I've had Peggy Lee's Christmas Carousel for almost 20 years. Bored on Christmas Eve 1995, I joined Mom for some last-minute shopping at the liquor store and North Cape May Acme. I got my first ever mini-bottle of Coke from the liquor store, while Christmas Carousel was the most interesting of the holiday titles on  the racks of CDs the Acme had for sale then. There's some really charming material here. "The Christmas List," "The Christmas Riddle," "Don't Forget to Feed the Reindeer," and "I Like a Sleigh Ride (Jingle Bells)" are a lot of fun. She also has a nice version of "Happy Holidays," and the whirling title song is lovely.

Christmas Island was Jimmy Buffet's first holiday album. As much as I enjoyed his rendition of the title song, my favorites were his "Happy Xmas (The War Is Over)" and "A Sailor's Christmas." And don't turn off the CD after the last song ends. If you let track 10 continue, you'll get to hear Buffet's reading of "The Night Before Christmas." 

Holiday Harts

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey and the Roadster Racers. It's a "Happy Hot Diggety Dog Holiday" when Chip and Dale enter the Ornament Pallooza race with Pete and Donald respectively. They want to win the star topper for their friend, but get a tad too competitive during the race until they realize why they're racing. Minnie, Daisy, and Cuckoo Loca want to set up their big Christmas party, but they end up being "Happy Holidays Helpers" when half the town calls them to shovel Grandpa Beagle out of his house or clean Clarabelle's chimney. They think there isn't time for the party, but the people they helped have a surprise for them when they get home.

Puttered around a little on the computer after the cartoon ended, hoping the dark and gloomy weather would subside. It didn't, so I just set out to run my errands anyway. My first stop was Dollar General. I was hoping to pick up heavy cream and good chocolate for truffles somewhere, but they didn't have either. I did replace the boxes I used for Jessa and Lauren's gifts and bought limeade water mix for hydration and a bottle of maraschino cherries for coconut cherry bars. A quick walk to CVS revealed nothing useful. I was in and out of there.

I originally wanted lunch at the Japanese restaurant on the White Horse Pike, but it would seem that they've gone back to pick up only. Ended up at the White Horse Pub instead. That may have been the better choice. I was the only person there besides the waitress and the bartender, both of whom were very sweet to me. The bartender even offered to put Christmas shows on the nearest TV for me. The turkey and bacon wrap with sweet potato fries were really yummy, too. They even had warm syrup to dip the fries in. More people came in for drinks as I continued my lunch, making it a rather pleasant meal.

It had been lightly misting when I originally started out. By the time I finished eating, the mist was gone, but it remained cloudy, damp, and chilly. I limited my walk to one last stop. Family Dollar didn't have anything I was looking for, either. No chocolate, no heavy cream. I'll have to get it from Sprouts or the Acme later in the week.

When I got home, I put everything away while watching The New Scooby Doo Mysteries. Fred returns to help Daphne, Shaggy, and the dogs out in "A Nutcracker Scoob." They put on a pageant for an orphanage, only for their show to be attacked by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be. The gang has to figure out what the Ghost is after and how to stop a miserly old man from having the orphanage condemned on Christmas Eve.

Switched to Christmas In Connecticut while resting. Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) may be the most popular homemaker and recipe columnist in the United States during World War II, but there's one slight problem. In reality, she's a city girl who lives in an apartment and can't boil water. All her scrumptious recipes come from her Uncle Felix's (SZ Sakall) restaurant. She panics when not only does her boss Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet) invite himself to her non-existent farm for the holidays, he brings a long handsome war hero Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) as well. John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner), the boring architect who has been pursuing  her, just happens to have a farm in Connecticut. She agrees to marry  him out of pure desperation...but didn't realize how hard she'd fall for Jefferson. Thanks to runaway cows, missing babies, and Felix's matchmaking, Elizabeth finally learns that honesty really is the best policy, especially where love is concerned. 

This old favorite of mine coasts on the charming performances of its four leads. Sakall and Greenstreet are especially good as the two bosses with very different methods of dealing with their employees. Highly recommended for romantic comedy fans or fans of the stars. 

The Christmas In Connecticut DVD comes with the Oscar-winning short subject A Star In the East. Master of accents J. Carroll Naish plays Tony, the jaded Italian owner of a desert hotel. He's driven crazy by the incessant demands of his cranky customers and thinks there's no goodwill left in the world. Nonsense, says a mysterious drifter. There's plenty of kindness to go around, especially at Christmas. He's proven right when a young Hispanic couple turn up at the hotel looking for shelter. Tony only has room for them in the shed...but that's enough for everyone in the hotel to rally around them, reminding Tony of the true spirit of the season.

Took my laundry downstairs, then spent the next few hours working on the inventory. I added all of the Christmas records with music by a solo, duo, or group artist. Other artists in my collection along with Mariah Carey and Ella Fitzgerald include The Beach Boys, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams (with and without his brothers), Johnny Mathis, Perry Como, The Harry Simone Chorale, Nat King Cole, John Denver, the Supremes, and Barbra Streisand. That completes the record part of the inventory. I'll start in on the seasonal CDs tomorrow before work.

Ran The Andy Williams Christmas Show from 1966 on YouTube as I worked. Williams did a lot of holiday specials, but this is one of my two favorites. We get the genuinely charming opening with him in town, buying a Christmas tree from the Osmonds. They have a bizarre number that involves them as elves working happily together, but most of the best moments go to Andy. Him singing "Love In a Home" with his wife Claudine and their parents is my favorite segment. It's so homey and cozy. 

Watched Match Game Syndicated next after I put my laundry in the dryer. The first episode was the last from the week with Susan Howard, Gary Burghoff, David Doyle, and Marcia Wallace. Marcia was thrilled when the young male contestant kissed her after she gave him the right Audience Match answers. We moved to the next week for the remaining two. That was the week Bart Braverman and Fred Grandy spent goofing off and playing kazoos to anyone who would or wouldn't listen. Dolly Martin has to spend the week explaining why her finger is on a splint.

Moved to the Christmas episode of Hart to Hart next as I ate dinner and brought my laundry upstairs. "'Tis the Season to Be Murdered" has Jonathan and Jennifer Hart investigating a leak who has been selling the designs from their toy company. They first go in disguise to find the leak, then send in Max. It'll take a stakeout and help from a very attractive engineer (Elaine Joyce) to figure out who is after the latest Hart toy, an advanced robot.

Finished the night back at YouTube with Christmas game show episodes. Christmas and game shows go back almost to the beginning. The original I've Got a Secret always did at least one Christmas episode a year. I went with one of the earliest from 1954. Here, the contestants are eliminated in favor of asking the panel questions to see what else they can do. I especially like the ladies' talents. Jayne Meadows grew up in China and sang a Christmas song in Chinese, while Faye Emerson gave a wonderful reading of the famous "Yes, There Is a Santa Claus" letter.

The Price Is Right is another game show that does annual Christmas episodes. I dug up one of the shows that didn't make it onto the Bob Barker Price Is Right Christmas marathon yesterday. Christmas 1995 featured contestants playing for two expensive cars (one got it, one didn't) and a cute showcase with Rod Roddy as Santa checking his Christmas list to make sure he bought all the Showcase prizes everyone wanted.

Whammies abounded on the first holiday episode of Press Your Luck, especially in the second half. Though a lady tried hard and kept getting spins, in the end, the man in the middle wound up the winner with a big $20,000 score. He also got two trips for Christmas, including one to Japan he seemed really excited about.

Alex Trebek spent Christmas 1988 on Classic Concentration loudly protesting having to wear a heavy Santa suit. Though the woman contestant did well enough, she kept missing the answer in the end. The guy wound up with a ton of prizes, including a trip to Paris, but he didn't have as much luck with winning a car in the bonus round.

Kids had fun on game shows at Christmas, too. Lynne "The Chief" Thigpen and Greg Lee spend their holidays on Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego? trying to solve "The Case of the Purloined Pole." Somehow, Robocrook managed to swipe the North Pole, which doesn't make Santa happy at all. Greg led three kids from Poland to Arizona and back in search of the Pole and the elusive Carmen.

The Nickelodeon show Finders Keepers did two Christmas episodes in 1987. Wesley Eure reads the clues as kids search for items in holiday pictures, then run wild in a Finders Keepers house that that now included Santa's Workshop and a dining room set up for Hanukkah. Both teams got four out of five rooms in the big "search the rooms" bonus round, but kept missing the top prize. One pair did get a trip to Walt Disney World as an added prize in a "secret" room.

Celebrate the holidays game show style with these classic episodes! 

I've Got a Secret (1954)

Press Your Luck (1984)

Finders Keepers (1987)

Finders Keepers (1987)

Classic Concentration (1988)

Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1991)

The Price Is Right (1995)

(Oh, and it started raining again later in the evening and has rained off and on since then.)

Of Eagles and Pricing Games

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Happy Holidays Vol. 28. This is the first Happy Holidays I bought, way back in 1993 when it was the only Christmas music I could afford. Besides, there's some unique titles here that I've never seen in any other collections, like "A Candle In the Window" by Alabama, "'Til Santa's Gone (I Just Can't Wait)" by Clint Black, and "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way" by Jim Croce. 

It was so late when I finally got downstairs, I ended up calling Uber. And of course, they took 8 minutes to arrive. Even with the rider coming right on time and no traffic, I was still a minute late for work.

Things mostly went well after that. I spent the first half of the afternoon doing carts. When the afternoon bagger arrived, I was pulled to do returns. It took me longer than they thought it would to get the second cart done, but the second cart was filled with small shampoo and cleaning items that I just couldn't find the places for. I got called to go outside ten minutes before I was supposed to be done. I shouldn't have gotten upset, but I don't know why they couldn't have called me before that, or why I didn't tell the afternoon bagger I was done at 4. Thank heavens the Uber driver going home only took two minutes to arrive.

Once I got in, I changed and checked to see where the Eagles game was playing, then finally got my printer working. It wouldn't print the chocolate truffle recipe I wanted last night. Turns out it was just out of ink. I replaced the black ink, and it printed fine. 

(I continually checked the score throughout the afternoon. Though the Steelers started to catch up in the second half, the Eagles ultimately out-ran them 27-13.)

After that, I jumped in the shower, then had dinner. Listened to Christmas With the Platters while I ate. This is the album I picked up from On the Record in October. It's late 50's-early 60's rock group the Platters singing holiday standards, but some of them are very nicely done. Their "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" is hilarious.

Switched to YouTube just as the Platters ended. We finished our Bob Barker's birthday week with a selection of Price Is Right Christmas episodes made between 1979 and 1998. I really enjoyed seeing how the show - and Bob - evolved over the years. The marathon began in 1979, when Bob still had dark hair and Johnny Olsen was announcing. By the time I was 11 on Christmas Eve 1990, Bob's hair was now its natural white and big Rod Roddy of the flashy suits was the announcer. Some of the showcases that had the models as little girls sitting on Santa's knee or that showed them excited to receive prize package "presents" were especially funny.

Come on down and celebrate the holidays with Bob and The Price Is Right!

A Bob Barker 2024 Christmas - Featuring The Price Is Right Christmas Themed Episodes

Finished the night with The Perry Como Christmas Album. I've had this one for almost two decades now. I think it might have been one of the earliest holiday albums I found. I like it much better than my other Como holiday record. The warm and friendly opening number "Christmas Eve" is my favorite, and there's also "There's No Christmas Like a Home Christmas." Other good ones include his renditions of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and "Toyland." 

(Oh, and it finally started raining hard around 8 PM after having been chilly and cloudy all day. It's continued raining, sometimes hard, off and on for the rest of the night.) 

Come On Down and Match!

Kicked off the morning with breakfast and Elf: Buddy's Musical Adventure. I go further into this hilarious 2014 stop-motion adaptation of the 2003 film and the holiday stage show that's currently playing on Broadway at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals on TV - Elf: Buddy's Musical Adventures

Hurried out after Buddy ended. The Acme was fairly busy when I arrived. People are finally starting to come out of the malls and think Christmas baking and dinner. By the time the afternoon bagger took over the sweeping, the crowds had slowed considerably. Not only was there not a lot for either of us to do, the college kid was super-efficient and a really hard worker. We got a lot of carts put away today! At least it remains a nice day for pushing carts. It's still cold, but also sunny and bright blue, without a hint of wind. 

I was hoping to find that box of fudge mix, but I think they're out of it. I decided it would be easier to combine the butter mints and fudge into chocolate mint truffles. Just ended up buying the Acme's holiday ice cream sandwich flavors (gingerbread, eggnog, and peppermint) instead. 

Went straight home, had dinner, and spent the rest of the night watching the Match Game Saturday Classics marathon. The channel's owner honored Bob Barker, whose birthday was on Thursday, with 25 of his best episodes. I came in just in time for that memorable week with Carol Bartos. Bob's best work may have been later on the show, though. He really had fun whispering into Loni Anderson's ear in a PM episode from 1978.

Early in 1979, he protested when a contestant didn't call on him first to answer "Come On __" in the Audience Match. At least Johnny Olson got to say his famous line!  His seat broke in an episode from later that year, leaving him half-way under the desks. Betty White ducked down with him to make him feel better. He was less thrilled when Gene covered the slit skirt of a copy girl he'd been ogling on one of his last weeks in 1980. 

Come on down and celebrate Bob's birthday with 25 of his funniest episodes!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Bob Barker Birthday Celebration Top 25 Episodes

Ghosts Stories for Christmas

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel's Winter Adventure" takes him, his father, and Prince Wednesday to a snowy hill to learn to sled. The boys are intimidated by how high the hill is at first, until Dan Sr. suggests they take it a little at a time. Likewise, when Dan is having a hard time learning how to ice skate, his mother says he should do a little, then a little more, until he can stand up in them on his own. Daniel saves the "Neighborhood Nutcracker" when he replaces an ailing Prince Wednesday in the title role. He's nervous about having to learn the dance so quickly, but Henrietta and Katarina teach him one step at a time.

Headed off to work after Daniel Tiger ended. It wasn't much busier today than it has been. People are still in the malls. Not to mention, though it remains cold, it's also sunny, dry, and windless. I spent the entire four hours pushing carts with no trouble whatsoever.

My schedule next week is somewhat similar, only this time, I have Friday instead of Tuesday off and the longest I work is five hours on Sunday. I'll try to get as much baking and candy making done as I can from Wednesday night through Friday.

Did some grocery shopping after work. Took advantage of sales to pick up two boxes of cake mix, butter, and white chocolate chips for cookies. Found Kind granola bars with clearance tags on them and bakery chocolate chip cookies on a good sale. Restocked oranges, yogurt, and bagels for lunch this week.

Put on A Christmas Story when I got home. All Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsly) wants for Christmas 1940 is a Red Ryder BB Gun "with a compass and a stock and this thing that tells time." He's the only one who thinks that's a good idea. His mother (Melinda Dillon) insists that he'll shoot his eye out. His teacher (Tedde Moore) gives his essay on what he wants for Christmas a low grade. Mr. Parker (Darren McGavin) is seemingly too busy fighting with the furnace in the house and the next-door neighbor's dogs to notice Ralphie's desires. Not to mention, Ralphie may not survive childhood pitfalls like bullies, kids' shows that turn out to be barely-disguised ads, and a harrowing visit to Santa (Jeff Gillan) at the local department store long enough to make it to Christmas Day!

I grew up in the 80's with two sisters, a working mom, and a stepdad whose religion was "motorcycle," and I can still relate to so much of this. My sisters used to hide under the sink when they were upset. I spent most of my childhood dealing with bullies not far removed from Ralphie's. Dad claims he actually got his tongue off a frozen pole as a kid by wetting the area around it...but of course, Dad was also known for his tall tales. (One thing that would not have happened in my family was the leg lamp. Mom would have taken one look at it and either said "get it out now" or dumped it in a less-used corner, major award or not.)  

If this is a favorite of yours that you can relate to as well, don't wait for the annual 24 marathon on TBS to check this classic holiday comedy out. 

Switched to Santa Claus Is Coming to Town next. I went further into this one, along with Rudolph, way back in December 2018 on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Worked on the Seasonal inventory next. Finished off the Happy Holidays series and the rest of the Christmas music collections, including the two I bought yesterday. I picked up most of the Happy Holidays records off eBay in the last four years or so, though Volume 16 came from Goodwill. I know I bought the Columbia Musical Treasury set Home for Christmas from a yard sale or thrift shop, but that's about all I can remember now. A Very Special Christmas also came from a yard sale in 2014.

Watched Match Game '77 while I worked and as I had dinner. Buzzr finished up their all-Bob Barker marathon with the week Eva Gabor called him a sex symbol in her native Hungary. Bob's more interested in trying to sell refrigerators to an unruly crowd. (And Buzzr's going right into another one-star marathon after this. Their annual Betty White Christmas event will be starting Monday and running until Christmas Day.)

Finished the night after a shower with spooky stories and bizarre specials in honor of Friday the 13th. My favorite version of A Christmas Carol is the British movie from 1951 with Alistair Sim as the infamous miser who learns a spooky lesson in charity from three ghosts one memorable Christmas Eve. This one features a pitch-perfect performance from Sim and an expanded past sequence that allows us to see more of how Scrooge went from an idealistic young clerk to a cynical businessman who cares only for profit.

Having enjoyed Paul Lynde's Halloween special for the past few years, I thought I'd give his version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas a shot. Lynde plays the cranky father of a large brood who do nothing but fight each other, whine for presents, and ask him questions about Santa he can't answer. Anne Meara is his gentle wife, while Martha Raye and Alice Ghostley are the two grandmothers with very different ways of dealing with their rowdy grandchildren. The last ten minutes, with Lynde having a grand time acting out the poem, are pretty fun, but getting there is more annoying than hilarious. It's something of a Victorian National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Lynde's character is even named Clark. It all ends well, but getting there is something of a hassle unless you're a really huge fan of Lynde or the ladies. 

Before he explored Christmas around the world, Perry Como enjoyed more typical variety show holidays in the late 60's and early 70's. The Perry Como Winter Show is my favorite of these early vaudevillian efforts. He's joined by Jack Burns, Avery Schriberer, Sally Struthers, and the music group the Establishment, whisking them from Metromedia Studios in LA to a cozy house in Vermont. Perry takes Avery to see Santa (Jack), Avery, Jack, and Sally portray toys in the store who haven't been bought yet, the Establishment and Avery peek at Sally and Perry singing under the mistletoe, and everyone gathers at a frigid nightclub to do imitations of actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Weird, yes, but a lot of fun. The copy I watched on YouTube even came with the original commercials and recipes for various Kraft foods. 

The Music of Christmas

Began a sunny, chilly morning with breakfast and The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas. Ted E. Bear (Tom Smothers) is a curious fellow who desperately wants to know what this thing called Christmas is. Trouble is, most bears hibernate through December. Though the other bears think he's crazy, he pushes himself to stay awake long enough to see Christmas. He eventually stumbles into the big city, where he learns that Christmas isn't a place. It's more of a feeling, and one that's best shared with someone you love.

Messed around for a bit online, then headed out. I had a lot to do today, starting with a stop at the post office to deliver the Christmas packages going out of town. I picked the right day and time to send them off. There was no line when I arrived around noon. I handed them to the lady and gentleman behind the counter, and they got them labeled and on their way.

Rode to Collingswood next for a quick peek at Collingswood Music. The teen daughter of a friend is taking guitar and piano lessons, and I wanted to buy sheet music books that would be appropriate for an older beginner. I got one for each instrument and found a unique Christmas album for myself:

Art Garfunkel and Amy Grant - The Animals' Christmas

(Oh, and that completes my Christmas shopping. I'll be focusing on Christmas baking next week before the Acme's employee party on the 21st.) 

Headed down Haddon Avenue to have a small lunch at Koupa Espresso Bar. Unlike GrooveGround down the street, this does have a pretty decent Greek-themed lunch menu along with the usual coffee and tea drinks. I tried the Gingerbread Cold Foam Chai Latte and a slice of their Spanakopita pie. Oh yum. The tea had hints of cherry and spice along with the ginger, while the pie was thick and crusty, with lots of spinach and cheese. No wonder they were so busy when I arrived.

Phidelity Records is a few doors down on the other side of the block. I was there long enough to look over four bins of Christmas album - two for newer albums, two dollar bins for random collections from the 60's and 70's. Ended up with one brand-new album, one used but fairly unique, and one dollar collection:

Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas (This is the brand-new one, but $15 isn't bad for a new album.)

Two collections from the 70's, the soul and R&B Soulful Christmas and the more general The Wonderful World of Christmas

Headed down Cuthbert to Westmont Plaza next. Target didn't have toothpaste on sale, but I really liked that almond-smelling soy-based shaving gel I got last time, and it wasn't a bad price. Bought a box of acne facial patches as well. I ducked in and out quickly to beat the kids coming out of school.

Wanted to try something different at Sprouts. Rose mentioned at Thanksgiving how useful their bulk bins are when you need just enough of an ingredient for a recipe. I filled small bags with oatmeal and chocolate chips and a larger one with granulated sugar for Christmas baking next week. Got more of those yummy bulk dried mango slices, too. Found Cortland apples on a good sale and vegan oatmeal raisin cookies with a bakery clearance tag. Picked up a bag of organic shredded coconut that was only slightly more expensive than the regular sweetened stuff at the Acme. Wanted to try Poppi's seasonal Cranberry Fizz soda, but it only came in a four-pack. Four sodas aren't that much to carry home, so I bought the four-pack.

At least it was a nice day for all the running around. It was windy and much colder, in the mid-30's, but also sunny and brighter. Not much traffic around, either, except for on Cuthbert Road as I was going home, thanks to the high schools just letting out for the day.

Went straight upstairs soon as I got home. Put everything away while watching She Loves Me on YouTube. I go further into this charming 1979 BBC adaptation of the sweet 1963 stage operetta at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Musicals On TV - She Loves Me

Stayed at YouTube for two classic Muppet specials. A Muppet Family Christmas has Kermit, Fozzie, and all of the Muppet Show cast members descending on Ma Bear's farm for the holidays. Ma's not thrilled - she was going on vacation for Christmas. Doc and Sprocket from Fraggle Rock, who were renting her house, are even less pleased. Kermit is more worried about Ms. Piggy being waylaid in a snowstorm. Meanwhile, the Sesame Street Muppets turn up to put on a Christmas pageant, the Swedish Chef chases a talking turkey, and Kermit takes his nephew Robin down to meet the Fraggles and enjoy their winter holiday with them.

The earlier special John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together is more of a variety show. Piggy schemes to get a big part in one of Denver's massive production numbers and ends up doing a really wild "Christmas Is Coming" with the others. Denver's best moment is the lovely "A Baby Just Like You" and the finale "Silent Night" with the Muppets. Piggy finally gets her wish when Denver leads a group of toy soldiers to war while doll Piggy claims "I Will Wait for You."

Worked on the Seasonal inventory while I watched. Added the remaining Goodyear Great Songs of Christmas albums today, along with the oldest Happy Holidays collections I own. I've had most of the Great Songs of Christmas albums for so long, I have no clue where they came from. I know I got album five from a yard sale in 2007, but that's the only one I can remember. I found Happy Holidays Vol. 16 at the Audubon Goodwill two years ago, but I think Volume 13 came from eBay.

Watched Match Game '78 during dinner and as I started to work on the She Loves Me review. Bob Barker was very offended when the Audience Match was "Come On __" and the young woman contestant didn't call on him first for an answer! The audience was more upset when Brett answered "Dodgers" to "Brooklyn __" a bit later.

Finished the night listening to my new Christmas albums and one of the Goodyear ones. No idea what The Animals' Christmas is, other than a collection of animal-themed Christmas carols and hymns. I suspect this is an attempt to retell the legend about farm animals being able to speak on Christmas Eve. In addition to "The Friendly Beasts," we get some lesser-known holiday animal carols like "Song of the Camels" and "The Creatures of the Field." (I won't ask about "Incredible Phat.")

Soulful Christmas and The Wonderful World of Christmas are collections from probably around the mid-70's, which is about where the resemblance ends. Soulful Christmas, as you can guess from the title, features soul and R&B artists doing holiday tunes, like Brook Benton's "This Time of the Year" and "You're All I Want for Christmas" and Patti LaBelle singing "Winter Wonderland" and "Blue Christmas." Wonderful World is a more general mix. Dinah Shore does a charming "We Need a Little Christmas." I also liked Nat King Cole's "A Cradle In Bethlehem," and one that was a bit of a surprise, Anne Murray's version of the rock hit "Put Your Hand In the Hand."

Ella Fitzgerald is at her sassy best for Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas. I have her version of "Jingle Bells" elsewhere, but the others are all new to me. The surprises here are "Good Morning Blues" and "The Secret of Christmas," one of the only good things about the so-so 1959 movie Say One for Me. 

Henry Mancini Selects Great Songs of Christmas is another mid-70's attempt to bring up-to-date sounds to the traditional collection. The Carpenters' version of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" joins the usual orchestras and choirs. Ella Fitzgerald is here too, singing "Sleigh Ride." 

Wrapping In the Rain

Began a gloomy morning with breakfast and the 2018 Muppet Babies. Bunsen's latest invention is an Elf-Bot, which can turn their art supplies into any gift they want, in "It's a Wonderful Elf-Bot." They're supposed to be making a present for Statler and Waldorf, but end up making presents for them instead...until the Elf-Bot gets overloaded and they run out of supplies. Bunsen thinks he can launch all of his unwanted shrimp milk boxes into outer space in "A Merry Little Christmas," but he ends up making a mess on Planet Gonzo. The other Muppets join him to clean up the planet.

It wasn't raining hard when I went to work, but it was supposed to rain all day. This was no day for riding the bike. I called Uber. The drivers going to and from work picked me up in 7 minutes. I even had the one going home before. I got there and back within five minutes and had no trouble whatsoever. 

No trouble at work, either. Between the rain and this being the middle of the week and the middle of the month, we were dead all morning. It was so quiet, at one point, I did returns because the carts were full. And no wonder. It was gloomy, gray, and too warm for this time of year, probably in the 60's. The rain wasn't bad at work, but it did shower off and on for the entire morning. I was in and out with no trouble whatsoever.

(Thankfully, the rain wouldn't pick up until about a half-hour after I got home. It's been raining off and on, sometimes heavily, since then.)

Had lunch while watching PAW Patrol. "The Pups Save Christmas" when they have to rescue Santa after he has a crash-landing during a storm. Rocky and Rubble repair the sleigh. Chase rounds up the reindeer and helps Santa find the magical Christmas Star that allows them to fly. The others deliver the gifts around Adventure Bay. 

Spent the next four hours wrapping gifts and boxing them. I want to send out any boxes that need to be mailed first thing tomorrow. There is one present left I need to pick up, but it's not something that's going in the mail. I'm hoping to find it in Collingswood tomorrow. At the least, I was right to buy another roll of wrapping paper. I did use up most of the gold reindeer paper.

Watched It's a Wonderful Life as I started the wrapping. George Bailey (James Stewart) has spent his whole life working for his family's building and loan in a small New York State town. He loves his wife Mary (Donna Reed) and their kids, but envies his brother Harry (Todd Karns), who had so many opportunities he was forced to give up in order to keep their business out of the hands of miserly Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). He's horrified when Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) loses the money they're supposed to deposit in the bank and is ready to commit suicide, until he's stopped by sweetly eccentric Clarence (Henry Travers). Clarence is an angel who has watched George his whole life. When George makes a passing remark about how everyone would be better off without him, Clarence gives him a chance to see what those he loves would be like if he'd never been born...and learns why he truly has a wonderful life.

This has been one of my favorite movies for years, if for no other reason than it features one of the greatest collections of character actors in any Hollywood movie, from Lillian Randolph as Annie, the Baileys' hilarious housekeeper, to Beulah Bondi as George and Harry's mother, to Ward Bond and Frank Faylen as George's buddies Bert and Ernie. It's not for those who don't agree with director Frank Capra's pro-small town sentiment, but if you're a fan of Stewart or any of the cast, you'll absolutely want to check this out.

"It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special" is a pitch-perfect spoof of Wonderful Life, down to Buster attempting to jump out of the film when Montana Max takes over directing the Toons' holiday show. A certain very tall rabbit named Harvey shows Buster what it would have been like if he'd never been on the show...and it's not much prettier than what happened with George.

Stayed with the Looney Tunes as I packed the presents for Anny and her kids, Lauren and her parents, and the family in Virginia in boxes to be shipped out tomorrow. Bugs Bunny's Christmas Tales is an anthology of three original holiday shorts made directly for TV. The first is a version of Christmas Carol with Yosemite Sam as Scrooge, Porky as Cratchit, and Bugs as Nephew Fred and the ghosts. The second takes Wil E. Coyote and Road Runner out of the desert and into the snowy mountains for some fun with ice. Bugs has to defend his home against a hungry Taz wearing a Santa suit in the third.

Had just enough time to add the first three Goodyear Great Songs of Christmas albums to the Seasonal inventory, then had dinner while watching Match Game '75. Carol continues her winning ways in the first episode, though she doesn't have as much luck with Brett in the head-to-head this time. She finally loses during the first day of the next week with Sheldon Leonard and Louisa Moritz. Bob Barker turned up again in the last episode from 1977 with Eva Gabor.

Finished the night after a shower with more family favorites. March of the Wooden Soldiers is the Laurel and Hardy version of Babes In Toyland. I went further into this film in a Musical Dreams Movie Reviews entry from late November 2018.

March of the Wooden Soldiers

Inspired by Linda Young's comment on yesterday's blog, I looked up the original Raccoons specials on YouTube. The Christmas Raccoons introduces us to Ralph, Melissa, and Bert, who lose their fir tree home after Cyril goes on a sawing spree and destroys half of the Evergreen Forest. The human children and their sheepdog Schaeffer (Carl Banas) take it home to be their Christmas tree. Schaeffer chases them when they try to get back to it, but helps them out when they explain what happened and what Cyril is doing.

The Raccoons On Ice is pretty much what it is on the record, with the addition of a few low-key songs by Rita Coolidge (who voices Melissa in these first two specials) and Leo Sayer (who took over for Rupert Holmes here) as background. It's even funnier when you can see everyone's expressions, including the big hockey game in the end. 

Silver Bells and Holiday Stories

Began the morning with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. It's "A Scary Night With a Snow Beast Fright" when Mystery Inc are invited to the North Pole by Professor Kruger, only to find him and the head of the Inuit town where he works missing. The town was attacked by an enormous snow beast who chased the residents away. While Shaggy and Scooby dodge the Beast, the other three wonder what those totem poles and underground pipes are hiding.

Headed out after that to deliver a small bag of donations to Goodwill and finish my Christmas shopping. I started around front at Goodwill. They were incredibly busy when I got there with people on their lunch breaks. The only thing I found was a copy of the two-disc Woodstock DVD set...but the line was so long at that point, I decided to go back later.

Did better at Marshalls. Found a really nifty gift in a book-shaped tin for a friend of mine. Thankfully, the line there wasn't anything resembling as long. I was able to buy my present and elegant boxes for gift cards with little fuss.

Had lunch at Tang Asian Buffet after checking out Five Below really quick. They were surprisingly busy as well for 1:30 in the afternoon. In addition to the rice noodles and vegetables and chilled mussels I love, I tried a cheese and spinach casserole, a seafood and cheese dish, sugar-covered donuts, egg rolls, two little spring rolls, slightly dry sweet barbecued beef, a cream cheese and clam appetizer, steamed vegetables, and a strange custard-y egg and crab dish. Had two little slices of strawberry and espresso mousse cake, a dry slice of cake roll, and a bit of banana pudding cake for dessert.

Ducked back into Goodwill after lunch. Thankfully, the line was a lot shorter this time. I was able to pick up Woodstock with no trouble. Grabbed an Oreo Coke Zero from Five Below on my way home. At least it wasn't too cold for running around. It was wet when I went out - it must have rained last night or early this morning - but the sun was trying to come out when I was at Audubon Crossings. It was relatively warm for mid-December as well, probably in the lower 50's.

(Incidentally, that only leaves one person for me to shop for, and I know what I want to get them. I'll pick it up on Thursday.)

Soon as I got home, I went online and watched The Lemon Drop Kid on Amazon Prime. I go further into this Bob Hope comedy about a con-man who poses as a corner Santa to make money to pay back a gangster at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

The Lemon Drop Kid

Worked on the seasonal inventory during and after the second half of the film. I really got a lot done today. Added the remaining soundtracks and cast albums, including Scrooged, Here's Love, the 1970 Albert Finney Scrooge, and the original animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I also got Christmas In France and all seven Firestone Your Christmas Favorites albums in there. Scrooge, Christmas In France, and the Firestone albums go back the furthest. I don't remember where I got Scrooge and Christmas In France from. I think they were Abbie Road or thrift shop finds. Two of the Firestone albums came from a yard sale in 2011, two from what was the Bellmawr Goodwill in 2014, and one from the Collingswood Library's book sale in 2009. 

Switched to The Price Is Right and Match Game '75 after the movie ended and as I had a quick dinner. Match Game '75 was the hilarious week featuring Bob Barker and Arlene Francis where contestant Carol Bartos became the all-time biggest winner up to that point with over $20,000. After Fannie got her the winning Head-to-Head match, she threw her bow tie onto the stage and everyone started kissing everyone else! Later on, for some reason, Gene had a hammer in his coat and Bob decided to auction it off.

Finished the night with old and new children's Christmas albums. The Pac-Man Christmas Album features a goofy story about how the Pac-Family befriends the Ghosts on Christmas Eve, but it also has a couple of decent songs. I like the opening "The Magic of Christmas" for Mrs. Pac, "Snowflakes and Frozen Lakes" for the Pac couple, and "Friends Again" as they explain to the Ghosts why they gave them gifts.

My family owned four of the 6 Little Golden Book Stories for years. I wouldn't be surprised if Mom or one of my sisters still had our copies of Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, The Night Before Christmas, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer around. The Twelve Days of Christmas sounded really strange recited rather than sung. The only one that's new to me is How Lovely Is Christmas, the story of a pioneer boy who dreams of being able to clear land for his parents...and gets help from some of the most famous characters in American western legend.

The Raccoons On Ice is also familiar from my childhood. The Disney Channel used to run this Canadian special every year during Christmas and the winter. The Raccoons - Bert and his married friends Ralph and Julie - love skating on the local pond every year. They're horrified when they learn that wealthy aardvark Cyril Sneer intends to pave over the pond to make an industrial complex. Bert challenges Cyril to a hockey game, but Cyril corrals a team of professional hockey-playing bears. The Raccoons may lose their beloved pond, unless they can convince Cyril's nerdy son Cedric to join them. 

We used to love the show and the specials when I was a kid in the 80's, and they're still a lot of fun to listen to. This one does seem to be missing the songs from the special, but otherwise, it's pretty intact. Rich Little does the slightly bemused narration. Probably not the most necessary thing in the world if you don't have fond memories of the show like I do, but I'm still glad I found it. 

Oh, and the rain finally hit around 10-11. It's supposed to pour all night and into tomorrow. That's going to be a problem with work. I may have to take Uber.