Headed out after that for a run to Dollar General. I needed wrapping paper. I used up the last of my previous roll on Lauren's presents. I found a pretty, simple gold paper with white reindeer and green and red garlands. Picked up something for my nephew Collyn, including a birthday card (it's next week), and gift holder cards for my oldest nephew Skylar and my brother Keefe and his wife Julia. They had a coupon for $2.50 off a cute stuffed snowman if you bought $3 worth of cards. I did get the cards, but the coupon didn't work. The snowman was too darling to leave behind, though. Picked up Kind bars on sale, too.
Stopped at the Mexican bakery on the way back. I have such a hard time deciding with all those goodies around! I finally chose a small plastic cup full of very thin peppermint-white chocolate-covered chocolate wafers.
When I got home, I went straight into wrapping gifts. I'm hoping to get all the packages out by early next week and finish any shopping for out-of-town friends and family. The post office seems to be more on the ball lately, but I'm not willing to take chances.
Watched Buzzr first. Let Match Game '77 run, then Tattletales. I'd seen the Tattletales episodes before. Songwriter Sammy Cahn and his hilarious wife Tita, Hal Linden and his smart wife Fran, and Scoey and Claire Mitchilll were all on the ball today, but the Lindens seemed to do the best. They won both episodes, joined by Claire and Scoey in the second.
Switched to The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas next. Ralph the baby reindeer gets lost after the Cat's Christmas Eve party when he gets off at Sally's house instead of Freeze-Your-Knees Snowland. The Cat and the kids try to get him home, but the Thing-a-Ma-Jigger keeps breaking down in tropical climes and even the ocean. On the way, they learn about the migration patterns of reindeer, red crabs, elephants, and dolphins, and how each group finds food and stays together when they travel.
Returned to Paramount Plus for the first season of The Odd Couple while I cleaned up the wrapping mess. Oscar is feeling grouchy when his ex-wife Blanche demands alimony on Christmas Eve and throws Felix out. Felix thinks he'd be the perfect Scrooge for their Christmas play. He refuses...until Oscar dreams that "Scrooge Wins an Oscar" and that he's the mean miser who learns the true meaning of the holidays.
Worked on writing for the next couple of hours. The doll is, indeed, Stephen, but he's in terrible shape. His hair is hacked off, his cheeks are scarred, and he can barely stand upright without Cora's help. Cora and Stephen remind Harron that he could use his powers to help people instead of manipulating them. He says he tried to, but the rich men he offered them to wanted to use him...so he now intends to use them. Cora keeps pushing Stephen behind her, but Harron keeps advancing...
Broke for dinner and Match Game Syndicated at 7 PM. The episode begins with a nurse coming out to spray Gene with cold medicine. Bill Daily brings him a cup to spit in after he gargles. Meanwhile, Jon "Bowser" Bauman shows off his "Bowser Is Beautiful" shirt, pointing out that this is the first time he hasn't worn a plain black shirt on the show.
Finished out the night on YouTube with vintage TV specials and movies. Fred Astaire is The Man In the Santa Claus Suit who seems to be everywhere one cold Christmas Eve in New York, including selling Santa suits to three very different men. High school math teacher Bob Willis (Gary Burghoff) is too shy to tell gorgeous model Polly Primer (Tara Buckman) that he's crazy about her. He hopes the suit will give him confidence to finally get it out during her big Macy's fashion show that night. Stan Summerville (John Byner) was once a chef, but he's now a drunk on the run from the bank robbers after he found their gun. He tries to rob the home of two elderly former vaudevillains (Nanette Fabray and Harold Gould) and their spoiled grandchildren, but rethinks his life choices when they treat him kindly. Gil Travis (Bert Convy) is a political aide who wants to surprise his son between business meetings. His wife just wishes he'd spend more time with his son and remember how much happier they were when he was a struggling writer.
Fred Astaire's last appearance on the small screen is a charming three-part holiday tale. Astaire really is magical as the strange man who can seemingly be everywhere. Fabray and Gould steal the movie as the sweet older people who, unlike Travis or their bratty grandchildren, remember their days as struggling performers and don't look down on those who aren't as fortunate as they are. Burghoff and Buckman have their moments as the sweet teacher and the model who wishes her life wasn't so glamorous. Only Convy's segment is too cliched to really come off. Dig around for this on YouTube if you're feeling the need for a cozy holiday film that doesn't get too syrupy.
The Andy Williams Christmas Show from 1966 shares that same cozy holiday feeling. Though he starts off with a series of gags as he performs his hit "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," most of the special is set at (supposedly) his home or his parents'. The Osmonds do get in a very odd "Heigh Ho" while dancing with giant toy soldiers after the opening. I'd rather hear Williams and his lovely French wife Claudine singing the hit ballad "Love In a Home" from the original 1956 Broadway version of Lil' Abner or Williams singing "Jingle Bells" with his brothers against a simple backdrop.
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