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.
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.
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