Watched Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales during breakfast. This series of skits was made to fill an hour slot with Charlie Brown Christmas, but it has some entertaining material in its own right. Sally writes to "Samantha Claus," Snoopy deals with Lucy while working as a sidewalk Santa and dodges the cat next door, and Lucy tries to get Linus to buy her gifts.
Moved on to Garfield's Christmas while I got dressed. Jon takes Garfield and Odie to his parents' farm for Christmas. Garfield's not too happy about it, until he bonds with Jon's supremely tough and sarcastic grandmother. Grandma's badly missing her late husband, but Garfield stumbles onto something in the barn that might make her holidays a little merrier.
Ran Little Drummer Boy and Little Drummer Boy Book II next. I went further into these on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog Christmas Eve 2020.
Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas was one of the first Jim Henson productions to use relatively realistic-looking animals, and among the first original holiday specials on HBO. Impoverished Emmett and his Ma are facing a bare Christmas, until they hear about a talent contest being held in the nearby town on Christmas Eve. They give up the things they use for their regular work for their acts...and while it doesn't work out like they expect, they get something even better in the end.
I called Rose to see when I could come over...and as it turned out, it was not today. She and her family were going to Craig's parents house in Westmont for Christmas. I was very disappointed. I was looking forward to spending time with them and giving them my gift after I had such a lovely Thanksgiving with them. She said I could come over on New Year's Day after the Mummers' Parade instead.
Ended up joining a friend and her family for Christmas instead. I had a lovely book shaped tea tin for her, sheet music books for her daughter, cookies for her son and his girlfriend, and a bag of treats for their cat. They and my friend's sister gave me a pair of wonderfully warm fur-lined knitted boot slippers and tons of candy, including chocolate-covered sea salt caramels, a bag of Goetz caramel creams, and a whole box of assorted Russell Stover chocolates.
After we opened gifts, I quickly rode my bike over to Rose's. I had to bring her gifts over today. The cookies weren't going to keep another week. I left the bag with their presents and cookies on her front stoop, then went for a short ride around the neighborhood behind the school. Maybe it's just as well that I wasn't out for long. Though it wasn't raining or snowing, it was also chilly, cloudy, and damp. Not the nicest weather. I hurried back quickly.
They started Elf shortly after I got in. My friend's son and his girlfriend are big fans of this wacky and heartfelt 2003 comedy. They even had Elf wrapping paper. Buddy (Will Farrell) is a very tall elf who discovers from his adopted father (Bob Newhart) that he's actually a human. His birth father Walter Hobbs (James Caan) now works for a publishing company that's desperate for a best-seller. Buddy's delighted that he's found his father, but Walter finds him to be more of a nuisance, especially after he inadvertently insults a writer (Peter Dinkalage) by saying he's an elf. He has more luck when he falls for department store worker Jovie (Zooey Deschanal), charms his stepmother Emily (Mary Steenburgen), and wins over his half-brother Michael (Daniel Tay) after helping him with bullies in Central Park.
After Walter insults him, Buddy takes off. He couldn't have left at a worse time. Santa's sleigh crashes in Central Park, and there's not enough Christmas spirit to take him back into the skies. It'll take a concentrated effort from Jovie and everyone Buddy has touched on his journey to prove that Christmas spirit really can be found everywhere, even in the hearts of jaded New Yorkers.
Some of Farrell's brand of manic comedy may not work for everyone, and there's dated aspects (like how that short writer is treated) that would never fly even 20 years after this film's release. Still, there's enough charming and enjoyable moments to make this a favorite of many. Farrell and Caan are the stand-outs as the man-child who wants everyone to love Christmas like he does and his taciturn, frazzled father. Well worth checking out if you're a fan of Farrell or are looking for a more recent Christmas film for older kids and teens.
The movie ended literally just as my friend declared dinner was ready. We had huge lobsters, tails and claws and all, with sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, cucumber salad, and a stuffed butternut squash for her son's vegetarian girlfriend. It was all amazing, especially those juicy lobsters! The sweet potatoes tasted just as good dipped in butter as the lobsters did.
Headed upstairs after dinner to finish the night online. What little I saw of the Match Game Christmas Day marathon was a repeat of yesterday's, but I did get to see Rip Taylor in a Santa costume. I did better with other shows. We continued yesterday's 1978 Card Sharks as that lady, to her delight and shock, went on to pick up almost $20,000 on the Money Board. Bob Eubanks' first Card Sharks Christmas pit a young lady against a very funny older man.
Family Feud celebrated Christmas 1979 with gifts for Richard and the contestants singing carols for him. Charles continues to spend the week on Match Game '76 complaining about not being able to play Santa that year while the others get to know a woman who brings a sock-type puppet along to help her nerves. Rip Taylor, on the other hand, did get to play Santa on Match Game '90...three days late. Debralee Scott and Gina Hecht continue to do well on Password Plus, once again making it to the Alphabetics round. Gary Collins did get his contestant to the Super Password bonus round, but he misunderstands a word and just gets the lady confused.
Finished the night with The Walt Disney Very Merry Christmas Parade from 1988. Joan Lunden and Alan Thicke are the hosts here, with Regis Philbin interviewing the crowds and plugging the then-upcoming Disney-MGM Studios. Sarah Purcell hosted the segment in Disneyland, while Scott Valentine tried to get on the just-about-to-open Splash Mountain. Almost all of the floats but a beach-themed one and one with the Country Bears represented a then-popular Disney animated film. We even saw movies like Robin Hood and The Jungle Book that would likely never even be mentioned in a Disney parade today! The show begins and ends with dancers doing Christmas Carol medleys. The opening has them dancing down Main Street. The sleigh-based finale is performed at Cinderella Castle.
Here's all of tonight's programming, so you can enjoy your own vintage Christmas! And I hope you had a wonderful holiday with all the family and friends you love to match with.
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