Here Comes Santa Claus

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Plus. This time, Martian Mickey comes to Earth, but he has a "Martian Mishap" when he crashes into a tree after Goofy makes a mistake getting him down. The others have to retrieve pieces of his ship from the forest, the lake, and the desert, so Martian Mickey can get the spices he needs for his Yumblatz (hot dog) Pie.

Switched to Supermarket Sweep while I made my grocery list. This was the end of their "Family Week," with three sets of sisters playing each other. Team 1 not only got almost all of the bonuses in the Big Sweep, they got twice as much time as anyone else. All of those bonuses resulted in them earning the show's biggest-ever Big Sweep total, over $1,900.

Hurried off to run errands next. I couldn't find an egg timer at Target or Dollar Tree. I want it to time me at night and make sure I go to bed and not stay up until 5 AM. Did a little better at Sprouts. Found sugar cookies and more containers of those apple fritter-flavored dried cranberries on clearance. Picked up coconut milk and sparkling water, too.

Sprouts hadn't been busy, and the Acme wasn't really, either. I mainly needed to restock yogurt and oranges here. Found Nature's Valley granola bars buy one, get one free. Cove sodas were $1.50. Got more sliced chicken, too. Bought stamps for when I get the Christmas cards together on Saturday. Found more Winter Spiced Sprite Zero and Diet Coke Lime $2 for 5. 

Newton Lake Park was gorgeous, if chilly, as I rode home. It was sunny, windy, and cold, in the upper 30's. The park is showing signs of winter now. The leaves are almost entirely gone from the trees, the grass is turning yellow, and fewer plants and animals are seen along the banks. 

Had a quick lunch when I got in while putting everything away and watching First a Girl. I go further into this British version of Victor/Victoria from 1935 with Jesse Matthews and Sonnie Hale at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

First a Girl

The movie had just ended when I headed to the Thomas Sharp School. Though the older kids did get to run around on the blacktop, it was too cold for the younger kids to go on the playground. One of the teachers and I read Hot Wheels: Extreme Stunts, Tweety: The North Star's Magical Journey Home, and Move Over, Rover! After that, the kids spent the rest of the afternoon building towers from magnetic tiles that were so tall, they had to be leaned against the cafeteria wall to keep them standing, coloring, and playing with rubber play food.

After I finished, I had dinner at Crust n' Cravings. I was originally going to eat at Phillies Phatties, but Collings Avenue was closer to the school. Plus, to be honest, I just like Crust n' Cravings' pizza better. I ate a slice of cheese and a slice of broccoli and tomato while watching Action News on ABC. 

Stopped at Dollar General on my way home. I was hoping to find an egg timer, but no luck. (I just ordered one online.) I did get aspirin, ibuprofen, and cold medicine here. My head had been stuffed up and I'd had mild sinus headaches all day. Either my allergies are acting up from the wind and dryness, or I'm coming down with a cold. 

Went home briefly to park the bike and put everything away, then went right back out again. Oaklyn had its Parade of Lights and Tree Lighting this evening. They were just starting to hand out the fiber optic lights for the kids when I arrived. There was rich hot chocolate, brownie bites, and four different kinds of cookies. I tried what I believe to be butter pecan and red velvet. They were so delicious! Probably came from Shop Rite, but they still tasted good.

I only saw Rose once and I never did find Jessa, but I did get to see my 8-year-old niece Finley perform several carols with her class on the side of City Hall. Good thing she inherited her mother's height and was wearing a reindeer antlers headband! It was so crowded, I never would have seen her otherwise. At any rate, the kids did a wonderful job, their voices mostly smooth and clear. Near the end of their performance, a "snow" machine spewed foamy "snow" all over, which the kids absolutely loved. 

After the kids sang their carols, the Parade of Lights arrived at City Hall! They had a few actual floats this year, including one lavish gingerbread-themed one, and another with a costumed Grinch. There was one fire truck "pulled" by dalmatians, and others covered completely in lights. Santa arrived in the last truck for Oaklyn. 

Surprisingly, there was no speech or fanfare for the tree lighting this year. The tree just lit up. One minute, I had turned to City Hall to find Finley. The next, the massive "tree" blazed with reds, blues, greens, and yellows, with a huge glittering star on top. After the tree lighting, I gave up trying to figure out where Rose and Finley had gone and just walked home.

Finished the night working on the First a Girl review and listening to two more new (to me) Christmas CDs after my shower. I'm not as familiar with many of the artists in A Very Merry Christmas 5. Most of it is rap or pop that I'm just not that fond of, but there are a few good numbers. We get Stevie Nick's gorgeous version of "Silent Night," B.B King and John Popper doing "Back Door Santa," and Sheryl Crow getting into "Run Rudolph Run."

The Carpenters' Christmas Portrait is on more familiar turf. The most popular number from this one by far is the wistful standard "Merry Christmas Darling." Some of the covers are nice too, notably "Sleigh Ride," the aching "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." Richard Carpenter plays a lively "Selections from The Nutcracker." 

Winter Is Just Around the Corner

Got a quick start with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Plus. "Martian Mickey's Clubhouse" was damaged in a sandstorm, so Mickey and the others help their space counterparts build a new one. Martian bubbles are ten times stronger than Earth ones and make splendid walls and furniture, but they need to call in a friend for the books and games needed to make it truly a home.

Hurried off to work soon as the cartoon ended. Work was off-and-on busy, likely due to it being the beginning of the month. I was constantly called to put away cold items, including during my break. Otherwise, there were no major problems, and I was in and out. I even helped a co-worker who couldn't bend over clean up the ice she spilled from her drink in the break room after I finished.

Put on the 2002 Strawberry Shortcake when I got home and was settled down for lunch. It's a "Merry Berry Christmas" as Strawberry struggles with what to give her friends, especially Huckleberry Pie. She and ever-bragging Honey Pie Pony travel to Holidayland to find just the right gifts. Honey Pie keeps dropping obvious hints and insisting on buying horse things for everyone, even though Strawberry constantly admonishes her that she needs to buy gifts that the recipient actually wants, not just her. Strawberry even gets to meet Santa. When one gift makes a mess, Strawberry thinks she has nothing to give the others. They insist they're just glad to have her back...and are even happier with the surprise at Strawberry's front door.

Headed back out even before the show ended. I don't know if it's early holiday jitters or the full moon, but the kids were really rowdy today. They played with dreidels they got in class, grabbed each other's chocolate coins, and put up a fuss about wearing their coats outside. While the weather was beautiful, sunny, breezy, and bright, it was also in the 40's. Not freezing like it will be by Friday, but not exactly warm, either. Definitely not weather to go without coats!

With two teachers having left for good last week, I ended up in charge of the swings again. Most of the kids were pretty good about it, but I had to argue one of the older boys off when he wouldn't listen and kept saying "whatever." I wasn't the only one who had problems with him and the other older boys, too. I was too busy with the kids on the swings to see it, but apparently, the older boys spent their time outside fighting. It got so bad, we ended up calling them inside earlier than planned. One of the younger girls was so upset she hadn't been able to get on the swings, she cried all the way inside, even after we swore she could go on tomorrow.

Things weren't a whole lot better inside. We had two managers come to check out the new assistants. One of them separated the older kids and younger kids, even though we usually just let them mingle when we came in. I couldn't do anything right. I sat with the group coloring and was told to go with the younger kids. I sharpened colored pencils for the kids coloring and was told to sit with the kids building with Duplos and magnetic tiles. I spilled a teacher's coffee cup when I couldn't find a place for my coat. At least it only had water, and one of the new assistants helped me clean it up, but it was still embarrassing. One of the managers said I was doing fine, but I felt like a klutz. 

Hurried straight home after that mess. Watched Match Game '78 during dinner. Richard Dawson was still around and still playing pretty well at this point. He got to see David Doyle make his debut next to Brett, along with Betty White and glamorous Eva Gabor.

Worked on writing The WENN Nutcracker Suite throughout the evening. Mr. Eldridge tells the story of how the Nutcracker came to be the way he is, aided by Gertie Ginger's fireplace. Queen Gloria, King Benjamin, and their con-artist son Prince Scott were the beloved, benevolent rulers of the Land of Sweets, adored by their people. Mr. Eldridge was Scott's mentor and tutor, but he spent most of his time keeping Scott from brawls and sailing around the world with him. King Benjamin finally gives his son the sacred Christmas Star Sword that is fueled by Christmas spirit before he takes a carriage to Santa's Workshop on Christmas Eve. He does talk to Santa, but never makes it home before his carriage goes over a cliff during a blizzard.

Finished the night with My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas. Sock-loving Minty is the title character of the Christmas special for the mid-2000's version of the franchise. The "Here Comes Christmas Candy Cane" tree topper is supposed to guide Santa to Ponyville with its fabulous light. Fussy Minty's attempts to make it "just perfect" end with her knocking it over and breaking it. She first tries to play Santa herself and gives her massive sock collection to her friends. When Pinkie Pie catches her doing that, she insists on going to the North Pole herself to tell Santa what happened. Half of Ponyville ends up following her to tell her that she matters more than any candy cane. 

Rainy Day Angels

Began a rainy morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel's Winter Adventure" has him first learning to sled with Prince Wednesday, then skating with his father. In both cases, he's encouraged to try it a little bit at a time until he gets used to it. Margaret walks for the first time too, right to her brother. Daniel ends up performing in the "Neighborhood Nutcracker" when Prince Wednesday gets sick. Henrietta, who plays the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Katerina, who plays Clara, helps him learn his part a little bit at a time.

Put up the winter decorations next, or at least the ones that I could fit out now. I mainly put out the winter stuffed animals, my Webkinz Groundhog Phil, Marie in her little winter collar and hat, and the penguin in the green knit hat. The folksy wooden snowman with the dangling legs and arms was small enough to fit now, as was the snowman candy dish.

Watched Evergreen as I worked, and later when I went online. I go further into this charming British musical with 1930's dance star Jessie Matthews at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Evergreen (1934)

Barely had the time to grab something for lunch and call Uber before work. It took 14 minutes for the driver to arrive, but I was able to get a few quick chores done. It took 10 minutes for the driver home to arrive. In both cases, there was no traffic, and the driver was pleasant. 

Considering it continued to pour even as I arrived at the Thomas Sharp School, I suspect you may already have guessed that we never went outside today. The kids listened to Horton Hears a Who, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and If You Give a Moose a Muffin in the library instead. After the stories ended, some of the kids danced, while others colored, played with blocks (that they kept knocking over), or worked with stencils on enormous sheets of paper taped to the tables. They were all pretty rowdy - they hadn't gone outside earlier in the day, either. Enough of them had gone home by 5 that we finally moved them to the cafeteria, where they colored, played with dolls, and played ball games with the older kids.

After I got home, I did a few chores around the house before Jessa picked me up for dinner. I'm not normally a fan of fast food, but a Roy Rogers just opened in Cherry Hill. I hadn't seen one of those in years, not since they took out the one on the Garden State Parkway. Jessa had chicken tenders, fries, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a strawberry shortcake. I had a Southwestern Grilled Chicken sandwich with bacon (and got to use their famous "Fixin's Bar"), huge onion rings, a peppermint milkshake, and the strawberry shortcake. 

Oh yum. No wonder the lines when this place opened a few weeks ago were apparently out the door. The chicken sandwich was juicy and flavorful. The tenders were cooked perfectly. The strawberry shortcake was real strawberries on a biscuit with what I suspect was real, or at least local ice cream. The milkshake was perfectly minty. I wouldn't expect anything less from the King of the Cowboys! We left the place very full.

Took a shower, then watched Charlie's Angels. "Mother Goose Is Running For His Life" when the owner of a toy company learns that someone from inside the company may be trying to force him to sell to a man who would use the company as a front for gambling. Turns out a slightly unhinged toy designer is angry because his boss won't consider designing his horror-themed toys. Sabrina poses as the daughter of a toy company owner, Kris as a rag doll, and Kelly as a wire tapper to find out how he's getting information out.

Finished the night with Now That's What I Call Christmas 3. There's some really fabulous stuff here, especially on the first half. Johnny Mathis' "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" can be found here, too, along with Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," Peggy Lee's version of "The Little Drummer Boy," Judy Garland's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Blue Christmas" by Johnny Cash, Dean Martin doing "Baby It's Cold Outside" and The Chipmunks singing "Please Christmas Don't Be Late." Side two includes "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," The Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick," an absolutely gorgeous "Christmastime Is Here" by Dianne Reeves, Kenny Rogers' "Christmas Is My Favorite Time of Year," Celine Dion's "Feliz Navidad," Christina Agulilera singing "Merry Christmas, Baby," a really fun "Santa Baby" by the Pussycat Dolls, and "It Just Don't Feel Like Christmas Without You" by Rhianna. 

It's the Holiday Season, Charlie Brown

Began the morning with breakfast and finishing off Alice's Wonderland Bakery. Alice needs a "Clever Clover" to make her soda bread. The Queen and King of Hearts helps her wait for hers to grow. "Alice Comes to Her Senses" when the Mock Turtle chef teaches her how to make mini-casseroles that appeal to all of the senses - sight, taste, smell, touch. Her "pie-fectionist" side crops up again when the students in her baking class make a mess of the greenhouse, until she realizes that using all of your senses doesn't mean things work out perfectly the first time.

And that's that. Too bad this seems to have come to an abrupt end on Disney Junior last April. I really enjoyed it. As someone who also loves baking, I appreciated the themes of trying new foods and how food can bring communities together. Some people online has complained that Alice is too bland compared to the original. I disagree. I think she's a lot of fun. My favorite characters are sweet little Princess Rosa of Hearts and her decidedly spicy Queen of Hearts mama. Honestly, if you're a fan of Alice In Wonderland and/or baking like me, you and your little one can do far worse than the charming tales of the most splediferous young baker in all of Wonderland. 

After breakfast, I took my overflowing laundry basket downstairs, then went back up to my rooms and pulled out the remaining Christmas decorations. I always forget I have so much! There's the jolly Santa statue Mom gave me years ago and the Winter Cinderella Barbie-sized doll I found at a yard sale. There's the printed elves, angel made from fabric and a button, stuffed "gingerbread" people and the garland with the fabric stars and green grosgrain ribbon Mom made herself. The colorful wooden "Noel" candlestick holder has been in my family for years. I bought the little white frosted bottle-brush wreath from the Special Service Middle School's annual Christmas bazaar in the mid-90's. Amanda gave me the "Gretel" gingerbread Beanie Baby, and my gingerbread Squishmallow is a doggie toy I found at Target and thought was too cute to be chewed up by some dog! I have lots of holiday Beanie Baby bears, too, Gift and Herald the angels, Wallace in the plaid scarf, the bear with the jingling hat, Ginny "The Beginning" with the silver stars. Aunt Terri gave me the American Girl tin with the recipes for Christmas 2001.

Watched Christmas specials while I worked, starting with the classic A Charlie Brown Christmas. Chuck is upset by all of the grab, grab around him, from Snoopy entering a big neighborhood display contest to Lucy insisting she wants real estate for Christmas. Directing the local pageant seems to be what he needs to boost his flagging spirits, but his pals refuse to listen to him and insist on turning it into a jazz concert. It's when Charlie brings a tiny tree back to the church and the kids make fun of it that Linus reminds them of what Christmas is really all about.

It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown is a less-linear holiday special from the early 90's. Peppermint Patty avoids Christmas break homework and goes to see the Hallelujah Chorus with Marcie. Snoopy works as a sidewalk Santa, while Chuck tries to make money to buy a gift for the Little Red Haired Girl. Sally writes to Santa's wife and tries to learn her one line in the Christmas Pageant. 

The He-Man She-Ra Christmas Special is probably the least-likely holiday show in existence. Orko accidentally transfers two Earth kids to Etheria, where they teach She-Ra, He-Man, and all their friends about the magic of Christmas and peace on Earth. Horde Prime doesn't appreciate the good will they're spreading and orders Skeletor and Hordak to bring them to him. Skeletor gets to them first...but gets a rather strange lesson in the Christmas spirit when he ends up defending the kids against robot monsters.

Switched to the series finale of What's New, Scooby Doo? while eating lunch. It's an "E-scream" when Mystery Inc visits a fan convention that's overrun with Osmons, tiny furballs that are usually very popular, but seem to have gone crazy and are destroying everything in their path. As they solve the mystery, Velma notices that her friends don't seem to be acting like themselves, leading her to wonder if she's solving a real mystery at all. (Incidentally, this is one of the few times in the entire franchise where there's no unmasking, and technically, no villain.)

This is still one of the best and best-regarded Scooby series. They balanced the usual mysteries with people in masks with unique episodes like "E-Scream" (where there's no villain), "Camp Comeandscareya" (throwback to the Shaggy/Scooby/Scrappy solo shorts of the late 70's-early 80's), and "High Tech House of Horrors" (where technology was the villain). There's echoes of The New Scooby Doo Movies in episodes featuring celebrities like "Riva Ras Regas" and "Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman," too. In fact, if you have younger kids, this might be the best place to start if you want to introduce them to the franchise. It's faster-paced than the original Scooby Doo, Where are You, and has more stories that might appeal to them.

Headed out to run some quick errands before school. Hit WaWa first to use their ATM machine. I haven't had a smoothie from there in ages. Peppermint Mocha really hit the spot, very minty and even more chocolatey! I got one of the things I needed at Family Dollar, which was laundry detergent, but forgot a timer.

I barely had time to put everything upstairs and head back out again when I got home. I'm glad I just got there on time. We needed all hands on deck. One teacher left, so now the one who was taking care of the pre-schoolers had to step up and take the older kids. The kids were all antsy today, every single one. They would not stay in their seats and gave us a hard time about wearing their coats outside, too, even though it was in the 40's.

It was a nice day once we got out, though, sunny, cold, and breezy. You'd never know we're supposed to get torrential rain tomorrow. I did have to break up some of the kids who were sitting around on the top of the playground equipment, trying to push each other on the slides or blocking them. They aren't supposed to be pushing on the slides, and they certainly didn't need to block them. Other kids wanted to go down the slides, too. I also chatted with kids looking for people walking dogs and admired the beautiful gold sunset as we went inside.

When we got in, I helped the kids color and sharpened colored pencils. I wish they'd just stick to coloring and leave other things alone. Their attempts to cut out paper and use tape ends with them making messes and us with no masking tape. Some of the kids were rowdy even inside and would not sit down and play games. They were finally settling down with the magnetic tiles when I left.

Went straight home and watched Match Game '78 during dinner and as I finally brought the laundry upstairs. We finished the Joe Gargiola week and went on to one with Avery Schriber and Lee Merriweather. At one point when told to "show us your G-string" (answer), Betty White took off her vest and scarf and did a mock striptease, to the delight of the audience and the annoyance of Gene!

Finished the night at YouTube with shopping game shows. People have been shopping or bidding for items on game shows for a long time. Bid n' Buy is a short-lived Price Is Right imitation from 1958. Players began with $5,000 to bid on clues to a prize. If they could guess the clues, they got the prize. If not, they still got to keep any money they had left from the bidding. This one was kind of confusing, and I can understand why it didn't last longer than its summer replacement slot on CBS.

The Price Is Right itself, on the other hand, is still very much going strong today on CBS. This episode from 1977 has a lot going on. There's a big Showcase win, a buxom blonde in a dress barely containing her cleavage that Bob couldn't take his eyes off of, a rare sighting of the extremely short-lived Professor Price trivia game, and an even rarer sighting of a model in a fur coat (before animal-loving Bob Barker banned them). 

Two shopping games from the 1980's exemplify the good and bad sides of shopping shows. Done right, they could be genuinely exciting ways to see people get a bargain, as in this 1986 episode of Sale of the Century. Bargain Hunters from a year later was far less interesting as people attempted to figure out the price of an item. It seemed far more interested in selling the item to home viewers than playing the game.

Supermarket Sweep went through many different mini-games during its runs on Lifetime and Pax TV, but this episode from 1993 is one of the most emblematic. For all the mini games, the hook - that "Big Sweep" where everyone is running around, gathering items - remains genuinely exciting, and it feels like a real win when they get the bonus clues!

Mall Masters from 2001 was filmed in America's largest mall, the Mall of America in Minnesota. There's echoes of Bargain Hunters here, as mall shoppers team up with contestants to help them answer questions about stores or other places in the mall. Slow-moving and not the most exciting, I can see why this cross between Bargain Hunters and Family Feud only lasted a few months. 

Look for good deals on Cyber Monday with these unique ventures into shopping shows past!

Bid n' Buy (1958)

The Price Is Right (1977)

Sale of the Century (1986)

Bargain Hunters (1987)

Supermarket Sweep (1993)

Mall Masters (2001)