The topic for Sunday Stealing is the December 25 holiday, probably because it’s almost Christmas. I note there are 12 questions, one for the drummers, one for the pipers…
Or maybe it was the first Hess truck that my wife bought for me in the early 2000s and every year since. I am almost encircled by them right now.
At work, we had a gift exchange. One bozo filled up a container with random screws and nails.
I have LOTS of favorite Christmas songs. Check my upcoming posts and yesterday’s. I’ll pick What Christmas Means To Me by Stevie Wonder or Coventry Carol by Alison Moyet. But I have many holiday albums, religious and secular.
It has morphed over time. We used to go to my in-laws. It seems recently, and certainly since COVID, it’s been rather haphazard. This is also true, BTW, of Thanksgiving.
Eggnog and amaretto.
I believe in Santa now, more than ever.
Once again, it is haphazard. It can be from early December to a day or two before Christmas Eve.
In years past, I was ahead of the curve. There was a medieval faire in October, and I always bought something for my wife, but it’s defunct. So, this year, WAY behind.
Cinema
I’m not sure I have one. It’s A Wonderful Life is a lot better than I thought it would be. Scrooged was interesting in parts. I’ve recorded Elf because I’ve never seen it. Rotten Tomatoes has made a list of the best movies, and they have The Holdovers on it. I’ll say that. Of the old-time ones, possibly Miracle on 34th Street, because I’m a sucker for a courtroom drama.
I wrote about a few of them here. 1966: Christmas was on a Sunday. I delivered the paper six evenings a week, back in the olden days when there WERE afternoon papers, and then on Sunday morning, back in Binghamton, NY. My father, who NEVER helped me with my route because it was MY job, not his – not that I ever asked him – got up (or maybe stayed up) to help me deliver that thick newspaper to my customers on Clinton Street, Front Street, and McDonald Avenue. That meant a lot to me, but I doubt I ever said so.
When I was 21 I ended up living in my parent’s house for the better part of a year. I was going to school and working as a security guard (a job which guarded nothing but drastically reduced insurance costs for the site owners.) I volunteered for a double shift on Xmas Day, 16 hours all by myself collecting time and a half. Nobody to talk to, no Xmas to deal with, just hanging out in this big old mansion and surrounding wooded grounds that served as some corporate headquarters and getting paid for it. I realized that up to that point it was by far the most excellent Xmas I had ever had. That still may be true. I also realized, on that day, that I had to get as far away from my parents as I could get and not look back. How’s that for a bright and cheery Xmas story?
#2 For a “Secret Santa” once one of my friends got me a CD of George Formby sings Heavy Metal. He even created a cover for it. Out of curiosity I played it and basically it was just George Formby songs. I am willing to bet that you have never heard of George Formby. This is him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfmAeijj5cM
Suffice it to say, it is completely alien to ANY of aspects of my musical taste.]
I’m sorry for inflcting that on you.
:o)
Cheers
PM
How could I forget about eggnog? My husband’s family loves to put a scoop (or two) of vanilla ice cream into a coffee mug and pour eggnog (grocery store kind is fine) over it and dust with a sprinkling of nutmeg on top. I don’t eat sweets anymore but this WAS one of my favorite treats.
My son delivered two different newspapers and when he had big heavy ones, I helped him fold them and then drove him around to deliver them. It is one of my fondest memories with him!
The pandemic upset a lot of traditions, much to some people’s chagrin and others’ relief.
#6–me too!
I can totally see someone in my extended family doing the jar o’ screws as a gift. But you have to be sure that the recipient will be in on the joke, and obviously it’s not Secret Santa appropriate at all.