One of my favorite holiday traditions is the tradition of Christmas stories. I read “A Christmas Carol” every year. I love Frosty and Rudolph. I have The Grinch on CD and listen to it regularly. I also write stories. So one thing I really wanted to write this December is a Christmas story. I wrote…
I realized today that there’s only one more day before Christmas, but I haven’t listened to all of my Christmas music yet. I don’t think I’m going to get through it all this year. Does that mean I have too much? I only added one new album this year, Eric Clapton’s Happy Xmas. It’s solid…
I’m a last minute kind of shopper. I don’t like shopping, so I put it off. I’ve been a little better since I’ve had a kid, but not great. Back at Thanksgiving, I felt like I had plenty of time. Then next thing I know it’s three days before Christmas and I still have things…
There are lots of things I like about Christmas, as anyone who reads these December posts can tell. One thing in particular is the greeting, “Merry Christmas.” It’s the only time that I can think of that we wish other people to be merry and I like merriment. We don’t usually wish people to be…
Charles Dickens wrote a piece called “A Christmas Tree” as a magazine article. In it, he describes a gathering of people admiring a Christmas tree. Then he goes on to describe all the memories that get triggered by the sight. He remembers childhood toys, food, and ghost stories among other things. Until this year, the…
Sometime around twenty years ago when I was in my early twenties, I read a book called “Truth: A History and a Guide for the Perplexed” by Felipe Fernandez-Armesto. I can’t seem to put my hands on it now, but I remember the preface opened with a bit about Santa Claus. The author was wondering…
I had an interesting thought, or at least a thought that I found interesting. I realized that virtually everyone has said the phrase, “a partridge in a pear tree,” more times than they’ve said, “two turtle doves.” And they’ve said, “two turtle doves,” more than they’ve said, “three French hens.” And they’ve said, “three French…
Every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas, my mom makes an extra pumpkin pie for me to take home. It’s one of my favorite things about the days after the holidays, just knowing that there’s a pie in the fridge. And one of my favorite things about having that pie is I get to eat pie…
It’s Christmas Eve and I’m completely finished. All the shopping is done. All the wrapping is done. I finished two days ago. There’s nothing left to do but to put out the milk and cookies and wait for Santa to do his thing. The funny thing is, I’m kind of bummed about it. Generally, I…
There is a correct answer to the question, “What’s the best Christmas album.” The answer is Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas by Ella Fitzgerald. It is a truly great album. Not just a great holiday album, but a great album. It sounds as good in July as it does in December. It’s basically perfect….
