It’s Finally Here!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hug your family and enjoy the day.  It’s been a tough year for many of us. I hope the new year brings good things for us all!  

Until next time, Dad out!

Guess Who Comes Tonight!

It’s Christmas Eve! I hope you’ve been admirable all year and that you’re spending this holiday with your special ones. 

Dad’s Pick: Darlene Love - "All Alone on Christmas"

 "You can mess with a lot of things. But you can't mess with kids on Christmas." - Kevin McCallister

Christmas Movie Trivia Quiz!

Here it is! By popular demand, Dad’s Christmas Blog presents the first annual Christmas Movie Trivia Quiz!  This year’s quiz features quotes from some of the greatest Christmas movies & specials of all-time. Some are fairly-easy, but there are some tough ones for all you experts out there. No prizes will be awarded for getting them all right, however it’s just possible that you might find a little something extra in your stocking this year!

Some of these are hard, so if you get stuck the answers are down below, but no peeking!

What movies or specials are these quotes from:

1.    “Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas.”

2.    “Merry Christmas you filthy animal.”

3.  “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: Candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup."

4.    “I want my house to be seen from space!”

5.    “Everybody likes Denny’s, it’s an American institution.”

6.    “Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.”

7.    “What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas ... perhaps ... means a little bit more!”

8.    “You're skipping Christmas! Isn't that against the law?”

9.    “Christmas was on its way. Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved.”

10. “Friends call me Snow Miser, whatever I touch turns to snow in my clutch. I'm too much.”

11. “God bless us, every one!”

12. “I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It’s not bad at all really. Maybe it just needs a little love.”

13. “I gotta tell you, Santa, there’s something about this place that doesn’t seem quite…Kosher.”

14. “Hermie wants to be a dentist!”

15. “Woman! Do your job and swaddle this baby!”

 

You can peek now!

Answers:

1. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

2. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

3. Elf

4. Deck the Halls

5. The Santa Clause

6. It’s a Wonderful Life

7. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas

8. Christmas with the Kranks

9. A Christmas Story

10. The Year Without A Santa Claus

11. A Christmas Carol

12. A Charlie Brown Christmas

13. Jingle All The Way

14. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

15. Four Christmases

How did you do?

Dad’s Pick: Chuck Berry - "Run Rudolph Run"

 

Christmas fact: There are only three more shopping days ‘til Christmas! Dads, only two more days before it’s time to start shopping! 😉

Christmas Playlist 2021!

Continuing a tradition begun way back in the year 2000, Dad's Christmas Blog presents the 2021 edition of the Underwood's Christmas Playlist!  For many years the Underwood's Playlist was only available on compact disc.  That all came to a halt last year. Now it seems most new cars and computers don't even have CD players any more and the Underwood Christmas CD has become virtually obsolete.

Here now is the new version of this time honored tradition, compiled by ol' Dad himself.  Twenty-four Christmas tunes that are perfect for rockin' around the Christmas tree or listening on the way to Grandma's house on Christmas Eve!  

Here's the thing though, you need to have either Spotify or Apple Music to enjoy the playlist and they cost a little bit.  If you don't have either, hey, there's no shortage of Christmas music on the radio this time of year, so don't despair, just enjoy! -DCB

Listen on Spotify!

Listen on Apple Music!

Favorite Christmas Presents from the Past!

I must've been about 4 when I got one of these Herman Munster puppets for Christmas. If you pulled his string he would say many “munsterous” things! “The Munsters” was a popular show from the black & white era of TV.  Kind of a creepy toy but I remember really liking it a lot. What did you get?

Not mine.

Dad’s Pick: The Beach Boys - "Little St. Nick"

 

Christmas fact: Back in the 1800’s, American’s first started bringing Christmas trees into their homes because they thought it would spruce things up a bit.

Tackling the “Die Hard” Christmas Conundrum!

Controversy.  That’s the main thing we try to avoid here at Dad’s Christmas Blog. But sometimes it’s necessary to step in, especially when the subject is as serious and important to society as this one. It has come to the attention of the staff here at DCB (Dad’s Christmas Blog) that over the last several years there’s been one question that keeps coming up: “Is “Die Hard” a Christmas movie?”

”Climb down the chimney, we’ll get together, have a few laughs…’” 

“Die Hard”, the summer blockbuster film starring Bruce Willis. Released on July 15th, 1988, it was one of the year’s top grossing films and made a huge star out of Mr. Willis.

It is regarded as one of the most influential films of the 1980’s and considered one of the greatest action films ever made!

“Oh, the weather outside is frightful.”

Despite being released in July with the full intention of the studio for it to be a “summer blockbuster”, the movie is set at Christmastime.  I won’t go into a lot of plot details here, but the story starts at a Christmas party and there are several holiday references sprinkled throughout the exciting action scenes of Bruce Willis single-handedly defusing a terrorist threat.

“Nine million terrorists in the world and I gotta kill one with smaller feet than my sister.”

I’ve seen this movie many times and consider it a favorite, but… (here’s where I pick a side) I do NOT consider “Die Hard” to be a Christmas movie. It’s a great movie, yes, but just because it happens to take place during December and there are some Christmas trees in the background doesn’t cut it.

I got your Jingle Bells right here, punk!

If this were the only criteria, then “Lethal Weapon”, “Batman Returns”, “Iron Man 3” & “Gremlins” would all be considered holiday classics as well. I love those movies too; but come on!  If you removed the Christmas references in these movies, it really wouldn’t alter their basic storylines significantly.

I do not smell.

In my “exhaustive” research on this issue, I’ve read that those on the other side of this argument state that the same thing could be said of accepted holiday movies like “Home Alone” or even “It’s A Wonderful Life”.  Well, I’ve found some holes in that logic.  Yes, you could remove the Christmas elements from these movies and still have a story, but there is a difference. 

“You guys give up? Or are you thirsty for more?”

First, films like “Home Alone” and “It’s A Wonderful Life” were released near Christmas specifically to appeal to an audience celebrating or getting ready to celebrate the holidays.  Whereas “Die Hard”, and the other “not-really” Christmas movies mentioned above, were all released in the summer when blockbuster action movies are most popular. They weren’t originally considered or promoted by their studios to be Christmas movies at all.

“Please don’t make me go back in that Wal-mart.”

Secondly, and most importantly, a Christmas movie should have some scenes of emotional warmth that reflects the beauty and hope of the season. It must do more than mention Christmas to be a Christmas movie.

So, by these standards, “Die Hard” fans are just stuck with one of the greatest action movies ever made, but definitely not a Christmas movie.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me.”

But wait! If you still want to celebrate the holidays with Bruce Willis taking down terrorists, I’m all for it!  Enjoy it with all your loved ones! That’s one of the best parts of this season, and if “Die Hard” is what brings you together, then that’s a beautiful thing.  In that way, it certainly IS a Christmas movie!

“Joy to the world!”

Who says a Christmas cookie must have sprinkles and frosting? If you like Chips Ahoy for Christmas, then those are your Christmas cookies.  If you want a cactus or palm tree instead of a pine, that’s fine too.  It’s not so important how you celebrate, it’s why you’re celebrating that really counts.

Bottom line here:  If you want a real Christmas movie that meets all the criteria, you might want to rent one of the classics like “Ernest Saves Christmas” or “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”.   

“Know what I mean, Vern?”

If you want to have a great holiday, do something fun with your family or friends and enjoy your time together. (And watch whatever you want!) - DCB

Yippee-ki-yay, Merry Christmas!

Now, A Word From Our Sponsors...

Christmas fact: A broken drum makes a terrific Christmas present.
You can't beat it!

Dad’s Pick: Billy Idol - "Jingle Bell Rock"

 

Christmas fact: Santa didn’t have to pay for his sleigh. It was on the house.

The World’s Greatest Christmas Albums (You’ve Never Heard.. for a reason)

In the history of recorded music, there have been thousands of Christmas albums released by a wide range of artists across the world. So many in fact, that some of these albums have not received the full recognition that they deserve.  Many of these recordings are surprisingly out-of-print, but most are readily available to eager Christmas music fans (with deep pockets!) from Ebay, flea markets, or finer Goodwill Stores.

Presented here for the very first time are 8 of the “finest” examples of recorded music, Christmas or otherwise, that you will likely ever find.  You’ll be able to tell just how great these albums are just by looking at the fantastic cover art.  Check out these classics:

First up, Thore Skogman.  This Swedish tunesmith combined his love for the holidays and his passion for…um, cured meats on this seasonal release titled “Klappa pa!”, which of course translates to “Clap On!” Make yourself a big sandwich and throw this one on the turntable! 

 Top tracks: “Sausages for Santa” & “(Meat You) Under the Mistletoe!”

 

By the mid-1960’s The Monkees were one of the most popular groups in the world. Many imitators sprung up around that time and one of the most successful were The Mom and Dads. If you’ll notice, the Moms and Dads even used the Monkees distinctive font style in their logo.  This quartet of Mabel, Darrell, Herb & Arlo experienced near Beatles-like popularity and were at their pinnacle of success when they released this album in the winter of ’67.  Unfortunately, by spring of ’68 things began to fall apart when The Moms and Dads' open marriage was revealed.

Top track: “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa, Santa, Santa!”

Famous German underwear model Heino recorded many albums in his day. The title of this, his 20th album, translates to “German Christmas and Festive Songs” and was recorded shortly after some elective eye surgery.

Top track: “Ist Das Eine Orange in Dienem Lieder Hosen?”

In 1958, the duo of Kenny & Corky were practically a household word.  They were on TV, radio, movies; and when they finally released their big hit: “Nuttin’ For Christmas”, these two “adorable” puppets were on top of the world! Sadly, the duo split up after Corky returned from a solo tour with a mysterious case of “termites”.  Kenny never sang again, instead he went on to produce some of the biggest acts in the business, like Frank Sinatra, Cher and Thore Skogman.

Top track: “Nuttin’ For New Year’s Either!”

Organist-extraordinaire, Lenny Dee released this lost classic "Happy Holi-Dee" in 1965.  Accompanied by a full orchestra and his three frisky poodles, Buc-Buc, Bo-Buc and Banana-Fana, Lenny created a holiday masterpiece! This record is long out of print and very few copies exist.  Look at that photo and you can almost imagine the sounds you would hear!

Top track: “Santa Don’t Park By That Hydrant, Please!”

When Croatian popstar Kico Slabinac came out with “Christmas with Kico” in 1984, the world just wasn’t ready for it.  (Maybe it was the bangs.)  After opening for Van Halen’s ’84 European Tour and an MTV special “Christmas with Kico in Ft. Lauderdale”, the album just didn’t take off.  After that Kico turned his back on pop  and switched to traditional Croatian folk music.  This limited release is now highly coveted by collectors.

Top track: “(I’m Dreaming of a) White Eyebrow”

Tiny Tim’s Christmas Album… ok, the cover says it all on this one.  I’ve got nothing.

Top track: “Tip-Toe Through the Mistletoe”

Finally, you may remember William Hung from his time on American Idol a few years ago. Well, he may not have won that competition, but this crooner certainly won the hearts of music lovers around the globe!  His first, of “hopefully” many, holiday records was “Hung For the Holidays”.

Top track: “I Wanna Be A Bobble-Head For Christmas!”

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at some truly timeless holiday music, and I apologize to applaud anyone who decides to track down these elusive records and add them to their collections.

Merry Christmas!  Or, as Heino would put it; Frohe Weihnachten!

Dad’s Pick: U2 - "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)"

 

Breaking news:  It looks like Advent calendars may not be around much longer. It seems their days are numbered.

Catalogs of Christmas Past

There are so many things that dads (& moms) of a certain age got to experience while growing up that today’s younger generations tend to miss out on.  Saturday morning cartoons, drive-in movies and Pixy Stix are all nearly as scarce as lawn darts, these days.

Helloooo up there!

One favorite little part of Christmas for me, that seems to have been missing for a while now, are those huge Christmas catalogs or “Wish Books”.  Every year we’d get these massive books in the mail from stores like Sears, JC Penney or Montgomery Ward that were about 5 or 6 hundred pages of gift ideas for adults and kids.  Imagine a print version of Amazon.

I wanted everything on this page!

Every kid knew to flip to the back half of the book, because that’s where the toys were. And I mean TOYS! They had every toy a kid could ever want or imagine!

Barbie was my sister's go-to.

My sister and I would fight over who would get the book first. What we’d do is go through it, page-by-page, circling all the things we wanted with a pen.  I guess the thought was, mom and dad would look at all the things we’d circled and get them for us.  As time went on, we figured out that we weren’t likely to get most of the things we'd circled, even with Santa’s help.  But we didn’t care. We just kept on circling those toys. After all, it was called the "Wish Book"!

Definitely had a few of these.

This seems like such a small thing now. But for me, it was all part of that holiday magic that only kids get to experience.  My kids have had their own versions of holiday magic, and they’ve certainly not been overly deprived.  But, as a dad, sometimes I wish they could have all the same happy experiences I did. I guess that’s just the way it goes.

Oh, and I still miss lawn darts.  - DCB

Dad’s Pick: The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Jingle Bells!

Christmas fact: The Christmas alphabet has noel.

Christmas Movies & Dads

It’s not a tumah!

 This time of year, we tend to watch a lot of Christmas movies at my house. My wife and daughters seem to spend a lot of time on the Hallmark Channel. (That's a post for another day.) 

I lean toward the mainstream offerings like "Christmas with the Kranks", "Daddy's Home 2", the holiday works of Mr. Vince Vaughn, or the modern masterpieces like "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation". You know, the classics. 

Son of a Nutcracker!

Well, being a dad, I appreciate a good depiction of a father figure in these movies. Sometimes the dad is a real jerk, like Buddy's biological father (James Caan) in "Elf", or they don't have time for their family, like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in "Jingle All the Way".

Maybe they're not such a great dad due to their circumstance like Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) in "The Santa Claus". Usually, these dads are redeemed by the end of the movie and continue as great fathers, happily ever after. (As far as we know.) 

Can we take a direct flight back to reality or do we have to change planes in Denver?

The only one I can think of that doesn't earn redemption of any kind is Peter McCallister (John Heard), Kevin's dad in "Home Alone". Probably a nice guy, but I don't care how many kids you have; you don't go on vacation and leave one behind. Twice!!  That's all on you bro!

Keep the change, ya filthy animal!

But I want to talk about the great Christmas movie dads here. The ones that set the bar high for the rest of us.

Howard Langston (Arnold) in "Jingle All the Way", that I mentioned earlier, was actually a pretty good dad. He fought hard to make Christmas special for his son. And he found his own redemption by defeating the evil Dementor (Sinbad) and getting a Turbo Man doll for little Jamie!

Come with me if you want to live!

George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) in “It’s A Wonderful Life” was a really good dad. He was loved by his family and his community because of his kindness and generosity.  Although stress from work almost put him over the edge, he seemed to have it together by the end.

It's a Wonderful Life, but this kid is choking me!

Ralphie's dad, "The Old Man" (Darren McGavin), in "A Christmas Story" was great dad. Sure, he was a little cranky, but think about how he defended his son's dignity against the "pink-nightmare" bunny pajamas! Think about how he struggled to keep his family warm and fed while battling inefficient heating units and packs of wild dogs.  And I'm pretty sure he personally saw to it that Santa left that Red Rider BB gun for Ralphie! Yep, great dad.

It's a major award!

Then there's Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase) from that “Christmas Vacation” movie I mentioned.  Now there’s a dad.  This guy wants nothing more than to spend a “good old-fashioned” Christmas with his family.  His only hope is that he has worked hard enough to earn a big bonus so he can put in a pool. For what? To spend more time with his family! 

Yes, he can be a little goofy, short-tempered, clumsy and sarcastic.  Maybe he can even get a little distracted by a lingerie clerk, now and then. But Clark’s a family man, through and through.  And don’t get me started on that outdoor illumination! What a dad!

We're gonna have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas!

Whatever your thoughts are on this subject, if you want to really appreciate these characters just watch them with your own dad, if you can.  If that's not possible, think about how he would've reacted in these situations. If nothing else it might be good for a laugh.

I’ve been lucky enough to watch many of these with my dad, and I think he’s pretty great. (At least he never left me behind when he went on vacation!)

Pass the popcorn!

-DCB

Dad’s Pick: John Mellencamp - "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus!"

Breaking News:  Elf caught stealing calendars. Gets 12 months. Film at 11!

You'll Knock Yer Block Off, Kid!

I had Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots when I was a kid. It was really a fun toy, and a great way to work out any pent up aggressions you might have toward robots.

For those who don't remember,  Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots is a two-player action toy, manufactured by the Marx toy company.  It was first released in 1964, and features two robot boxers, Red Rocker and Blue Bomber, mechanically manipulated by the players, and the game is won when one player knocks the head off of the opponent.  (And they say video games are violent!)  

This classic toy has entertained kids for generations and the two robots were even featured in a great scene in the 1999 animated film Toy Story 2.

I read recently that Mattel Films (yep, that's a thing) is producing a live action Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie starring Vin Diesel. ('m not making this up!)  

You know, considering the fact these robots can’t really move all that much, I wonder if they'll call it "The Stationary and the Furious". 

Well, the nice thing is even if the movie bombs, the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots will still get two thumbs up. (See what I did there?)

"We talkin’ or we boxin’?"

Dad's Pick: George Thorogood - "Rock & Roll Christmas"

Christmas fact:  Many people think that the North Pole and the South Pole are exactly the same.

The truth is there's a world of difference between them! (cue the eyerolls)

Is That An Orange In Your Stocking, Or Are You Just Glad It’s Christmas?

We had this tradition when I was growing up, that we would receive an orange in our stocking on Christmas morning.  Well, I was never particularly excited to get fruit instead of toys or candy and I remember asking my mom about this once.  She said it was a tradition from when she was growing up, oranges were hard to come by and were considered a special treat.  I thought that was nice, but we had oranges in the fridge, so it wasn’t that big of a deal to me. But I was cool with it.

Well, fast forward several years and my kids started getting oranges in their stockings too.  They thought (and probably still do) that this was weird.  My wife hadn’t heard of this tradition either, so I figured it must’ve been something unique to our family.  Turns out, I was wrong.

Kelli Foster, esteemed Food Editor for the website thekitchn.com did an extensive investigation into this Christmas mystery and has uncovered four possible explanations for how this tradition came to be.

“1. According to (one) story, St. Nicholas learned of a poor man who wasn’t able to find suitors for his three daughters because he didn’t have money for a dowry. St. Nicholas traveled to the house and tossed three sacks of gold down the chimney for each of the dowries. The gold happened to land in each of the girls’ stockings which were hanging by the fire to dry. The oranges we receive today are a symbol of the gold that was left in the stockings.

2. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, money was tight, and many families simply didn’t have the means to buy gifts. Instead, it was such a treat, even a luxury, to find things like a sweet orange or some walnuts in your stocking on Christmas. (DCB - This was my mom’s version of the story.)

3. Some also offer the idea that fresh oranges were hard to come by, especially in the north, so finding one of these fruits in your stocking was a huge treat, and a way of celebrating the holiday. (DCB – Pretty close to mom’s story.)

4. Another theory behind the tradition is that December is the season of giving, and the orange segments represent the ability to share what you have with others.”

Thanks Kelli! Orange you glad I asked? 😊

Did you ever receive an orange in your stocking on Christmas morning?  Maybe you got something else, like Oreos, or Chapstick.  Coal, anyone?

Feel free to comment and let me know!

-DCB

Yule be doin' all right...

I've been an Elvis fan since I was a kid.  My family all knew this, and one year for Christmas my grandparents gave me "Elvis' Christmas Album".  I really liked this album, it has a lot of great Christmas songs and according to my sources at the world-renowned Wikipedia Organization, is also the best-selling Christmas album of all time in the United States!  With total sales of more than 20 million copies worldwide, it remains the world's best-selling Christmas album and one of the best-selling albums of all time!

Impressed?  Well, you should be.  The album has been repackaged, remixed and rereleased dozens of times since it first came out in 1957.  Mine looked like the one above.

With songs like "Santa Claus Is Back in Town", "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "Blue Christmas" & "Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)" to name a few, this one's a true classic!  Even if you're not an Elvis fan, this album is special and worth checking out.

Here's the official video from the album's big hit, "Blue Christmas".  Enjoy!

First Post!

Happy December!  This is my first blog post ever!  I'm going to try this out to see if anybody likes it (myself included).  I intend to make posts about all the things that make Christmas fun.  I'll definitely be open to suggestions, but this will be just for fun.  Topics may include favorite Christmas movies, favorite Christmas songs, favorite Christmas presents, favorite Christmas memories, etc.  You get the idea.

I may also tackle some of the big issues like "Who's better, Frosty or Rudolph?", "Eggnog, Yes, please! or No, thank you?" or "Is Die Hard really a Christmas movie?". You know, important things like that.

Now that compact discs have virtually become extinct, I'll also feature my annual Christmas playlist that you'll hopefully be able to listen to. Somehow.  I'm still working on that one.

Anyway, I hope this becomes a fun place to check out once in a while for a little Christmas spirit.  Despite the name, this site won't be exclusively for dads, everyone is welcome.

Check back soon! I have some fun stuff on the way!

That time I helped out at the big parade!