Well, it’s here! I hope everyone had an extra special day. Our Christmas was very nice here. Family, food, presents; all the things that make the holidays fun! Not everyone gets to enjoy these things, and I know I’m truly blessed. I hope you are too.
We’re a little understaffed this year at DCB, and running a “nationally acclaimed” blog like this takes a substantial effort. We had a lot more planned for the blog this year, but just ran out of time. So come next December, be ready for even more Christmas fun and surprises right here at Dad’s Christmas Blog! Until then, I hope everyone has a great year! Bye for now! Peace🎄😉 - DCB
———
Hermie is trying on shoes.
"So how do they feel?" the salesclerk asks.
"They're a little too tight," the Hermie replies.
"Well, try pulling the tongue out," the clerk suggests.
"Okay," he says. "Dut dey thtill theel a bith thoo thight."
———
One day a Hermie went to an auction to buy a parrot.
He really wanted it, but he kept getting outbid. So, he bid higher...and higher...and higher.
Even though he had to bid way more than he intended, he finally won the bird.
As he was paying for it, he said to the auctioneer, "I sure hope this parrot can talk. I'd hate to have paid this much to find out that he can't!"
"Don't worry," replied the auctioneer. "Who do you think kept bidding against you?"
Now it's time for some words of wisdom from everyone's favorite elf.
I'm not just a nitwit!
So Hermie, what’s on your mind?
Rudolph says I’m the cheapest elf in the world, but I’m not buying it. ——— My wife asked me if I’d seen the dog bowl. I didn’t know he could! ——— I hired a handyman and gave him a to-do list. When I got home only items 1, 3 and 5 got done. Turns out, he only does odd jobs. ——— I’m currently watching a show about beavers. Best dam show I’ve ever seen. ——— Sometimes I wake up grumpy. Other times I let her sleep in. ——— The doctor told my uncle he was going deaf. I’ll bet that news was hard to hear. ——— Santa has forbidden me from making any more breakfast puns. He says one more and I'm toast. Rudolph keeps egging me on. He's such a ham. ——— The other day I couldn’t tell if someone was waving at me or the person behind me. In other news, I lost my lifeguard job. ——— I couldn’t quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but then it came back to me. ——— Rudolph has been putting glue on my rifle collection. He denies it, but I’m sticking to my guns. ——— I'm writing a book on reverse-psychology. Please don't buy it. ——— My son asked me, "Do trees poop?" I said, "Where do you think #2 pencils come from?". ——— I like to change the "m" and the "n" on the keyboard in the office. Some say I'm a monster. But I say I'm a nomster. ——— Every New Year's Eve I look forward to a good show at Times Square. But every year they drop the ball. ———
*"Hermie, the Nitwit Elf" is not associated with the TV character "Hermey, the Misfit Elf" from the famous Chistmas special. "Hermey" is a copyrighted character. "Hermie" just looks a lot like him. Please don't sue us.
Today we’re talking about those classic animated Christmas specials
that everybody loves. Did you know that the very first animated holiday special
made for TV was the classic 1962 “Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol”?
Bah-Humbug!
Since then, there have been hundreds of animated specials;
some much better than others. (Anyone remember “Nestor, the Long-Eared
Christmas Donkey”?)
All the better to hear you with, my dear!
Christmas specials are holiday video treats brought to us by
the TV networks and their corporate sponsors to get us into the Christmas
spirit, and of course sell stuff.I
remember thinking Santa riding that electric razor was just part of the show.
There was a time before streaming, on-demand, DVR's, DVD's
and VCR's when these shows would just air once a year.If you missed it, you'd have to wait 12 long months for another chance to catch it.
Must record Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey!
These specials brought almost as much Christmas joy into our
homes as a Christmas tree.
The staff here at Dad's Christmas Blog (DCB) has compiled a
list of the four all-time greatest, most essential, definitive, iconic,
not-to-be-missed Christmas specials of all-time! Check 'em out!
No kids, do it like this!
Frosty the Snowman: This special first aired in
December of 1969, and has ran every year since. It tells the story of a snowman
that comes alive with a magic hat and runs around town making friends with all
the kids, especially little Karen. He's pursued by an inept magician who's
after the magic hat, and ends up sacrificing himself to save Karen from
freezing to death. Of course, Santa comes in and saves the day and Frosty vows to return
every year.A promise he's managed to
keep for well over 50 years!This is a
fun story with a theme song and narration by the famous Jimmy Durante.
Ain't no party like a Peanut party!
A Charlie Brown Christmas: Kicking off the
holiday season of 1965, this was the very first animated version of the
Peanut's gang. This laid-back special focuses on Charlie Brown who finds
himself depressed at Christmas time.With its tone, pacing and unorthodox jazz soundtrack, the network
expected this one to be a big flop. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to love it.
It's received several awards, including an Emmy, and the soundtrack, by the Vince Guaraldi Trio,
has sold over 5 million copies in the U.S.This show aired every December on broadcast TV for 56 years before
moving exclusively to Apple TV+. “Good grief!”
Could this post get any longer?
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The
year after Charlie Brown hit it big, 1966, the Grinch came to town. Chuck Jones, best known for making Bugs Bunny
and Road Runner cartoons, convinced Dr. Seuss himself to let him make this
show. Making it even more special, he
got legendary Frankenstein actor, Boris Karloff to be narrator and the voice of
the Grinch. The theme song, “You're a
Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is goofy fun and the story itself is heart-warming and
funny. It's been remade a few times now, but here at DCB, we stand by the original.
I'm just a misfit.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Created in
1964, this special, based on the song that was based on a poem by the same
name, no longer runs once annually, but several times during the holiday
season. It is the longest continuously running Christmas TV special in the
U.S.; and for good reason. It's awesome! I was always fascinated by the
stop-motion animation of Rudolph, and the song “Holly Jolly Christmas” has
become a traditional favorite nearly as popular as the title song. Besides great
music, this story has thrills, chills, comedy, romance and a monster!
Ahh! These wings are so hot!!
Well, there you have it. our best of the best of the TV
Christmas specials! I suggest you gather the family and watch a few of these if you haven’t already. Weird how they all came out in the 1960's. But they're still a lot of fun to watch. If you can think of any that are better than
these, you're probably wrong, but we'll gladly give them an honorable mention.
(Any Long-Eared Christmas Donkey fans out there?) -DCB
_____
Rudolph: Have you finished your Christmas shopping? Hermie: Well, this year I’m sending all my gifts telepathically. After all, it’s the thought that counts! _____
Hermie:Did you know
the man who invented the Ferris wheel never met the man who invented the Merry-Go-Round? Rudolph: Really? Hermie: Yes. Seems they traveled in different circles.
It’s here! Dad's Christmas Blog presents the all-new 2023 edition of the Underwood's Christmas Playlist!
This long-standing tradition, compiled by ol' Dad himself, contains a stocking-full of fresh Christmas tunes for your holiday listening pleasure.
Here's the thing though, you need to have a subscription or app for either Spotify or Apple Music to fully enjoy the playlist, and they may cost a little bit. But hey, if you don't have either there's no shortage of Christmas music on the radio and internet this time of year, so don't despair, just enjoy! -DCB
Here’s a collection of holiday comics from all over the web to brighten your spirits!
These holiday travelers are really getting out of hand. Last night at the airport, there was a woman completely passed out at the luggage carousel. She slowly came around.
An elf walks into the doctor's office with cabbage in his ears and carrots in his nose. He asks, "What's wrong with me Doc?" The doctor say, "Well, I can tell you're not eating right."
____
I heard that, by law, you have to turn on your headlights when it's raining in Sweden.
I ask you, how am I supposed to know when it's raining in Sweden?!
Friends, if you're raising boys, or
have only raised boys, you probably haven't spent much time in the
Barbie aisle. Whether you're at Target, Walmart or any other big
store that sells toys, there's this one section that you can't miss.
They've toned it down over the last few years, but you still can
easily find the “pink aisle” where all the Barbie dolls reside.
So much pink!
You might not know this, but there is a
Barbie doll sold, somewhere in the world, every three seconds.
That means about a dozen dolls have sold since you started reading
this. That's a lot of Barbies!
There was a time in my life where I never noticed or paid attention to this aisle, because it held no interest for me, at all. But then I found myself with not one, but three lovely daughters. My girls, like many others, all went through a phase where they loved Barbie to some degree.
"Every night is girls' night!"
With nine years between my oldest and
youngest, I spent a lot of time “patiently” waiting, while my
little cuties looked at all the Barbies. This became an unavoidable
part of going to any of these stores, and at the time I didn't truly
appreciate the experience. I didn't like the Barbie aisle much back
then, and I kept hoping they'd want to get a Batman figure or at least
look at the Star Wars toys, but no, it was Barbie or nothing.
I did have one small victory when I got
my oldest a “Star Trek” Barbie and Ken. We went on some “away
missions” and fought off a band of alien vegetable people.
To boldly go where no doll has gone before.
I also
tried to convince her that a Jackie Chan action figure was a cooler
“Kung Fu” version of Ken.
Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting!
This phase only lasts a few years, and
then these little girls soon become big girls and their interests
change to big girl things.
My little girls are all grown up now,
and it's funny when I go to one of the big stores for groceries or
batteries or whatever, and I pass by the “pink aisle” I get a
kind of melancholy feeling. I really miss staring at those pink
packages of molded plastic with my little girls.
Barbie is Everything! Ken is just Ken.
You've likely heard of, and probably
saw the big “Barbie” movie that came out last summer. It made
like $1.38 billion and was the highest grossing film of 2023. I got
to see this movie with my three daughters, and while it wasn't really
my kind of movie, I loved watching it with them and listening to them
talk about the Barbie dolls they had and their memories of playing
with them.
I guess my point here is, whether it's
Barbie dolls or GI Joes, football practice or ballet lessons,
whatever your kids are into, try to embrace it. It goes by fast. - DCB ____
Santa: What's wrong Hermie?
Hermie: Rudolph accused me of stealing his thesaurus. Not only was I shocked; I was appalled, aghast and dismayed! ____
I hope you're ready for another month of super holiday fun! Let's start things off with my favorite new Christmas song. It pretty much sums up our philosophy here at Dad's Christmas Blog. I think you'll like it too!
Hermie: I finally got over my addiction to marshmallow, chocolate and nuts.
Rudolph: Really?
Hermie: Yeah, it was a Rocky Road.
Rudolph: --
Hermie: I had a friend that was addicted to the Hokey Pokey, but he managed to turn himself around.
