{"id":3905,"date":"2022-12-21T08:44:53","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T04:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/?p=3905"},"modified":"2022-12-21T08:44:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T04:44:53","slug":"howd-we-do-on-the-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/?p=3905","title":{"rendered":"How’d we do on the list?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s that time of year again: full report on this year’s Christmas list. Christmas\u00a0schedule<\/em>, actually, not\u00a0list<\/em>. “List” is the people I send cards to. “Schedule” is the things one must do between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Here’s the official schedule for 2022, with alterations from last year noted. (Seventy-eight items are now up to eighty-eight.) I’ve got only four to go this year, namely the four that must happen closer to Christmas itself: chips and dip (#51), watching the “Festivus” episode of\u00a0Seinfeld<\/em> on Festivus (#11), then cinnamon rolls for breakfast (#45) and crescent rolls for dinner (#46) on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Or both.<\/p>\n

In addition to those four, here are the 84 I’ve done already.<\/p>\n

Things to do between Thanksgiving and Christmas, 2022 edition<\/span><\/p>\n

First two:<\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0<\/span>Listen to Frank Sinatra\u2019s <\/span>A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra<\/span><\/i>. Recorded in 1957, it set the bar high for holiday albums. Preferably listened to on long-playing record, where one can easily note the change in mood from contemporary (side one) to traditional (side two), I like to listen to this album in its entirety late on Thanksgiving evening.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Put up Christmas lights in the den. Nothing looks better than the glow of your television backlit by multi-colored bulbs.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Speaking of your TV\u2026 watch these Christmas specials.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. A<\/em><\/span> Charlie B<\/em>rown Christmas <\/span><\/i>(1965)<\/span><\/p>\n

4.<\/span> It\u2019s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown <\/span><\/i>(1992)<\/span><\/p>\n

5. <\/span>Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer <\/span><\/i>(1964)<\/span><\/p>\n

6. <\/span>How the Grinch Stole Christmas! <\/span><\/i>(1966)<\/span><\/p>\n

7. <\/span>Frosty the Snowman <\/span><\/i>(1969)<\/span><\/p>\n

8.<\/span> Frosty Returns <\/span><\/i>(1992)<\/span><\/p>\n

9. <\/span>A Garfield Christmas <\/span><\/i>(1987)<\/span><\/p>\n

10. \u201cSimpsons Roasting on an Open Fire\u201d (first full episode of <\/span>The<\/span><\/i>Simpsons; original airdate: December 17, 1989)<\/span><\/p>\n

11. \u201cThe Strike\u201d (the \u201cFestivus\u201d episode of <\/span>Seinfeld<\/span><\/i>; original airdate: December 18, 1997)<\/span><\/p>\n

12. \u201cClassy Christmas\u201d episode of <\/span>The Office <\/span><\/i>(original airdate: December 9, 2010)<\/span><\/p>\n

13. \u201cThe Night of the Meek\u201d episode of <\/span>The Twilight Zone <\/span><\/i>(original airdate: December 23, 1960)<\/span><\/p>\n

14. \u201cRoad to the North Pole\u201d episode of <\/span>Family Guy, original airdate: December 12, 2010<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

15. \u201cMr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo\u201d episode of <\/span>South Park<\/span><\/i> (original airdate: December 17, 1997)<\/span><\/p>\n

16-19. Four episodes of <\/span>The Wonder Years<\/span><\/i>, Christmas-themed episodes from Seasons 2 and Seasons 4-6 (1988 and 1990-92)<\/span><\/p>\n

20. The BBC broadcast of Raymond Briggs\u2019 <\/span>The Snowman<\/span><\/i>. (One of those rare circumstances in which the movie is better than the book.) Double bonus if you watch the American version with an intro from that famous American, David Bowie!<\/span><\/p>\n

21. Mickey\u2019s Christmas Carol<\/span><\/i> (1983). Dickens got nothin\u2019 on this one.<\/span><\/p>\n

*22.\u00a0Mickey\u2019s Once Upon a Christmas<\/i> (1999). Without credits this one’s only an hour, so I moved it this year from the full-length movie list to the shorty list.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0And now the aforementioned full-length movies one must watch.<\/span><\/p>\n

23. Home Alone <\/span><\/i>(1990)<\/span><\/p>\n

24. A Christmas Story <\/span><\/i>(1983)<\/span><\/p>\n

25. Elf <\/span><\/i>(2003)<\/span><\/p>\n

26. Christmas Vacation <\/span><\/i>(1989)<\/span><\/p>\n

27. Holiday Inn<\/span><\/i> (1942)<\/span><\/p>\n

28. White Christmas<\/span><\/i> (1954)<\/span><\/p>\n

29. It\u2019s a Wonderful Life <\/span><\/i>(1946)<\/span><\/p>\n

30. Bad Santa <\/span><\/i>(2003).<\/span><\/p>\n

*31.\u00a08-bit Christmas\u00a0<\/em>(2021) This one’s going to make Top 365 too.<\/p>\n

*32.\u00a0Single All the Way<\/em> (2021) Possible 365 addition.<\/p>\n

*33.\u00a0Happiest Season<\/em> (2020) Further proof that the new ones are growing on me.<\/p>\n

*34.\u00a0Vegas Vacation<\/em> (1997) It really has nothing to do with Christmas, but I watched it one year at Christmas time and it just made sense.<\/p>\n

*35.\u00a0Hook<\/em> (1991) Sort of a Christmas movie.<\/p>\n

*36.\u00a0A Christmas Story Christmas\u00a0<\/em>(2022) Another possible 365 addition.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Certain things you\u2019ll want to eat or drink\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

37. Coca-Cola (the beverage of Christmas)<\/span><\/p>\n

38. an old-school regular peppermint candy cane<\/span><\/p>\n

39. those white nougat candies with the tree image in the center<\/span><\/p>\n

40. those cheap shortbread cookies that are dyed pink or green and are surprisingly delicious, not to be confused with the ones that come in the blue tins<\/span><\/p>\n

41. those cookies that come in the blue tins<\/span><\/p>\n

42. a chocolate orange (why do they not sell these all year?!)<\/span><\/p>\n

43. chocolate bar wrapped to look like a hundred-dollar bill (same question as above)<\/span><\/p>\n

44. Martinelli\u2019s sparkling cider<\/span><\/p>\n

45. cinnamon rolls for breakfast (Christmas Eve or Christmas Day)<\/span><\/p>\n

46. crescent rolls for dinner (same)<\/span><\/p>\n

47. S\u2019mores. Homemade. Preferably prepared outside, but inside if you must.<\/span><\/p>\n

48. one of those Reece\u2019s peanut butter \u201ctrees\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

49. Stovetop popcorn. Strung up, eaten, or both.<\/span><\/p>\n

50. hot chocolate<\/span><\/p>\n

51. Chips and dip. My only childhood memory of my father\u2019s parents house is eating potato chips and sour cream and onion dip on Christmas Eve from a garish \u201970s-era green chip-and-dip bowl set. In your recreation any bowl will do.<\/span><\/p>\n

52. Peppermint stick ice cream (I used to insist upon Perry’s as the brand but Trader Joe’s makes a mean one now too.)<\/span><\/p>\n

*53. Wendy’s Peppermint Frosty (tell Wendy to bring this back every year)<\/p>\n

54. egg nog<\/span><\/p>\n

55. Grown-up egg nog<\/span><\/p>\n

*56. Peppermint Bark<\/p>\n

*57. One (or more) of those “holiday” pies from McDonald’s. Yeah, “holiday.” They can’t even say what kind of fruit or cream or whatever it is. It’s just holiday deliciousness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Things to hear\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Other than Sinatra\u2019s album (see #1) there are four that must be listened to in their entirety.<\/span><\/p>\n

58. Vince Guaraldi Trio\u2019s <\/span>A Charlie Brown Christmas\u00a0<\/span><\/i>(1965)<\/span><\/p>\n

59. Tony Bennett\u2019s <\/span>A Swingin\u2019 Christmas<\/span><\/i>. Recorded with the Count Basie Big Band in 2008, proof that at 82, the man could still swing.<\/span><\/p>\n

60. Ella Fitzgerald\u2019s <\/span>Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas<\/span><\/i>. Recorded in 1960, it took nearly a half century for another Christmas album to swing as hard.<\/span><\/p>\n

61. <\/span>Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer<\/span><\/i>, full album that accompanied the movie including instrumental bonus tracks.<\/span><\/p>\n

62. My own Christmas playlists on Spotify, now totaling nearly six hours of holiday music.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Other things to see, hear, taste, read, do, or experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

*63. Check out the red lights lining Georgetown Parkway at Krop\u2019s Crops in Great Falls. Which they didn’t have up this year, so head a little further up the Parkway to Pots and Plants. Best decorations on a business in Loudoun or Fairfax Counties.<\/span><\/p>\n

64. But still get your tree from Krop’s.<\/span><\/p>\n

*65. Red stripes on my front porch pillars? Nope, don’t have pillars any more. But I do have a giant tree out front… which has been wrapped like a 20-foot-tall candy cane. I get to do it because I was the one in my neighborhood who thought of it first.<\/span><\/p>\n

66. Take a journey out to the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna (Virginia, not Austria) and walk through the \u201cWinter Walk of Lights.\u201d Worth the walk.<\/span><\/p>\n

67. Drive through the Bull Run Festival of Lights (Centreville, Va.), amazingly even better than the walk-through at Meadowlark, seen from the comfort of your car.<\/span><\/p>\n

68. See a performance of <\/span>The Nutcracker<\/span><\/i>, or at least listen to the \u201csoundtrack\u201d in its entirety.<\/span><\/p>\n

69. Enjoy an evening at home watching that yule log image on your television.<\/span><\/p>\n

70.\u00a0Find a Christmas party at someone\u2019s house (preferably way nicer than your own house) and go there. Bonus points if you\u2019re playing the piano and getting paid to be there.<\/span><\/p>\n

71. Donate toys to charity.<\/span><\/p>\n

72. Get one of those fancy cheese calendars from Aldi and enjoy delicious foreign cheese every day in December.<\/p>\n

73. Deposit money in one of those Salvation Army red kettles.<\/span><\/p>\n

74.\u00a0Read Truman Capote\u2019s \u201cOne Christmas.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

75. Read Truman Capote\u2019s \u201cA Christmas Memory.\u201d Double bonus points if you pair it with #76.<\/span><\/p>\n

76. Have Jack Daniel\u2019s on Sinatra\u2019s birthday (December 12). This really has nothing to do with Christmas but it does fall in the season. You should have Jack Daniel\u2019s from time to time anyway just to be reminded of what a real drink tastes like, before the world was overrun by girly cocktails and macchiatos with skim milk.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Places to go\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

78. The<\/span> mall. <\/span><\/i>Every community has a place simply referred to as \u201cthe mall.\u201d Go there and experience the true meaning of Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\n

79. A giant decorated tree in a shopping plaza (again, everyone has one\u2026 or in Loudoun County we have about a dozen).<\/span><\/p>\n

80. Big Lots\u2026 trust me, weird off-brand Christmas stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

81. Dunkin\u2019 Donuts\u2026 best Christmas displays of your standard commercial food operations.<\/span><\/p>\n

*82. Visit “the intersection” in Great Falls, Virginia. This is where Georgetown Parkway meets Walker Road, basically the only intersection in town. Highlighted by the Village Centre shopping mall (classy enough to warrant the British spelling of centre), this corner is pretty much 360 degrees of holiday cheer. Drink in the holiday awesomeness.<\/span><\/p>\n

83. Read Mercer Mayer\u2019s <\/span>Merry Christmas Mom and Dad.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

84. Watch one of your old home movies filmed at Christmastime. Double bonus points if it\u2019s on VHS.<\/span><\/p>\n

85. Make a new home movie. Triple a million bonus points if you\u2019re recording it on VHS. Minus a million points if you\u2019re recording on your phone.<\/span><\/p>\n

And finally, everyone has his or her own unique Christmas toys or games that have special meaning. Make these your last three. For me I have two from my childhood and one from adulthood.<\/span><\/p>\n

86. The mouse Advent calendar. Back before Advent calendars were ubiquitous (and could set you back 20, 50, or 100 bucks depending how adult you wanted them to be), I had a simple cloth calendar that hung on my bedroom door. There were 24 pockets, and each day a little toy mouse moved from pouch to pouch, producing a toy, money, or treat each day. I\u2019ve now given Franklin the calendar and he\u2019s brought the tradition into the 21st century. I\u2019m also on the third generation of cats who like to steal that little mouse.<\/span><\/p>\n

87. The dancing Coca-Cola bear. Purchased in about 1993, this item always makes me smile. It\u2019s a stuffed bear, about a foot tall, holding an upright bass and wearing sunglasses. It sits on a pedestal adorned with the Coca-Cola label, and dances to a medley of \u201cJingle Bells\u201d and \u201cI\u2019d Like to Teach the World to Sing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

88. Also from the world of Coke memorabilia\u2026 a Holiday 2005 glass bottle which sits on my bookshelf 12 months a year. The beverage was consumed more than a dozen years ago but the bottle looks like it just came off the factory line. It was the last thing my father ever gave me. (Well, last physical thing.)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s that time of year again: full report on this year’s Christmas list. Christmas\u00a0schedule, actually, not\u00a0list. “List” is the people I send cards to. “Schedule” is the things one must do between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Here’s the official schedule for … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3905"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3908,"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905\/revisions\/3908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}