{"id":5204,"date":"2025-11-28T08:23:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T04:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/?p=5204"},"modified":"2025-11-28T07:29:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T03:29:41","slug":"christmas-schedule-has-arrived","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/?p=5204","title":{"rendered":"Christmas schedule has arrived"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today on\u00a0Math and Musings<\/em><\/a> you’ll hear me and Franklin discuss our Christmas Schedule, 2025 edition. Only a couple minor modifications between this year and last, proving, well, maybe we’re homing in on finally getting this thing right.<\/p>\n

Enjoy.<\/p>\n

Things to do between Thanksgiving and Christmas, 2025 edition.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

      \n
    1. A Charlie Brown Christmas <\/span><\/i>(1965)<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. It\u2019s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown <\/span><\/i>(1992)<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer <\/span><\/i>(1964)<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! <\/span><\/i>(1966)<\/span><\/li>\n
    5. Frosty the Snowman <\/span><\/i>(1969)<\/span><\/li>\n
    6. Frosty Returns <\/span><\/i>(1993). I recently learned the correct date of this one.<\/span><\/li>\n
    7. A Garfield Christmas <\/span><\/i>(1987)<\/span><\/li>\n
    8. \u201cSimpsons Roasting on an Open Fire\u201d (first full episode of <\/span>The <\/span><\/i>Simpsons; original airdate: December 17, 1989)<\/span><\/li>\n
    9. \u201cThe Strike\u201d (the \u201cFestivus\u201d episode of <\/span>Seinfeld<\/span><\/i>; original airdate: December 18, 1997)<\/span><\/li>\n
    10. \u201cClassy Christmas\u201d episode of <\/span>The Office <\/span><\/i>(original airdate: December 9, 2010)<\/span><\/li>\n
    11. \u201cThe Night of the Meek\u201d episode of <\/span>The Twilight Zone <\/span><\/i>(original airdate: December 23, 1960)<\/span><\/li>\n
    12. \u201cRoad to the North Pole\u201d episode of <\/span>Family Guy, original airdate: December 12, 2010<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n
    13. \u201cMr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo\u201d episode of <\/span>South Park<\/span><\/i> (original airdate: December 17, 1997)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\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

        \n
      1. 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><\/li>\n
      2. Mickey\u2019s Christmas Carol<\/span><\/i> (1983). Dickens got nothin\u2019 on this one.<\/span><\/li>\n
      3. Mickey\u2019s Once Upon a Christmas<\/span><\/i> (1999). Now more than 25 years old, this one qualifies as <\/span>classic<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/li>\n
      4. \u201cPhineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation.\u201d First airing in December 2009, this is the first of two <\/span>Phineas and Ferb<\/span><\/i> Christmas specials. This is the one you want to watch, as Phineas and Ferb save Christmas as only they can.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        And the full-length movies one must watch.<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Home Alone <\/span><\/i>(1990)<\/span><\/li>\n
        2. Home Alone 2<\/span><\/i> (1992). Yeah, it\u2019s not the first one, but damned if it hasn\u2019t grown on me the last few years. Watching it with my son has helped, and it\u2019s going to make the second edition of <\/span>365 Movies<\/span><\/i>. My highest praise.<\/span><\/li>\n
        3. A Christmas Story <\/span><\/i>(1983)<\/span><\/li>\n
        4. A Christmas Story Christmas <\/span><\/i>(2022). Also a 365 addition.<\/span><\/li>\n
        5. Elf <\/span><\/i>(2003)<\/span><\/li>\n
        6. Holiday Inn<\/span><\/i> (1942)<\/span><\/li>\n
        7. White Christmas<\/span><\/i> (1954)<\/span><\/li>\n
        8. It\u2019s a Wonderful Life <\/span><\/i>(1946)<\/span><\/li>\n
        9. Bad Santa <\/span><\/i>(2003)<\/span><\/li>\n
        10. National Lampoon\u2019s Christmas Vacation<\/span><\/i> (1989). Every year I think this movie is so silly I\u2019m going to take it off the list, but then December rolls around and I just have to see it.<\/span><\/li>\n
        11. Vegas Vacation<\/span><\/i> (1997). It really has nothing to do with Christmas, but I watched it one year at Christmas time and it just made sense.<\/span><\/li>\n
        12. Hook<\/span><\/i> (1991). Sort of a Christmas movie and should be watched once a year anyway, so why not?<\/span><\/li>\n
        13. 8-bit Christmas <\/span><\/i>(2021). This one\u2019s going to make Top 365 too.<\/span><\/li>\n
        14. Single All the Way<\/span><\/i> (2021). Possible 365 addition.<\/span><\/li>\n
        15. Happiest Season<\/span><\/i> (2020). Further proof that the new ones are growing on me.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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

            \n
          1. Coca-Cola (the beverage of Christmas)<\/span><\/li>\n
          2. an old-school regular peppermint candy cane<\/span><\/li>\n
          3. those white nougat candies with the tree image in the center<\/span><\/li>\n
          4. Roasted chestnuts. Roasted.<\/span><\/li>\n
          5. 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><\/li>\n
          6. those cookies that come in the blue tins<\/span><\/li>\n
          7. a chocolate orange (now available in several flavors, I go for the one with pop rocks; and why do they not sell these all year?!)<\/span><\/li>\n
          8. chocolate bar wrapped to look like a hundred-dollar bill (same question as above)<\/span><\/li>\n
          9. Martinelli\u2019s sparkling cider<\/span><\/li>\n
          10. cinnamon rolls for breakfast (Christmas Eve or Christmas Day)<\/span><\/li>\n
          11. crescent rolls for dinner (same)<\/span><\/li>\n
          12. S\u2019mores. Homemade. Preferably prepared outside, but inside if you must.<\/span><\/li>\n
          13. one of those Reece\u2019s peanut butter \u201ctrees\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
          14. stovetop popcorn. Strung up, eaten, or both.<\/span><\/li>\n
          15. hot chocolate<\/span><\/li>\n
          16. Chips and dip. My only childhood memory of my father\u2019s parents\u2019 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><\/li>\n
          17. Wendy\u2019s Peppermint Frosty (tell Wendy to bring this back every year)<\/span><\/li>\n
          18. eggnog (I recently learned it is one word, not two)<\/span><\/li>\n
          19. grown-up eggnog<\/span><\/li>\n
          20. Peppermint Bark<\/span><\/li>\n
          21. One (or more) of those \u201choliday\u201d pies from McDonald\u2019s. Yeah, \u201choliday.\u201d They can\u2019t even say what kind of fruit or cream or whatever it is. It\u2019s just holiday deliciousness.<\/span><\/li>\n
          22. Little Debbie\u2019s Christmas Trees. Oh, snack of my youth\u2026 where ya been the last few years? Thanks, Debbie, for bringing this one back.<\/span><\/li>\n
          23. Peppermint cocoa goldfish crackers. \u201cGoldfish.\u201d “Crackers.” Presented by Snoopy. New this year, how this is in any way related to old-school goldfish crackers is beyond me. Classic Oreoification.<\/span><\/li>\n
          24. gingerbread cookies (not gingerbread man <\/span>shaped<\/span><\/i> but actual gingerbread)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
          25. Perry\u2019s White Christmas ice cream (this has eclipsed peppermint stick as the new ice cream of Christmas)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Things to hear\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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

              \n
            1. Vince Guaraldi Trio\u2019s <\/span>A Charlie Brown Christmas <\/span><\/i>(1965)<\/span><\/li>\n
            2. 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><\/li>\n
            3. 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><\/li>\n
            4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer<\/span><\/i>, full album that accompanied the movie including instrumental bonus tracks.<\/span><\/li>\n
            5. A Christmas Story (Music from the Motion Picture)<\/span><\/i>. Same basic idea as above, it\u2019s the musical from the movie you\u2019ve seen a million times and can therefore picture exactly what\u2019s going on as you hear the audio cues.<\/span><\/li>\n
            6. My own Christmas playlists on Spotify, now totaling nearly six hours of holiday music.<\/span><\/li>\n
            7. Speaking of my own: <\/span>I paid for this Christmas party!<\/span><\/i> Listened to in its entirety.<\/span><\/li>\n
            8. Dr. Suess\u2019 How the Grinch Stole Christmas<\/span><\/i> studio album. Yeah, it\u2019s really just the audio track of the TV special, but worth 25 minutes of your time. Radio theater at its finest.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
            9. Christmas Cocktails<\/em>–A Jazz Lounge Holiday Collection<\/em> by a group called Candy Cane Trio. I can tell you nothing about who or what Candy Cane Trio actually is. AI robots? This collection, though, has grown on me the past few years and warrants a place among Guaraldi and Rudolph.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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

              \u00a0 73. 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

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

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

              76. Dunkin\u2019 (Donuts)\u2026 best Christmas menu of your standard commercial food operations.<\/p>\n

              77. Starbucks. Credit where credit is due.<\/p>\n

              \u00a0 78. Visit \u201cthe intersection\u201d 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

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

                \n
              1. Red stripes on my front porch pillars? Nope, don\u2019t have pillars any more. But I do have a giant tree out front\u2026 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><\/li>\n
              2. 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><\/li>\n
              3. 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><\/li>\n
              4. See a performance of <\/span>The Nutcracker<\/span><\/i>, or at least listen to the \u201csoundtrack\u201d in its entirety.<\/span><\/li>\n
              5. Enjoy an evening at home watching that yule log image on your television.<\/span><\/li>\n
              6. Find 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><\/li>\n
              7. Donate toys to charity.<\/span><\/li>\n
              8. Get one of those fancy cheese calendars from Aldi and enjoy delicious foreign cheese every day in December.<\/span><\/li>\n
              9. Deposit money in one of those Salvation Army red kettles.<\/span><\/li>\n
              10. Read Truman Capote\u2019s \u201cOne Christmas.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
              11. Read Truman Capote\u2019s \u201cA Christmas Memory.\u201d Double bonus points if you pair it with #90.<\/span><\/li>\n
              12. 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><\/li>\n
              13. Recite Clement Clarke Moore\u2019s \u201cA Visit from St. Nicholas.\u201d You know it as \u201cThe Night Before Christmas.\u201d First appearing in a Troy, New York, newspaper in December of 1823, it still plays in 2024.<\/span><\/li>\n
              14. Read Mercer Mayer\u2019s <\/span>Merry Christmas Mom and Dad.<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n
              15. Watch one of your old home movies filmed at Christmastime. Double bonus points if it\u2019s on VHS.<\/span><\/li>\n
              16. 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><\/li>\n
              17. Handwritten Christmas cards. The day I can\u2019t handle sending personal handwritten notes to my friends at Christmas\u2026 that\u2019s my last Christmas.<\/span><\/li>\n
              18. Get a real Christmas tree. No shiny aluminum ones.<\/span><\/li>\n
              19. Bring in keyboard and sing Christmas carols with students on the final day before Winter Break. Two reasons. One, show off a bit, and two, who\u2019s really doing schoolwork on this day anyway?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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

                  \n
                1. 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><\/li>\n
                2. 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><\/li>\n
                3. 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 20 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><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  Today on\u00a0Math and Musings you’ll hear me and Franklin discuss our Christmas Schedule, 2025 edition. Only a couple minor modifications between this year and last, proving, well, maybe we’re homing in on finally getting this thing right. Enjoy. Things to … 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-5204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5204","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=5204"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5207,"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5204\/revisions\/5207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikeoconnelljr.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}