It aint Christmas till...

[Big Al]

I awoke this morning and said "Oh my God, what did I type last night?"

Luckily, nothing offensive or too embarassing. I was truly in a zone, walking that fine line of exhaustion and mania

You mean like this?

[maren]

... until a complete stranger decides to go "shopping" at your house or that of someone you know. In my case, Sunday afternoon after we went to lunch... they were in the house within 30 minutes of our departure which is spookier than the actual break in. Sorry for the bitterness.

On the good side, no one was hurt, they didn't get away with much as our neighbor's saw the broken window and called the police, and they didn't trash the place. Only thing lost was the video tape in our camcorder of my son from 2 years to date (about 7 months of footage). Oh, and I get my choice of new laptop :-)

Sorry to hear this, spinlps...

[DrJ]

...until I've heard the following music:

Johnny Mathis - MERRY CHRISTMAS (Columbia) - yes, I mean it, NOT a Mathis fan but grew up hearing this one every year and I have to say that it's one of the most perfectly done holiday albums ever...more so for the arrangements than his vocals even.

Dexter Gordon - "The Christmas Song"

and

Miles Davis/Bob Dorough - "Blue Xmas"

Both of the latter from the excellent JINGLE BELL JAZZ (Columbia) compilation:

[Big Al]

...until I've heard the following music:

Johnny Mathis - MERRY CHRISTMAS (Columbia) - yes, I mean it, NOT a Mathis fan but grew up hearing this one every year and I have to say that it's one of the most perfectly done holiday albums ever...more so for the arrangements than his vocals even.

Right on! Right on! Right on!!!!!

[Adam]

... You get something from this Amazon list:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listm...8375516-0383944

[BruceH]

...the cows come home.

No, that isn't right.

It ain't Christmas till it snows. I've been waiting awhile.

[pryan]

Dexter Gordon - "The Christmas Song"

Which album/compilation is that tune from?

[spinlps]

Sorry to hear this, spinlps...

Thanks! I'm better now... although trying to explain to State Farm that replacing / repairing a window or exterior door in a Civil War era home is inherently going to be more expensive than doing the same in a modern day McMansion is certainly frustrating.

That said... in the spirit of the thread:

It aint Christmas till...

... I gag / vomit / dry heave from the scent of my mother's "friendship" fruit cake as I open the tin.

... help my Dad deliver the 30+ hams he has slaved over, usually for the better part of a week.

... the cats start puking up the bits of Christmas tree they've eaten.

... a mysterious box from Mosaic arrives addressed to my wife instead of me. Woohoo!!!

[patricia]

...I've watched "A Christmas Story" ['you'll shoot your eye out!'] and have listened to both the Mathis and Mahalia Jackson Christmas records.

Christmas Eve I have the only slice of fruitcake that I will have all year. One slice is enough. [burp].

[DTMX]

... I've heard Seymore Swine & the Squealers sing the Porky Pig version of "Blue Christmas".

[rachel]

Do you hear the version with the uncontrollable laughter in the background? I love Porky's speaking part.

Also, things don't start to happen for me until I've seen "A Charlie Brown Christmas". I'm mesmerized by the scene in which they're all humming "Silent Night" with their mouths up in the air, and they all breathe at the exact same moment with the exact same expression.

[neveronfriday]

It aint Christmas till...

... I gag / vomit / dry heave from the scent of my mother's "friendship" fruit cake as I open the tin.

[...}

... the cats start puking up the bits of Christmas tree they've eaten.

... a mysterious box from Mosaic arrives addressed to my wife instead of me. Woohoo!!!

I hope nobody barfs on the Mosaic box in your house.

That would just totally ruin Christmas.

[Joe G]

Also, things don't start to happen for me until I've seen "A Charlie Brown Christmas". I'm mesmerized by the scene in which they're all humming "Silent Night" with their mouths up in the air, and they all breathe at the exact same moment with the exact same expression.

I like the scene where Snoopy is mocking Lucy during her rant. Cracks me up everytime, especially when he jumps up on her head and mimics a vulture for no reason. What can I say?

[neveronfriday]

Also, things don't start to happen for me until I've seen "A Charlie Brown Christmas".  I'm mesmerized by the scene in which they're all humming "Silent Night" with their mouths up in the air, and they all breathe at the exact same moment with the exact same expression.   

I like the scene where Snoopy is mocking Lucy during her rant. Cracks me up everytime, especially when he jumps up on her head and mimics a vulture for no reason. What can I say?

Yeah, that is THE classic Snoopy scene. Cracks me up every time!

[Big Al]

Yes, yes, YES!!! Total agreement about the kids singing around the tree!

Also love Snoopy’s mocking of Lucy! Or how about when Snoopy does the little kick-dance with his supper dish?

I still get choked up when Linus walks over and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

[spinlps]

I hope nobody barfs on the Mosaic box in your house.

That would just totally ruin Christmas.

You mean I couldn't just return it? "Uh... it arrived like that... can you send another set? Ok, what about just the box?....

[neveronfriday]

I hope nobody barfs on the Mosaic box in your house.

That would just totally ruin Christmas.

You mean I couldn't just return it? "Uh... it arrived like that... can you send another set? Ok, what about just the box?....

It would actually be fun to hear about some reasons why people return Mosaic sets or parts thereof. I'm sure some "fans" are quite inventive when it comes around to returning things or trying to get "freebies" from Mosaic.

[rachel]

Yes, yes, YES!!! Total agreement about the kids singing around the tree!

Also love Snoopy’s mocking of Lucy! Or how about when Snoopy does the little kick-dance with his supper dish?

I still get choked up when Linus walks over and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Have you noticed how Linus puts down his "security blanket" when he recites the words ".... Fear not!..."

[Big Al]

Yes, yes, YES!!! Total agreement about the kids singing around the tree!

Also love Snoopy’s mocking of Lucy! Or how about when Snoopy does the little kick-dance with his supper dish?

I still get choked up when Linus walks over and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Have you noticed how Linus puts down his "security blanket" when he recites the words ".... Fear not!..."

I've never noticed that; I'll have to check that out! Thanks for pointing that out!

[Big Al]

... I've heard Seymore Swine & the Squealers sing the Porky Pig version of "Blue Christmas".

YES!!!!!!

[maren]

Yes, yes, YES!!! Total agreement about the kids singing around the tree!

Also love Snoopy’s mocking of Lucy! Or how about when Snoopy does the little kick-dance with his supper dish?

I still get choked up when Linus walks over and says, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Have you noticed how Linus puts down his "security blanket" when he recites the words ".... Fear not!..."

Now that you mention it, I remember that really struck me long ago -- but I haven't watched this in years...

[catesta]

Watch it, Thursday night on ABC.

[patricia]

Watch it, Thursday night on ABC.

THANK YOU CATESTA!!! Love Charlie Brown Christmas!

[Jim Alfredson]

Also, things don't start to happen for me until I've seen "A Charlie Brown Christmas".  I'm mesmerized by the scene in which they're all humming "Silent Night" with their mouths up in the air, and they all breathe at the exact same moment with the exact same expression.   

I like the scene where Snoopy is mocking Lucy during her rant. Cracks me up everytime, especially when he jumps up on her head and mimics a vulture for no reason. What can I say?

My wife's favorite part is when all the kids start dancing for no apparent reason in the middle of Charlie Brown's rant on directing. Every kid has a different dance and each one is goofy. She cracks up every time at that scene!

[catesta]

Watch it, Thursday night on ABC. 

THANK YOU CATESTA!!! Love Charlie Brown Christmas!

It's Thursday 12/16/04.