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Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!


I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all!  I hope your holidays are happy and full of family and the holiday spirit.

"'And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"

Friday, December 18, 2009

The Muppet Christmas Carol




The Muppets take on Charles Dickens' classic tale "A Christmas Carol" with their own special twist of course.  Starring Michael Caine as Ebeneezer Scrooge and the cast of the Muppets in various role, this is a fun take on the old story. It follows the Dickens story fairly faithfully and most of Scrooge's dialogue is straight on.  The addition of Charles Dickens (Gonzo) as the narrator is funny.

It is a musical as Muppet movies usually are, though the songs are less memorable.  I like particulary "It feels like Christmas," a jauntly little tune.  The special effects are well done for 1992 and the Muppets are so great.  Michael Caine makes an excellent Scrooge and I love Miss Piggy's Mrs. Cratchit.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Favorite Christmas Books

Christmas time is upon us and I've been doing some lovely holiday reading.  So in particular order, are some of my favorite Christmas reading.

1. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Barbara Robinson) - I loved the movie growing up.  We had it on tape and use to watch it all the time.  I read the book a few years back and now I try to read it at least once during the season.  It's about the Herdmans, a group of bad children, who take over a Christmas pageant and end up making everyone think about the true meaning of the Nativity and who learn themselves the meaning of Christmas.

2. Skipping Christmas (John Grisham) - My favorite holiday book, I listen to it every year for about 5 years now.  I love how the Kranks try to "skip Christmas" with hilarious results and how no one wants to let them and everyone acts very selfishly until the very end.

3.  A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) - Of course, this is a perennial favorite.  There is much more to this little novella than any adaptation you will see (though my favorite is A Muppet Christmas Carol) and the redemption of Scrooge is so classic.

4. The Gift of the Magi (O. Henry) - Another lovely classic, it's the story of two people willing to sacrifice something they love for each other.  So much goes into the act of sacrificing something that it makes the realization at the end very poignant.

5.  A Christmas Story (Jean Shepherd) - The famous movie is actually based on four short stories by Shephered.  I love the extended version of what happens to Ralphie that this is a great book to listen to during the Christmas season.

So there are my favorite re-reads for Christmas.  What are some of yours?

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Quote - Grinch


And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr. Seuss

Friday, December 11, 2009

Adori Graphics Countdown to Christmas Giveway!

One of my favorite blogs is having a super great Countdown to Christmas Giveaway. Louise at Adori Graphics is giving away custom blog items everyday.  So if you are looking for something to add that extra special something to your blog, head on over there.  She does excellent work.  Check out my header at The Little Bookworm to see.

So far she's doing a giveway for the following:
Day 1 - win a premade template - CLOSED - winner is Crazy For Books
Day 2 - win a custom Christmas card design - CLOSED - winner is Peterson Family
Day 3 - win a Christmas or winter themed digital scrapbooking kit - closes 17th
Day 4 - win a grab box - closes 27th Dec
Day 5 - win a favicon (5 winners) - closes 27th
Day 6 - win a custom Twitter background - closes 27th Dec
Day 7 - win a custom or premade business card design - closes 27th Dec
Day 8 - Win a menu bar - closes 27th Dec
Day 9 - Win a £5 gift certificate for my store - closes 27th Dec
Day10 - Win a blog background - closes 27th Dec
Day 11 - Win a large blog button - closes 27th Dec
Day 12 - Win a signature graphic - closes 27th Dec
Day 13 - Win a post icon - closes 27th Dec
Day 14 - Win a custom decorative sidebar photo frame design - closes 27th Dec
Day 15 - Win a custom header - closes 27th Dec
Day 16 - Win a photo style rotating header - closes 27th Dec
Day 17 - Win a set of custom digital pin badge style buttons - closes 27th Dec
Day 18 - Win a logo design - closes 27th Dec
Day 19 - Win a watermark - closes 27th Dec
Day 20 - Win an owl themed premade template - closes 27th Dec
Day 21 - Win a custom mini makeover - closes 27th Dec
Day 22 - Win a header - closes 27th Dec
Day 23 - Win a background - closes 27th Dec
Day 24 - Win a £10 gift certificate - closes 27th Dec
Day 25 - Win a basic makeover - closes 27th Dec

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Quote It Saturday - Christmas

Ho, ho, but no matter. Christmas was on its way. Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved.

A Christmas Story -1983

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Holiday Movies

It's Christmas time and now all of the best holiday movies are coming on TV and we are breaking out our DVDs.  Here's a list of some of the favorites around my house.


1. A Charlie Brown Christmas - We own it and my husband has to break it out at least 2 times a year.  And now the boy is loving Snoopy.  My favorite part is when Linus quotes the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 8 through 14 to emphasize what Christmas is really about: 
"'And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"

2. A Christmas Story - annual favorite and all time classic.  "I want an offical Red Ryder BB Gun with a compass in the scope and this thing that tells time."  I love it when the kid's tongue gets stuck to the pole.

3.  The Santa Clause - I just find it to be a very cute movie with great spirit.

4.  All the stop motion animated Christmas specials like Santa Claus is Coming to Town with the Burgermeister Meisterburger and Frosty the Snowman

5. A Muppet Christmas Carol - I just bought it because I love it so much.  The songs and the acting is really great and of course, Muppets! What could be better?

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Social Justice Challenge


Normally I don't do challenges here since they are mostly reading challenges and I have a book blog for that.  But this one seems a little different so I'm signing up for it here.  This is a very interesting challenge.  For the Social Justice Challenge, the organizers have chosen to focus each month on a different area of social injustice in the world. During that month, we are asking that you read something from the list of resources or watch something suggested by that month’s host.

There are different levels of participation and you can choose your level each month. The themes are: