Joy of Christmas

Archive for the ‘Christmas Blog’ Category

Free MP3 Christmas songs are a big hit right now.

Well, right now — they’ve always been.

Ever since we started listing our collection of legal MP3 free Christmas downloads in 2005 it’s been the most popular page on the site, year after year.

In that time the landscape has changed a lot though. It used to be quite difficult to get some really nice legal Christmas music for free back then. And let’s face it, although we’re talking recession now, us folks have always needed to watch the penny, right? Even if you don’t have to; investing a couple of hundred dollars in a Christmas music collection you’re obviously using just once a year is… well, needed but a painful expense, right? Right.

Nowadays things are different though. You have our non-stop Christmas stations, radio stations that switch to Christmas mucis… and Internet radio.

Also, going back as far as 2005, we listed Internet “radio” stations streaming free Christmas music.

These days you can even get custom stations. For example, head on over to Last.fm’s Christmas music stream for hour upon hour of free Christmas music.

Of course these stations never play the music in the order you prefer. There’s no way to rewind and listen to a track again or simply start listening to your favorite Christmas tune right away.

Or is there?

Here’s a frugal Christmastip: switch on a streaming Christmas music station and use software to record the music stream.

A 100% free solution is Screamer Radio which plays and records MP3 stations. In-between, if you go with their paid version, is StationRipper. We prefer Audio Radio Recorder from Blaze Audio. It’s usually around 80-100 bucks (get a price on Amazon.com) but we use it not only to record Christmas MP3’s but year round.

As long as it’s for noncommercial reasons, recording streaming Christmas MP3’s is legal. They’re free MP3 Christmas download streams, unprotected against copying. As you don’t attempt to “circumvent copy protection systems” section 1008 applies: “No action may be brought [...] based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of such a device or medium for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings.”

A “serious problem” with Christmas gifts is that even we have it all or we’ve seen it all.

Did really nice unique gift that you both for uncle Harry? Forget it, he saw it at Wal-Mart. He knows the full price and he knows when it came on discount…

The problem is even worse in small or smaller towns: everybody knows every store. In such a place even the specialty items are common goods.

Of course there is always making your own gifts. And yes, I recognize that there too a certain level of cliché arises. But there might be a twist, that might be different angle on this. The combination of novelty Christmas gift and do it yourself.

The idea is to go to thrift stores, Goodwill centers, secondhand stores. Look around for genuine articles. You want to go for that think it’s look and feel. With a little bit of luck they’ll even have Christmas items! But if not, no problem either. A wonderful, aged frame, for example, is just as good. Again, it’s that authentic look that you want to go for.

Now when you come home with it here is where you add your own personal touch. Load up that digital photo of uncle Harry, age it, of course using free tools such as Picasa (available as a free download in Google’s pack), insert it in the frame and add a handwritten message.

Now this novelty Christmas gift focuses on a frame. That so many think this items can be repurposed as novelty Christmas gifts. Christmas time is the perfect time to give those Dickian feeling vintage items.

Come on, try it! Get into one of those stores and look around with different eyes.

One of the hardest questions yet also one of the most frequently asked here at Joy of Christmas is: does Santa Claus exist?

There is of course the “Yes, Virginia” argument as to the question of whether or not Santa Claus exists and historical, almost touristic routes along lines of folklore and figures which can be likened to Santa Claus but we here at Joy of Christmas go a simple step further and unequivocally say; does Santa Claus exist? … YES

Now of course the last thing you want to do, and this doubly so if you’re a kid looking to find a truthful answer to this question, is to take any fool’s word for it at face value. That’s what got you into this mess in the first place and is what has you doubting Santa Claus’ existence right now, isn’t it?

Well, our luxury of answering you with a loud and sound Yes, Santa Claus does exist comes from recorded, US government approved evidence.

Read that again: the question “does Santa Claus exist” can be answered with official records, admissible in court!

After extensive research Joy of Christmas has laid hands on no less than 4 US certified official documents which have recorded Santa’s existence!

You can read more in our Christmas directory in the entry Santa Claus.

Americans are, at heart, giving persons. Always strike us how that is so when the Season starts to warm up and we start to answer emails of people asking about the Angel Tree program. Singular. They want to give.

But invariably we have to answer them about the Angel Tree programs. Multiple. Because that’s who we are; we don’t have one such program, we have at least two.

The two best known are from Christian organisations: the Angel Tree prison fellowship and the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program.

Angel Tree works year-round for the 1.5 million children who have a father or mother who’s in prison. At Christmas time volunteers from participating churches buy gifts and deliver them to the kids but in the name of the parents.

The Salvation Army’s Christmas Angel Tree program, recently renamed to Holiday Christmas Angel Tree program, get children from families in need new clothes or toys. Usually a corporation sponsors a tree placement. The tree is decorated with paper angels, each of which has the first name of a child as well as the age and gender of the child. A person can take the paper angel of the tree and get a gift that’s just right for such a kid.

The Angel Tree program is centered more around churches while the Salvation Army’s program relies on sponsors such as corporations or neighborhood associations for the placement of its trees.

Every year I’m so impressed with the number of people emailing us, asking “can I give to your angel tree program”, “how to give to the angel tree” or “how can I start an angel tree”. We both feel a bit honored that people think we’re involved!

Argh, now I did it myself! [backspace] Holiday Christmas spirit.

There. That’s better.

Sorry but I couldn’t help myself any longer. With 43 days to go until Christmas I’ve placed the first Christmas ornament in my office. OK, it’s tiny but still…

It’s a little house, snow decorated, that sits on top of my printer. No worries, it won’t fall because I don’t use my printer that often. All digital here, you know.

It was wonderful to be out today really shopping around for the perfect Christmas decoration to put up first. Because, yes, everything is still wrapped up in boxes in the basement. So I just “had” to buy something…

It comes from a dollar shop but that doesn’t change anything for me. Hey, in fact, it makes the thing feel that much more joyful to me then when it would have cost ten times more!

Christmas: it’s the cozy season.

That’s just too cool! I was in the supermarket today to pick up some croissants when my eyes were drawn to a tower of “holiday” Crackers (hey, remember, these folks have a hard time saying “Christmas”…).

I’m not sure these haven’t been around longer but it’s the first time I see them.

The Christie Holiday Christmas Crackers are the most fun. In the box are crackers in 4 different shapes: Christmas tree, a bell, a snowman, and Santa Claus.

The Ritz Holiday Christmas Crackers are in the shape of a snowflake.

They were on a 50% discount special here so I picked up a bunch of boxes.

Of course to be festive you don’t need commercial, pre-packaged Christmas snacks:

• Ritz Holiday Christmas bell recipe: all it takes is some salami and a cookie cutter or sharp knife. Of course you can try other shapes as well!
• Holiday Christmas Cracker Spread recipe: 2 packages of cream cheese and 1 can of peaches is involved. What more can I say?!
• Reindeer decorated Ritz crackers using peanut butter
• GREAT looking Ritz Christmas ornaments: a master piece with cream cheese and green onion and tomato for color
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Coated Ritz crackers: add some sprinkles and you have a Christmas version.

The UK Institute for Public Policy Research is recommending that Christmas, which cannot be obliterated, should be down-graded to promote multiculturalism.¹

The report, not published yet, has raised so much dust in the UK that the IPPR is now responding and saying “no, no, no, that’s not what we said at all!” Sorta…. Try to follow this:

[...] this does not mean equivalent public holidays for all faiths – no one is asking for that. It does mean being sensitive to important cultural concerns, giving people consideration and respect, and taking measures to combat discrimination. In this respect our report is not arguing for significant change, except in intensifying efforts to narrow the inequalities in life chances that exist between black and minority ethnic groups and the national average.
Source: Rick Muir, IPPR

That’s funny… No equivalent holidays but narrowing the inequalities to combat discrimination.

Uhuh… Because Christmas is, after all, The New Evil Empire?