Joy of Christmas

Christmas Scenes

Holiday Spirit

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.

Christmas Crackers

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”…).

2 Packages of Christmas Ritz & Christie crackers 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.

Downgrading Christmas

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?

Earliest Christmas Ever

Black Friday started so early in 2006 that in describing it the New York Times couldn’t help but sound incredulous:

It was the earliest Black Friday on record. Trying to one-up its rivals, CompUSA started its annual Black Friday sales at 9 p.m. on Thursday, just as many Americans sat down for Thanksgiving dessert.

A dozen malls, from Utah to Maine, opened at midnight. And Wal-Mart, Best Buy and J. C. Penney began ringing up sales at 5 a.m.
Source: Attention, Holiday Shoppers: We Have Fisticuffs in Aisle 2, NY Times

But 2007 was to beat the record. Kicking off the Christmas shopping season didn’t come 12 hours earlier — it comes 3 weeks early!

In what is shaping up to be the earliest holiday shopping season ever, Wal-Mart Stores says it will offer door-buster discounts this Friday, three weeks before they are traditionally unveiled on the day after Thanksgiving.

[…] a bold effort to jump-start holiday shopping two days after Halloween. […]

In the phenomenon of “creeping Christmas,” stores like CompUSA and Gap have begun opening their doors at midnight on Thanksgiving […] But no retailer has ever tried to single-handedly move Black Friday, considered the biggest shopping day of the year.
Source: Wal-Mart Jump-Starts Discounts for Holidays, NY Times

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Friday, Dec. 14, 2007