Here's another more unheard of Christmas classic. While it may be a song that not many people will have heard of, it's definitely a band that everyone will know: The Beatles. They used to give out free Christmas albums to their fanclub back in the 60s, and, on these Christmas albums, were exclusive songs. I recently bought the 'Free as a Bird' single from the 90s, and the CD just happens to have their Christmas song 'Christmas Time (Is Here Again)' so here it is for you all to hear! I hope you'll like it. Much like the last Christmas song I recommended, I couldn't find the song officially uploaded on YouTube. As such, if you're reading this some time in the future, I'm sorry but the video is probably gone. You may have to search for it yourself.
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Just a quick Christmassy entry today. I'm going to suggest to you a Christmas song which isn't really very popular but still just as good as, if not better than, the classics such as 'Wonderful Christmastime'. I only heard about it myself because Apple very kindly gave it away for free on iTunes a year or two ago. So here it is, I hope you like it: _ Unfortunately, I couldn't find the song officially uploaded onto YouTube, so if somebody is reading this at a future date, the video will probably have been taken down. If that is the case please search for Glasvegas- A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss) on YouTube, and I'm sure you'll be able to find it.
_One of the most common criticisms I see of Christmas is that it's built up for so long (from as early as August for certain shops) and then when it finally arrives it never lives up to the hype. Therefore, people are always really excited about Christmas, but then kind of fed up after it. To use an analogy, it's kind of like how everybody tells you that going out to nightclubs is really, really good and so in your mind it's more fun than anything can possibly be, and then you actually go and it just turns out the be a horrible cramped sewer full of nymphomaniacs. But I digress...
Anywho, I would like to argue that Christmas actually does live up to all of the hype and that you're fed up after Christmas for an entirely different reason. Here's the best way I can explain it: Imagine you have a really cool best friend, you really like them (obviously, why else would they be your best friend?) they really like you, you’ve have known them for years and just generally enjoy being around them as often as possible. However, this little hypothetical situation is about to take a rather sad turn, either you, or your best friend, suddenly has to move far away, so you obviously can't see each other anymore (unless you count talking online as seeing somebody, which I don't, because it is quite bad in comparison to real life interaction). This separation hasn't totally ended your best-friendship though! You can still just about manage to see each other for one day a year. Now, in this situation I imagine that around one month or possibly even two months, before your reunion, you'll probably be very excited for that day indeed. You'd be more excited to meet them again then you would be for Christmas coming. But then, after you've spent a super fun wickedsick day together with them, you're bound to be at least a little unhappy when it's all over. I can't imagine you'd say that because you've 'over-hyped' how good it would be to see your old friend again would you? You're unhappy because this almost perfect event has come to an end and didn't seem to last quite long enough, you're unhappy because the thing was just as good as everybody said it would be and you imagined it'd be. _ One thing that can be occasionally fun to do (in moderation) is to play video games. Around the Christmas season I imagine that you have a lot of free time on your hands (well, that's assuming you bought your presents on time!) so here are a few games that're particularly good to play around Christmastime.
5. Super Mario Galaxy I'm not entirely sure why this game makes me feel festive, but still, it does. It could be down to the fact that the soundtrack for the game is wholly orchestral, or it might be because of the vibrant cold feeling landscapes in space that you're strolling through, but either way, this game gets me in the Christmas spirit, and it might do the same for you. It especially helps if you choose one of the wintry levels: you can stand in a vast snowy landscape while snow slowly falls around you and chilling music plays! You can even turn into ice and skate around on the surface of lakes because the water freezes under your feet, it’s awesome! 4. Scribblenauts Now this is a game where you write in the name of an object/thing and then it immediately spawns beside you, able to be used however you like. This means that you are able to create a lovely Christmas scene; you could perhaps go to the North Pole summon up Father Christmas and the reindeers, have a snowman and Christmas tree, whatever you need for the perfect yuletide feeling… Only to then summon Cthulhu and have him destroy everything and kill everyone. Plus, on top of that, you also have a number of festive missions that you have to do throughout the duration of the game. 3. Diddy Kong Racing And now we move on to a game by one of the greatest game makers of all time: Rareware! Diddy Kong Racing is a nice little racing game featuring all of your favourite video game animals: Diddy Kong, Banjo the Bear, Conker the Squirrel, Tiptup the Turtle etc. But, aside from being a generally fun game, there are several winter themed race courses which feature some lovely festive music. You can race through a silent snow covered village in the middle of the night (complete with Christmas lights on display!) or even fly over a snow filled gorge and through an icy cave. Excellent for achieving the Christmassy feeling and what makes this one an even better choice is that you can play with up to four players at once! 2. Animal Crossing There are four Animal Crossing games out at the moment (with a fifth being worked on) but for number two I’m really referring to any of the four as they’re all very similar. Anyway, if you play your Animal Crossing game around Christmas time you’ll be pleasantly surprised that the whole world of the game is covered in snow! But that’s only the start of the festivities, now you’ll find that several trees will have been decorated with Christmas lights, you can buy Christmas trees from the local shop, and if you play at night, you can walk through the snowy fields while the snow crunches under your feet and shooting stars fall overhead. It’s lovely! 1. Banjo-Kazooie I’m not going to hide the fact that this is one of my favourite games, and coincidentally, it also happens to have been made by Rareware. While this game in general is not overtly Christmassy, there is one particular level, called Freezeezy Peak, which captures the feeling perfectly. The whole level is a large snow covered world, you’ll find lakes that’re too cold to go in, making you shiver, snow men who through snow balls at you, a snow covered village, a polar bear family who want you to help find their Christmas presents, toboggan races, giant Christmas trees that need their lights switching on, ice cube people, walruses and everything else you’d expect in a Christmas level! It’s just magical. _ These, in my opinion, are one of the best gifts that you can be given on Christmas day. I can't really explain why I like these so much as a Christmas gift, but I'm going to try and use this blog entry to explain.
First, there's the taste of Quality Street chocolates. I'm sure you may say "Hmm, well what's so special about a Quality Street tin? It's just a cheap gift people will get you when they don't know what you actually like, it's not even fancy chocolate like Thornton’s!" and while it may be true that people will buy you a Quality Street tin if they don't really know what you want, if people know what I want, I'll definitely be getting at least one Quality Street tin. They may not be the fanciest chocolate in the world, but somehow, the taste of fresh Quality Street sweets is something which is utterly delicious and, in my mind, inexplicably linked to Christmas. Now imagine this little scene: Christmas is now over, it's early afternoon Boxing Day, you don't have people opening gifts you've bought them to look forward to, you already know that they loved what you bought them. You're probably feeling a little sad that you have to wait another three hundred and sixty-four days until another Christmas rolls along, so you decide to try out the DVDs/books/CDs/video games that've been bought for you and end up realising that Christmas doesn't end at midnight on the twenty-fifth of December. Depending on the length of your holidays, you've probably got a whole week off in which to relax and indulge in your gift. So while you're watching/reading/listening to/playing with your new possessions, you decide also to open your Quality Street tin, taking one of them and eating it every so often... Pure Ecstasy! I think this, perhaps, is why I like them so much, they always remind me of the total leisurely feeling of Christmas time, one that you don't quite get at birthdays. _ Today I’m going to post another piece of festive writing written by my eleven year old self in 2004. This is a Christmassy short story (again, totally unedited) that I wrote just a few days before the previously posted 'The History of Xmas Trees'. It’s called 'A Series of Unfortunate Events at Christmas in Fox City':
On Christmas Eve Father Christmas’s elves where on strike because they work all day of the year with no pay or food so no toys, DVDs, videos, computer games or food so Father Christmas had to get a whole town to make the presents “I know I’ll get Fox City to do it for me cus if they don’t they’ll get no presents.” He said. So he got into his sleigh and flew to Fox City. “Oh it’s Father Christmas he’s come early.” Said Fox 2 “Attention Fox Cityans you are all on the naughty list unless you make all the presents, you see my elves are on strike so even if you don’t do it and your name isn’t on the bad list you’ll get no presents.” Said Farther Christmas, so the whole town went off with him. You know how on TV you see Farther Christmas’s Elves as really happy little people making presents well maybe it’s true but he treated Fox City like slaves “Ow stop whipping me. I’ll get my lawyer on you.” Said Bobby. They were sent back late and because of that Farther Christmas was late so when he got to Fox City he just lobbed down the presents, Professor Nerb’s present (which was a Tiny Monster which grew giant when heated) went down a chimney and grew and started to destroy the town Dr. Z’s present was a dooms day missile also went down a chimney then went flying into the air then came down and blew up Fox City. There are some people out there who, believe it or not, don't like Christmas or, at least, they don't get excited by it. But that's fair enough, different people have different tastes and not everybody will enjoy the same things. But what annoys me is when people attack the Christmas holidays as being a 'celebration of greed' or for being bad due to commercialisation, which I don't think it is.
Now, my main objection to the 'celebration of greed' criticism is that it only really applies to the people who raise it. Not everybody goes into Christmas thinking "Oh, I can't wait to get all the toys!" children might, but they're children so that's okay, but to anyone older than fifteen Christmas will be a lot more than that. If you think people enjoy Christmas only for the fact that people give them loads of stuff, then that's probably because you can't see any value in the holiday beside the gifts. The best thing, for me (and I'm sure many others) is the buying of gifts for all of your family and friends. Either buying what they've told you they would like, or using your imagination to think up an awesome gift for people is a truly wonderful part of the holiday season. What Christmas is, is a celebration of nostalgia and love for others. Everyone has their own little routine for Christmas, one which they've likely had for years, we look forward to it because it reminds us of Christmases from the past, which we really enjoyed and will continue to enjoy as we celebrate it every year... Christmas is not a celebration of greed, and anybody who claims that it is is must be awfully pessimistic. _ Another suggestion for Christmastime reading today! You may remember that, about a month ago, I wrote a review of the novel Spencer's Mountain by Earl Hamner Jr. (which happens to be my favourite book), The Homecoming is a sequel to that book… Or at least, I think it is. Some things in it seem to suggest (to me) that it takes place after the events of the first novel, while others seem to suggest that it is, in fact, a prequel. But whether it is a prequel or a sequel is not important, what is important is that this is an enjoyable Christmas read.
Clay Spenser is supposed to be home on Christmas Eve afternoon so that he can be spending Christmas day with his family, however as time passes by and the weather gets worse and worse, Clay doesn’t seem to be coming home… As such, Olivia (his wife) sends their son Clay-Boy out to find him while she stays at home and tends to his many brothers and sisters. That’s the general premise of the book, a very simple one too, but still one which makes a very enjoyable read! Also, I think I should add, as Hamner says at the start of the novel, that this is very loosely based on true events. As Clay-Boy travels around his hometown, we meet a variety of different characters all of whom are easily imaginable and loveable! As a little side note, many of these characters would later be seen in the TV series The Waltons which started with a movie length adaptation of The Homecoming. It’s a very nice read and would be especially enjoyable if read in the lead up to Christmas! Hamner’s writing style is one which is very easy to get into, and the fact that this is also quite a short novel means that this would be a nice bit of light reading for anybody! Basically, this book is a joy! 9/10 (Buy it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Homecoming-Earl-Hamner-Jr/dp/089966945X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323375424&sr=8-1) _ Just a quick little shout out for today's entry. Basically, the Elf Yourself page is a fun little site where you can make festive music videos featuring your family and friends. It really can be quite amusing, so if you ever have a free few minutes on your hands I suggest you try elfing yourself and your friends, I hope you'll enjoy it!
Link _ For the second day of my Trusty Water Advent Calendar, I will be reviewing a lesser known Christmas classic novel. Letters to Father Christmas is a series of letters written by J.R.R. Tolkien (as Father Christmas) to his children. Of course, Tolkien is best known for writing the Lord of the Rings series, which is something that I have, unfortunately, never gotten around to reading (yet). I do know though that he likes to create large worlds with many intricate details to them, and this book is no exception. We learn a little more about Father Christmas' world with each new letter, but there are never any contradictions or anything and the whole thing is internally coherent, which shows just how much care Tolkien put into these things.
One of my personal favourite things about the book the relationship between Father Christmas and The North Polar Bear, they'd always be getting each other into crazy situations that're often very funny. Towards the end, some young relations of The North Polar Bear come to stay with them, causing even more mayhem, and at one point you even have a race of malicious goblins that live in a huge cave network underground, which is pretty cool. But, aside from the letters featuring these lovely stories, Tolkien spent a lot of time on every single letter, they're all written in a very archaic looking fancy font, which is all jittery when Father Christmas is shivering! If this ever proves to be too difficult for you to read, every letter is typed normally beside the letters, so that won't be a problem. Every letter is accompanied by at least one beautifully illustrated picture. If the stories themselves don't get you into the Christmas spirit (which is VERY unlikely) these colourful hand drawn pictures of the North Pole's wintery landscape certainly will! They're all very fantastical images, which also help you to learn about the world of Father Christmas (for example, you get a picture of his house, or pictures of things that're found painted on cave walls). So this is a perfect Christmas book for people of any age, and it really is a highly sentimental book. There's no ending of the story for the characters, it just ends, and that's when the innocence of childhood was gone from all the Tolkien children... Which is quite sad I think. An amazing book really, 9/10 (Buy it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Letters-Father-Christmas-J-Tolkien/dp/0007280491/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322837636&sr=8-1) |
About the AuthorAdam Randall is the author of the blog. Is he a good or bad writer? Who knows? Why not read a few entries and make a decision! New to this Site?
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