little yellow apple: Christmas

Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

A Non Traditional Christmas

You can list all the features on the Red Rider BB gun, the lyrics to White Christmas, every prank Kevin pulls, and why the twinkle lights aren't turning on at the Griswold house. Christmas movies: they're apart of the whole December holiday experience. At least for me anyways. Every year I look forward to when my favorite movies are aired on TV and I watch them like I've never seen them before.

But sometimes I like a little variety. And I'm sure you do too. I'm going to break down some lesser known, not often shown, holiday movie favorites of mine. Add them into your Christmas movie watching rotation and you won't be sorry.

Die Hard. Many people forget that this action packed classic takes place at Christmas. With all the blood, guns, and broken glass I can see how that fact could easily be forgotten. Bruce Willis thinks he's attending a typical Christmas party when lo and behold terrorists take over the building and he has to save everyone. Yippie ki yay Merry Christmas!

Unlikely Angel. Dolly Parton stars in this made for TV movie from the 90's. She was a country singer who unexpectedly dies, and is sent back to earth as an angel to perform one last good deed. She's sent to a recently widowed man, who obviously falls in love with Dolly, and she brings he and his kids together for Christmas. It's been a really long time since I've seen this one, but the memory is clear: Dolly and Christmas go together.

A Diva's Christmas Carol. I love VH1's take on the classic Dickens novel. Vanessa Williams plays Ebony Scrooge, a diva pop star, that has bulldozed everyone to get to the top of the industry. Kathy Griffin is one of the ghosts, if that tells you anything about how awesome this movie is, and the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is an episode of Behind the Music, The Ebony Scrooge story. It's hilarious! Sometimes, this gets aired on TV, so if you're lucky you can catch it.

A Muppets Christmas Carol. Most people remember A Muppet Family Christmas, but never this one. A total underdog in the Muppet movie repertoire. They never show it on TV either which totally baffles me too. They just released it on Bluray this year, so just do yourself a favor, buy it and it will quickly become your favorite too. Nobody plays a better Scrooge than Michael Caine and who could be a more charming and loveable Bob Cratchit than Kermit the Frog?

Christmas, Officially

My Dad asked me the other day when did I officially feel like it was Christmas. And while decorating the tree, and listening to Christmas music gives me a healthy dose of holiday cheer, for me, it's watching Charlie Brown Christmas. Every year it gives me the same childlike happiness. I know every "good grief" and every line to Linus' heartfelt meaning of Christmas speech and still I watch intently like I don't know how it all ends. So thank goodness it came on early in the season so I can feel like Christmas has started, officially.

P.S. I'm also a total sucker for tradition, so you know I had to watch this youtube clip immediately after watching the original

Holiday Paper Cuts

Being the die hard Anthro fan that I am, you all know I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit the flagship location of Anthropologie in Philadelphia last week! Located at the corner of Walnut and 18th street the store is in a beautiful 4 story mansion. Beautiful staircases, architecture, and dome ceiling bring a certain old world charm to the store now located inside its walls. I also got a peek at the theme for their holiday windows: beautiful white and blue paper cut silhouettes of wintery wood scenes. Deer, foxes, owls, and strings of Christmas lights work their way into windows of mannequins dressed for a winter wonderland. The picture above is an instagram I snapped inside the Philly store showing off their take on the paper cut holiday magic. Below are images from an album on Anthropologie's facebook page. Make sure you get out and view these intricate works of art in person if you're near an Anthro!

Merry Merry!

Merry Christmas my little apples! Just a few instagram photos from my present wrapping frenzy last night. I am officially done shopping and wrapping, so now I can relax, enjoy a plate of cookies, and spend time with my loved ones. I hope everyone gets the time to take in a long weekend with your family and friends, and if you've been good; that present you've been wishing for under the tree! Happy Holidays. xo

At Home for Christmas

I love my sparkly red deer with his sweet little face and Christmas bell

You'll never find a Christmas tree with white lights in my house, colored lights are a must in my opinion

I love growing my collection of vintage oranaments every year

Don't even try to test my memorization of "Twas the Night Before Christmas." I have almost 30 copies in my collection. Some are the traditional version, others with a funny twist; like my Zombie Night Before Christmas I got last year.

Mine and Aaron's stocking, surprisngly, from Pottery Barn Kids. I love the mix of the gingham and velvet

This year I added the paper chain garland around the tree and really like how it turned out. Every year I think I'll do a sophisticated and styled "theme" tree, but the thought of not putting my Hallmark or handmade ornaments on the tree is like not seeing old friends for the holidays.

Top 10 Christmas Albums, cont.

As promised here is the second half of my top 10 Christmas albums. I hope I've introduced you to something new or sparked a memory of your favorite Christmas song or album. Keep those tunes going as you shop, decorate, wrap presents, or battle holiday traffic. I promise the songs will make things just a little bit better!

#6 Zooey Deschanel's voice can do no wrong. I adore her and M. Ward's folksie take on Christmas songs. They're so catchy and sweet. And I love her outfit on the cover!

#4 I love Brian Setzer's rockabilly take on some holiday classics. You've got to listen to Cactus Christmas and the The Nutcracker Suite medley

#3 Who doesn't own this album? I had this on cassette tape when I was a kid and loved it so much had to have the CD version of it later. This is an ultimate classic

#2 My all time favorite Christmas song is Nat's version of "The Christmas Song." Oh how I love this tune. The rest of this album is just as wonderful

#1 Picking my favorite for this countdown was easy. I could listen to these tracks over and over again and never tire or get annoyed by Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo's voices. There is something so sweet, childlike, and wholesome about this album. I guess because I grew up with The Muppets and it holds a special place in my heart. It just doesn't seem like Christmas without hearing the whole gang sing The Twelve Days of Christmas. (Beaker's day 9 gets me every time!)

Top 10 Christmas Albums

My mother has enforced a strict no listening to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving rule in our household. Usually I'm a good daughter and abide by her rules but this year I just couldn't wait. One of our local radio stations started playing 24/7 Christmas music two weeks before Thanksgiving and I couldn't help but listen in from time to time. So now that it's acceptable to listen to the holiday tunes without shame I'm breaking out my Christmas CD collection and listening to them all the time. So to give you a break from hearing Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree for the 100th time here's a peek at my top 10 favorite Christmas albums for something different.

#10 I had this album as a tape when I was a little kid and wore. it. out! Listening to their high pitched little voices makes me think about Christmas as a little kid

#9 A Charlie Brown Christmas is probably one of my favorite holiday special, and when I hear Christmas Time is Here I can't help thinking of snowflakes falling.

#8 I'm totally in love Kristin Chenoweth's voice. She's got a lot of non-traditional Christmas songs on this album which is a nice change

#7 Michael Buble, his voice is was made to sing Christmas carols.

#6 I love the jazzy feel of HCJ's Christmas album. My mom would listen to this CD constantly when she first bought it. Listening to it makes me think of her and how she always makes our Christmases special

Okay so there's half to get you in the Christmas mood. Check back in next week and I reveal the rest!

Holly Jolly: A Blue Blue Christmas

I love a good non-traditional color scheme for Christmas versus the old fashion red and green. I've seen some new combinations that have caught my eye like grey and yellow, pink and red, silver and purple, but this year I seem to be favoring the blue on blue theme for Christmas. The aquas, navys and Tiffany blues...I am loving it! So I've gathered some of my favorite images to share and perhaps get you thinking outside the box too. What colors do you love for Christmas?

"You'll be doin' alright with your Christmas of white, but I'll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas." -Elvis Presley

Holly Jolly: Christmas Wreaths

Nothing perks up a regular ol' door during the holidays like a wreath. Something about seeing a colorful ring of evergreens, berries, and bows just makes a home more inviting. I'm a sucker for a good wreath and would have every door covered if I had the space. A few years ago I fell in love with a wreath Starbucks had hanging in their stores and practically stalked the store manager at the end of the season to ask if I could have it. Don't worry - it came home with me!

So here's what I'd put on my front door if I had about 10 of them: