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The Art of Getting By has another Christmas themed question up this week.
What would the ingredients be in your recipe for a perfect Christmas?
This was partially answered by Santini and myself on last week’s TITMT. The main ingredient in both of our Perfect Christmases would be family; a full day with the family. Stir in some friends, sprinkle in some classic family recipes, heat to 75 degrees with a fire place, and wrap in some good Christmas Music. It’s important to get the best music possible. A great way to check if you have some bad music is to see if any of the songs ever appeared on Billboard’s Hit lists. If they have, replace with ‘fresher’ music.
Sid’s Perfect Christmas is best served with generous amounts of alcohol, especially wine, and winter ales. A spicy whiskey also works. The Perfect Desert would be to spend a similar day with my wife’s family.
I dunno there are plenty of musical classics that I’m sure have been on a hit list or two that would get plenty of play.
Otherwise that sounds like a good recipe.
Well some of us have more developed pallets than others! (How does one make a ‘snobby’ face?)
Sid pretty much nailed it.
Do you still find that you get a lot of music off of the Billboard charts? I check the charts and I do find some stuff, but it gets harder and harder. I do use some radio stations though in lieu of you know, actually listening to them.:)
Oh no, Janet! You’ve stirred the sleeping music snob in me…
The “no Billboards Christmas music” joke was partially a reference to a terrible CD I was repeatedly subjected to in my youth. My family pretty much had only one Christmas CD that would be played several dozen times each year. It was “Billboards Christmas 1955-present” and it sucked. It contains most of my least favorite Christmas songs like “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree”. And who can forget that steaming pile “Nuttin’ For Christmas”.
I’ve never learned of new music through Billboards in large part due to Christmas. Most of my music comes from noncommercial radio. KCRW, a public radio station in San Monica, CA is my current favorite. I listen to them almost daily via the internet. 99.9 The Electric Front has some great stuff as well, as does Groove Salad on Soma FM. All of these can be listen to online via various means. Soma FM even has an all-Christmas music station every year.
I would garnish with a good winter hike in the early morning of Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Sid loves Billboard hits, he is just acting tough because he knows chop reads this! Stop pretending Sid, you did put the damn CD on every year!
Don’t worry Santini, Sid ain’t fooling anybody. But I have to agree to a point with sid. Actually, Bridget and I have talked about this before. The real classic Christmas songs I honestly can’t get enough of (at Christmas time; i.e., not a lick before Thanksgiving is over). I’m a sucker for anything Bing Crosby does including his whole Christmas album namely, White Christmas. Other’s that I really enjoy are the Carpenter’s and the John Denver & Muppets Christmas albums. All of these showcase the real good classic songs sung with killer vocals and/or funness (i.e., Miss Piggy). That music is a big part of Christmas for me…ohh and I can’t leave out “Santa Baby”. But as for those crappy ‘steaming piles’ that sid was talking about I totally agree. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree is probably the worst song ever. And everytime I hear Jingle Bell rock I seriously want blow something up.
So good Christmas music, a nice toasty fire, family, friends, food, and an endless supply of hot chocolate would make an ideal Christmas for me. Oh, and I’ll take that hike too! (and maybe a little nerf street football)
There are a few Billboard Hits that would also make my list but seeing as I live with Sid I have sacraficed my White Christmas in exchange for something Sid won’t complain through namely, A Festive Baroque Christmas and a Medieval Christmas Chants.
Some singing Muppet: So bring us some figgy pudding…
Miss Piggy: Piggy pudding?!
SSM: No, figgy, with figs.
MP: Oh.
SSM: (and bacon)
MP: What?!
I like Jingle Bell Rock. Screw you guys.
And no one’s mentioned Feliz Navidad, which is seriously one of my favorites.
Feliz Navidad? really? yikes. oh oh: Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer!!! Awesome. I could listen to that in July.
“And no one’s mentioned Feliz Navidad, which is seriously one of my favorites.”
If only you had known that before you married her…
You are *ALL missing the greatest Christmas song ever… Dominic the Christmas Donkey!!! he haw, he haw. It is not Christmas without everyone’s favorite donkey!
jackass
Who the hell is Dominic the Donkey?
Okay I looked it up on youtube. I think it’s cute.
Okay I take that back. It got annoying before the song was even over, and that was the first time I’d ever heard it. Yikes.
Okay, I am with Sid on this one Feliz Navidad and Jingle Bell Rock are both terrible the only thing worse is Afroman’s A Colt 45 Christmas.