It was 83 years ago today that the man who became known as “the voice of Christmas” recorded a classic. The song that he recorded would forever be connected with his name. The song was written by the great Irving Berlin for the film Holiday Inn. Now you know who and what song I am talking about, right?
Bing Crosby – White Christmas.
Bing actually had performed the song once on his radio show – The Kraft Music Hall. That was on Christmas Day 1941 (a few weeks after Pearl Harbor). He didn’t record it until this day in 1942. He recorded it with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra and the Ken Darby Singers for Decca Records. The classic only took 18 minutes to record!!
At first, Crosby did not see anything special about the song. He just said “I don’t think we have any problems with that one, Irving.” In the Marsh/Propes book “Merry Christmas, Baby” it says: “‘White Christmas’ changed Christmas music forever, both by revealing the huge potential market for Christmas songs and by establishing the themes of home and nostalgia that would run through Christmas music evermore.”
Bing’s version would stay atop the charts for 11 straight weeks that year. It would hit the top again at least a dozen more times over the years. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, White Christmas is “the best-selling single of all time” that “was released before the first pop charts. It was listed as the world’s best-selling single in the first-ever Guinness Book of World Records (published in 1955) and—remarkably—still retains the title more than 50 years later.”
The version most often heard today on the radio during the Christmas season is the 1947 re-recording. The 1942 master was damaged due to frequent use. Crosby re-recorded the track on March 19, 1947, accompanied again by the Trotter Orchestra and the Darby Singers, with every effort made to reproduce the original recording session. However, it is easy to hear that it is a rerecording because of the addition of other instruments.
Hello, my friends. When I last blogged, we were gearing up for a big snow storm. While we didn’t get as much as they were saying, roads were still dangerous and as a bonus we got our white Christmas. I had to laugh at something I saw on Facebook, and had to share here. This pretty much sums up every winter storm forecast here in Michigan:
Snow was to move in on Thursday night and into Friday morning. Many patients called to cancel their appointments that night, so because of low volume, I got to stay home. It was nice to have extra family time. It is very rare to get that time.
I had already taken Friday off. Usually my boys will come over and spend the night and we do Christmas Eve morning as our “Christmas.” Because of the storm, we decided it was best to postpone things until the Monday after Christmas.
On Christmas Eve night, we usually go to Crossroads Village and do the drive through light display. It’s not too far from us and it is always a beautiful sight. On certain nights, you can board the train and see more lights, but the drive through is neat because you get to go through the little village. They pipe Christmas music through the speakers and every thing is just beautiful.
We got the kids dressed and ventured out. It didn’t take long to see just how bad the roads were. We hadn’t been out since the storm, but the roads were just awful. We take many back roads to get there and the wind was blowing across the fields and made the roads solid sheets of ice. It was actually pretty scary. I would have kept driving, but Sam told me to turn around and go back home. That’s what we did.
Earlier in the day we made cookies for Santa. Ella told Sam that Santa should drink milk from a “fancy” cup, so we put it in a wine glass. A few years ago, Sam’s sister Grace (who passed away earlier this year) made a Christmas plate. We have decided that as part of our Christmas tradition, Santa’s cookies would always be put on on that plate.
We placed the cookies on the plate and started to get things ready for the rest of the evening. We had to get the kids in their Christmas pajamas, they had to brush their teeth, and Santa had to get ready to build some stuff. After walking to the living room to gather up a few things, I walked back in the kitchen to see Andrew standing on Ella’s step stool – eating Santa’s cookies!!! Smart kid!
Once the kids were in bed, I went to work. I only had to put together a couple things, and I love being Santa. Ella got a Frozen Castle (she calls it the Elsa and Anna castle) and Andrew got a vacuum (he is all about the vacuum when we clean). They also each got a book from Santa and the rest of the gifts were from mom and dad.
It was nice to see the tree lit, with presents under it, and the baby gate out of the way!!
Honestly, I anticipated that Ella would be the first one up on Christmas morning, but instead, it was Andrew. We actually had to go in and wake Ella up. She seemed uninterested in getting up until we reminded her that it was Christmas and Santa had come.
Andrew loved his vacuum and played with it all morning. It was a hoot to see him “cleaning” the rug!
Ella loved her princess castle and when she got a princess dress, too, she had to put it on!
She was so into it and had all her princesses playing on the castle. I was lucky enough to capture this very cool picture of her playing –
I just love it! She had no idea I was taking this.
We were invited to Sam’s folks for Christmas dinner, which is always nice. My mother-in-law always puts out a big spread with ham, turkey, scalloped or potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and a ton of desserts. My nieces and nephew were there, so the kids all got to play together. It’s always kind of crazy with all of Sam’s siblings there, so I neglected to get any pictures.
Andrew gave us a memorable moment while we were there. Sam’s folks have one of those thin Christmas trees. Andrew, of course, is always curious. While my back was to him, he grabbed something on the tree (probably the string of lights) and started pulling. Naturally, the entire tree came crashing down on top of him!! When I turned around I couldn’t even see him! Thankfully, only one ornament broke. That boy is something else!!
I’m not sure when we left but it was later in the evening and Sam and I were talking about being a bit hungry. We decided to be like the Christmas Story family and we ordered some Chinese food and grabbed McDonald’s for the kids. As crazy as it sounds, we may need to do that every year because it was delicious.
On Monday, the boys came over in the morning. I made up some chocolate chip pancakes, sausage links, eggs, toast, and coffee for me. Ella and Andrew don’t see their big brothers often enough, but they seemed glad to see them.
My dad and Rose came over a bit later and I was glad that my dad got to see all his grandchildren. He brought Ella a Little People Barbie apartment, which is huge and now serves as a “neighbor” to Elsa and Anna’s castle. He brought Andrew some waffle blocks and a bowling set. The boys are older now, so the each got an envelope with cash, much like his mother (my grandma) used to give my brother and I.
As crazy as it was to get everyone together, I am so glad to have gotten this picture with my dad, Rose, and the kids.
As I stated in my Facebook post, it is never long enough when we get together, but I do treasure the time with them.
I am so glad to have had time with my wife, my children and my dad over the holidays. God willing, we will all be able to do it again next year.
It will be a white Christmas for us this year! Thanks to the winter storm that is rolling through. Snow continues to fall and the warning remains in effect until after midnight.
I was a bit worried that I would be driving home in the middle of the storm this morning. I knew that road conditions were going to be awful. Thankfully, enough people cancelled their appointments that I got to stay home.
It has been nice to be with my family. Earlier today, Ella and I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas then I made chocolate chip waffles for breakfast. Afterward, I whipped up some chocolate chip cookies – for Santa.
Sam got all the gift wrapping done. The kids are down for a nap. I have some laundry to fold, dishes to wash, and a few things that need cleaning.
I didn’t write anything ahead for the holidays. It’s been fairly busy here. However, I figured while it was quiet, I would take this opportunity to say thank you for following my blog. I am so glad to connect with you here. Thank you for sharing yourself with me through your writings. Even though we have never met face to face, I feel as though I know you.
From my family to yours, I wish you the Merriest Christmas. I wish you a holiday season full of many blessings, family, and friends. I wish you peace and joy. I wish you health and happiness in the new year.
Thank you again, my friend. May God bless us all in the time ahead.
I’ve seen a couple bloggers I follow post this in one way, shape or form. I thought it would be a quick and fun thing to do. Two options are presented – you have to pick one. You are supposed to tag someone else to answer the questions, but I won’t do that. Feel free to chime in with whatever you want in the comments, if you wish.
UPDATE: After being tagged by Dave and Lisa (and seeing their responses), I thought I should go through and maybe expand on my brief answers).
Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Christmas Eve has always been the bigger day in my family for as long as I can remember. I’m not saying Christmas Day is not as important, but Eve was just always the bigger celebration. We spent every Christmas Eve with my paternal grandparents. It was the Italian side of the family and there was always plenty of food, desserts and family.
We’d have an early dinner (and graze throughout the remainder of the night), and the adults would play pinochle while us kids played with toys, watched videos, or played video games. I would say many of my favorite Christmas memories stem from those Christmas Eves!
Real or Fake Tree?
I have never had a real tree. I know they smell wonderful, but the upkeep of them and the fear or a fire starting has me liking the fake one. When visiting family or friends with a real tree, I always thought they looked great. I was often wowed by the size of some of the trees.
The tree we have at our house now was left by the previous owner. Sam has been using it every year. It has lights on it already, but there is a short in the wires. So we just string a bunch of lights on it separately. For as old as it is, it still looks very full. We talked about getting a new tree this year, but once this one was up, I remember thinking it still looks good.
Snow Globe or Snowflakes?
I think snow globes are nice. We have one that plays music. However, nothing beats real snowflakes falling. I have always enjoyed watching it snow. There is something peaceful about it. Even when it is really coming down, I still find it calming. Unless, of course, I am driving!
Sledding or Ice Skating?
I tried to ice skate once. Once! I can’t do it. I can’t roller skate either. I love sledding. I love taking the kids around on a sled. There is a small hill near us that I can’t wait to take them to.
Before my divorce, we lived at the end of a cul de sac. When they would plow our street, they always just pushed it all to the end. This made a wonderful hill for the boys to sled down. There was also a big hill at one of the parks that we would go to and sled.
I need to go buy a good two person sled this year so I can pull the kids around on it, or ride down a hill with one of them in it with me.
Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Egg Nog hands down. I know a lot of people hate it, but it has long been a favorite of mine. I have blogged about this before, but my grandma used to by this instant egg nog in a pouch and make it. My brother and I loved that!
One year I found a custard egg nog that was absolutely delicious. I wish I could find it. It came in a container that looked like a nutcracker. The only thing I cannot do is low fat egg nog. There is something about it that tastes different.
Photo Taken In Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Do It Yourself Gift or Store Bought Gift?
I guess it depends. Gifts that were made by my kids will always mean more to me than store bought gifts. Either one works, as long as there is some though involved. My wife is the best gift giver and always seems to be able to find just the right gift for me. I wish I had that talent! I don’t know that my gifts to her, no matter how much I thought about it, are as good as the ones she has gotten for me.
Something Red or Something Green?
This is a stupid question. Christmas colors are red and green. A co-worker said “Green can be St. Patrick’s Day, so you have to pick red!” I don’t really know why you have to pick one at all. They go so well together.
Giving Gifts or Getting Gifts?
Personally, I think there is more joy in giving them than getting them. I have told my wife many times that I don’t need anything. I never really understood why my dad would say he didn’t want anything when I was a kid. Today I understand. While it is nice to receive a gift, I just get more joy out of actually giving one to someone.
White Christmas or No Snow?
White Christmas without a doubt. I think that snow just adds to the magic of the day. There is a certain sadness that I get when there is no snow on Christmas. I’m happy with just a dusting, or even flurries. There just has to be a little snow. I really don’t know how people in the south deal with it. When I hear “Let it Snow,” “Winter Wonderland,” or “White Christmas,” I immediately picture snow on the ground. Do they even play those songs in Texas or Mexico? LOL
Colored Lights or White Lights?
I think in certain situations white lights (or any other single color) can look very pretty. However, there is something about having the variety of colors that seems more festive to me.
I recently took the kids to Menards and walked through the Christmas decorations aisles. There are trees that look very nice with all one color – blue, green, or white. I am not sure I could do my tree that way. Perhaps I would do outdoor decorations that way, but on the tree they just have to be multi-colored.
Celebrating at Home or Celebrating Away From Home?
There is a similar question that asks whether you would rather host Christmas or go visiting. There are perks to both. I love being at home in PJ’s while the kids open gifts. I love being able to have breakfast and just watch them enjoy the day. At the same time, celebrating with family at a get together outside of the house is just as fun. Hosting is a bit much for me – too much responsibility.
Opening Gifts One at a Time or Opening All At Once?
We have always done them one at a time. I think it is important to see the receiver’s reactions to the gift they get. If everyone is opening all at once, you miss so much. Besides, I’m a picture taker. I like to capture reactions to gifts. One at a time makes that a whole lot easier. I also think that opening gifts one at a time allows the rest of the family to be joyful for you and what you received.
Gift Wrap or Gift Bags?
I suck at wrapping. I always let Sam do it. If I was responsible for wrapping – everything would be in bags! I think there is something to be said about a beautifully wrapped present under the tree. Wrap it is.
My mother was an amazing gift wrapper. I remember how she’d measure the paper on the box, skillfully slid the scissors along the paper to cut it, and used minimal amounts of tape to wrap something. My kids used to hate gifts I wrapped because I was using a LOT of tape. The corners were never perfect, the paper was never tight around the box, and it really was a shoddy job when I was the wrapper.
Wrap master – I was not.
Angel or Star Topper?
I am not sure we ever had an angel on the top of our tree. It was usually a star or no topper at all. Now, we have this cute snowman that sits on the top, which I really like a lot. I saw somewhere online a snowman topper that makes it look like the snowman is stuck in the tree. That would be very cool. I also saw on Facebook an ad for the Abominable Snow Monster from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer that you can put on the top of the tree. I’d get that too!
Wreath or Garland?
I don’t even know how these two relate to each other. My mom used garland all the time around the tree and would string it up on the walls and such. It’s pretty, but we don’t use it. I think a wreath can be very festive. I like them both.
We don’t have either at our house. The garland above isn’t the garland I remember. Mom and dad used to have gold or silver garland that was placed all over the house. Even little pieces of the stuff wound up somewhere. It seemed to be every where in the house.
Santa Wraps Gifts or Santa Leaves Gifts Unwrapped?
Growing up, gifts were always left unwrapped from Santa. The wrapped gifts were from mom and dad. I kinda like that. I know know why my folks were always so tired on Christmas morning. They were up the night before putting toys together! There were plenty of nights we didn’t get home from my grandmas until way after midnight. This freaked us out because all kids think that Santa comes at exactly midnight. If my dad had a dollar for every time he told us, “Don’t worry, Santa will come!” he would be a rich man!
Matching Pajamas or Ugly Sweaters?
As corny as it sounds, I think it can be very cute to have matching PJ’s. The kids had matching jammies for pictures. I think if we had extra money, we’d have bought matching ones for Sam and I. Ugly Sweaters are a party thing. I have one and I plan on wearing it to every ugly sweater party I every attend. LOL I need to get my money’s worth.
Cash or Gift Cards?
This depends. I know my son wants a video game this year. I can’t afford to buy it for him, but I will get him a gift card towards it. I think many folks would love cash, but I usually use any cash I get to pay bills. Not very Christmasy. “Hey, Pop. Thanks for helping me with the electric bill this year!” LOL
Mariah Carey or Michael Buble’?
Mr. Buble’! I love how he has brought back some of the great standards. I only really like the one Mariah Carey song, and they play it so much now it just drives me crazy. Buble’ has many great takes on holiday standards. He’s no Bing, Frank or Dean, but he still is one that I enjoy listening too!
Gloves or Mittens?
Gloves! I never cared for mittens. I never felt like my hands worked properly in them. LOL!
Grinch or Charlie Brown?
Charlie Brown! The Grinch song is over played. There are so many reasons why Charlie Brown gets my vote. Linus’ speech tops the list!
It was pointed out to me that the Grinch does come around and loves Christmas much like Scrooge does. True – but Charlie Brown still wins this battle.
Turkey or Ham?
Neither! On Christmas, it is always ravioli for me!! It’s a Christmas Eve Tradition!!
There were many other choices, but I think that is enough for now.
How would you answer “This or That?” Do you have two choices you’d like me to answer?
Bing Crosby could sing “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” all he wanted last week, but it was never going to happen here in Michigan. The weatherman told us over and over to expect record high temperatures. Hell, it was colder on Halloween and Thanksgiving than it was on Christmas! Maybe that is why it didn’t feel like Christmas to me. I’m not sure.
I worked Sunday night and had Monday night off. Sam had to work Monday night, so it was going to be just me and the boys. I picked them up around 6pm, and then we stopped to pick up Dimitri’s new glasses. We then met my aunt for dinner at Cracker Barrel, where she gave the boys their Christmas gifts. We had a great meal and the boys were glad to see her.
We went home and they were allowed to open up one gift – their Christmas Eve pajamas. I always thought this was a cool idea. We never really did this growing up in our house (which explains why some of the pajamas I am wearing in old pictures are just plain embarrassing!), but I wish we had. They were excited for presents in the morning! They were in bed before midnight, which was a challenge! Once they were in bed, I filled their stockings and added a couple gifts under the tree.
We waited for Sam to get home and we opened presents. The boys had got Sam a Cinnamon candle (she loves the smell of cinnamon), and a book she had mentioned wanting. They were excited to see some of the very cool T-shirts we bought them. They were less than thrilled with new underwear (no surprise there). I think they enjoyed the books we bought (even though we had the right title but wrong book for Dimitri). Dante’ was happy with his new controller for the Switch he has, and Dimitri was happy we have a new game to play at the house.
I made a huge breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast. I also made cinnamon rolls. After breakfast, Sam (who had worked all night) had to lay down to sleep. Knowing that I had to take the kids home at 6, and that they were having dinner when they got home, I made an early “dinner” of ravioli and garlic bread. It was nice. In the 24 hours I had them, I had some great conversation with both of them, together and separately. Those moments are so special to me. The conversations get deeper every year – a constant reminder that they are growing up and becoming men. Hugging them goodbye in their driveway was a bit harder than normal.
Sam texted me and asked if we might have a “date night” Christmas Eve. We were going to grab dinner and drive around looking at Christmas lights. Well, there wasn’t much open at 7pm on Christmas Eve! We went to Crossroads Village/Huckleberry Railroad to experience their “drive thru” light display. Every Christmas they have a wonderful train ride with great Christmas decorations and lights. When the train is not running, they open up for the “drive thru”. For $5 a car, you drive through the village, which is lit up beautifully. The trees and buildings have tons of lights on them! There are huge light displays as you drive through, too. It doesn’t take very long, maybe 15 minutes, to get through, but it is always worth the trip.
After seeing the lights, we tried to find somewhere to eat, but almost everything was closed. Our Christmas Eve dinner consisted of two Big Mac meals at McDonald’s! Neither one of us really wanted to cook at home. We came home and sat on the couch. We watched A Christmas Story and How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The baby is moving all over the place and I could feel her moving and kicking when I put my hand on her belly. It was a long day, and I think we both dozed off a bit and slept on each other.
Christmas morning, my best friend since 2nd grade, Jeff, was in the area dropping his daughter off to see her mom and her grandma. He brought over a pound of bacon and we had pancakes, bacon and coffee. Always love when I get to spend time with him. We chatted for a few hours and then we had to get ready to go to Sam’s sister’s house. We needed to bring desserts, so I shipped up a batch of my grandma’s chocolate chip cookies.
Dinner was at 3 and we had turkey, ham, mac and cheese, potatoes, and loads of desserts. Some highlights from the afternoon included watching Sam get down on the floor to color with my nieces in their coloring book, and holding my nephew. It’s been a while since I have rocked a baby to sleep, but as much as he fought it, I was able to get him to sleep. It was neat to think that I’ll be doing that with my daughter in less than two months!!
I had to go to the radio station and record a show afterwards. It took a little longer than normal, so when I was finished we were hungry again. After watching A Christmas Story, we joked that we would probably be having Chinese food for dinner like they did. There was a Chinese place nearby that my son said is fantastic, so we drove over there. Chinese places on Christmas a happening!!! The place was packed. They told us there was at least an hour wait, so we figured we’d just go to the place by our house. It was busy, too! Usually when we call, food is ready in 10 minutes. Christmas Day, however, the wait was like 25 minutes. I’m glad we called it in – it was ready when we got there and we took it home to eat at home.
I found myself staring at the Christmas tree lights from the couch after we ate. Lost in thought. I don’t really know that I was thinking about anything in particular. I may have been thinking about past Christmases. I may have been thinking about future ones. I could have been thinking about those people who have passed away and are no longer here to celebrate with us. I don’t really remember the exact thoughts. I am sure that it was probably a mixture of all of those things. One thing is for sure, it did not feel like Christmas to me at all.
My brother-in-law posted on Facebook that this was the “least Christmasy Christmas ever”. The comments that followed were almost all in agreement. I tend to feel the same way. It wasn’t fun to shop for presents. Sam and I opted to not buy anything for each other. We have all of this work to do on the baby’s room that just isn’t getting done because I am working so much. My work schedule has been such a crazy mess with my real job and the radio jobs.
Yes, I watched my favorite Christmas specials, watched my favorite Christmas movies, listened to classic Christmas old radio shows, and read A Christmas Carol! I listened to Christmas music on the radio, played it on the radio, and sang along with the boys. Then, as I mentioned at the start of this blog, there was the spring-like weather. It was just really hard to get into the spirit this year.
Maybe I just need a do over when the snow arrives? I don’t know. So many thoughts running through my head tonight, and none of them really make any sense. I’ve been without my “to blog” notebook for a few days…normally I jot thoughts down there. Looks like I need a few minutes to myself to think and sort out my thoughts ….
Bing Crosby could sing “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” all he wanted last week, but it was never going to happen here in Michigan. The weatherman told us over and over to expect record high temperatures. Hell, it was colder on Halloween and Thanksgiving than it was on Christmas! Maybe that is why it didn’t feel like Christmas to me. I’m not sure.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 