Off-Topic: The Top 5 Christmas Specials

They were called Christmas "specials" because they always were...special. Whether it was the stop-motion animation as in "Rudolph", the familiar music of "Charlie Brown" or the hilarity of the Burgermeister, everyone 35 years and up surely remembers these television shows as events that we used to watch every year.

#1: A Charlie Brown Christmas
Religion! Humor! Greed! Music! A greek play? No, just the pinnacle of Christmas animation and of Charles Schulz' work. The soundtrack alone is worthy of much praise. Who hasn't has a "Charlie Brown" tree at one point or another? Who hasn't questioned the commercialism of christmas once in their lives? Most importantly, the film answers, "What is the true meaning of Christmas?"

#2: Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer
This is one of those classic claymation specials that our kids will end up watching every year and then pass on down to their kids. Now that it's available on DVD, though, it's possible the annual event of it appearing on television will probably fade away (hope not).

#3: How The Grinch Stole Christmas
We're not talking Jim Carrey does the Grinch-on-acid here...we're talking animated classic - the best thing is there is no musical interlude where Cindy Lou Who sings "Where are you, Christmas?". From the Roast Beast to the Whoville choir to Boris Karloff, this is a masterpiece from start to finish. No filler, no fluff, no garbage chute.

#4: The Year Without a Santa Claus
"I'm mister heat mizer...I'm mister hundred and one..." is one of the most memorable sequences ever in this genre. Other famous characters introduced were the Snow Mizer, Mother Nature, and Jingle Bells. It also had a mister and mrs. Claus, of course, and, hmm..you have to wonder if the metal band that released a song named "Southtown" named it after the fictional town in this special. ;-)

#5: Santa Claus is coming to town
It's Christmas in Sombertown and the Burgermeister Meisterburger wants nothing to do with toys. Kris Kringle must not only deal with this, but also a disgruntled wizard named Winter. Will Kris somehow deliver the toys? Only Rankin-Bass knows for sure.

Find the Department 56 versions of these items here:

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The year without a Santa Claus

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

A Couple's Wintery Village Scenes

Showing that just because Christmas is over, doesn't mean it's time to take down your snowy scenes...I found this article in the Villages Daily Sun : "Walking in a winter wonderland takes on new meaning when anyone enters the home of Don and Lorraine Crowley. The couple have snowy scenes from the North Pole and Elfland set up in the living room, while the garage is filled with a huge Christmas in the City display, complete with streets, bridges and a baseball park. But for Lorraine, president of the Tri-County Department 56 Collector’s Club, the displays are nothing out of the ordinary, considering many of the club members have similar displays in their own homes. “Everybody has different ways of displaying it,” Lorraine said of the Department 56 collectibles. “You find different things. When somebody comes up with a unique idea, you try and share it. It’s always nice to see somebody do something different.” ... click here to read the rest of the article

Rest in Peace, Stan

A dark cloud formed over Manhattan yesterday, and just as suddenly, a bright light shine through the clouds as the sky was ripped from the inside out by thousands of legendary heroes, assembling to pay homage to their Creator and his aged typewriter. As each keystroke landed with a thud, the letters screamed out as loudly as they could, "Excelsior!”, one last time. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/stan-lee-photos-marvel-comics_us_5be9e7d9e4b044bbb1a77969

Tomorrow is Labor Day, Next Up is Halloween!

Hooked on Department 56 has a great article on tips for creating your halloween village . The article features tips and informative links on all of the wonderful and scary options for outfitting your decorative halloween villages, including haunted sounds, spooky lights, and flying witches. The story also features information about The 2008 Haunted Rails Engine & Coal Car, and Rickety Railroad Station, two of Department 56's Halloween village pieces created to mark the ten year anniversary of D56 Halloween. While the train itself is ceramic and non-working, you still get the feel of the haunted railroad. The also is not limited to just D56, as it also mentions Disney Villains from Hawthorne Village. An excerpt from the story: "In 1998, Department 56 introduced the first Halloween village collection. Department 56 Halloween Village features spooky castles, flying witches, skeletons, and gravediggers. Many of the buildings are lighted with fiber optic light effects, that fli...

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