Father-Husband-Marketer-Geek

Elf Night is our annual tradition of gathering to watch the classic Will Ferrel film " Elf ". It's our fifth year and this year we had eighteen kids and around twenty or more "bigger kids". We made our traditional pumpkin spice pecan waffles for dinner, and everyone brought some other kind of Elfish treat. It was my son's first Elf Night, and he really enjoyed himself, showing off his almost-crawling skills, singing " Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer " with everyone, and sitting for the annual picture of all the children on the couch. Some people dressed as elves, and almost everyone wears pajamas -- just to set up the imagery for you! It's a great idea for a fun party.

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, ...