Oh, Santa. How do you find the time? You let crying kids sit on your lap. You manufacture toys. You make your list, you check it twice. You deliver better than Fedex. AND you take to the street to get your groove on. I am going to work on my jive steps, so that I can put on my elf outfit, stand on the street corner, and jingle my bells. You gotta love people who find a way to have fun in spite of snow, traffic, and even themselves. Ho ho ho! Santa you go!
That’s not Santa. Voyager 1, the unmanned spacecraft launched in 1977, is now 10 billion miles away from earth and about to leave our solar system and head to interstellar space. (Just to give you an idea of how far that is, the sun is 93 million miles from us.) Onboard the craft is a gold phonograph record (for you kiddies, that’s like a CD but platter size) with the “sounds of earth.” Um, what if aliens don’t have a record player? I mean, do you?
From gold records to Golden Globes. Congrats to friend Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo on continuing to get roles of substance and continuing to give substance to her roles. Her role in The Fighter got her nominated for Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe. Knock ‘em dead, Melissa!
Kiss me, you fool! Mistletoe dates back to Pagan solstice festivals and was once believed to have magical powers of life and fertility because of its ability to remain green and bear fruit in the winter. Given these miraculous properties, the Druids believed that whenever enemies crossed paths beneath the mistletoe, they had to lay down their arms and observe a truce until the next day. Maybe we need some mistletoe for Congress?!
Ugly year for pretty couples. Think: Courtney Cox and David Arquette; Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens; Dexter and that weird sister thing. And now I’m seriously disappointed to hear the axe is falling between Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds after only two years of marriage. There goes the possibility of the most genetically perfect children ever.
Spicy news about a pretty couple: Neve Campbell (Party of Five, anyone?) is dating Isaiah Mustafa, also known as the hottie from the Old Spice commercials, also known as the man your man could smell like. I bet he’s already taken her for a backwards horse ride, baked her a cake, and did a swan dive into her hot tub. Ray Lewis, the Baltimore Ravens’ linebacker has taken over the Old Spice commercials, and they’re equally as hilarious, though not as high on the man-candy meter.
Lapping it up. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, each mall Santa has an average of 7,829 children sit on his lap each year. And there’s at least one Santa who has at least one adult (me). Don’t look at me that way! It’s tradition!
Now, eat your dinner!
Larry King has hung up his suspenders. And it was a star studded final show. Yes, Katie Couric read a poem. Yes, Obama dropped by. So, did Bill Clinton. And, yes, Tony Bennett sang him goodbye. But it was Larry’s son Cannon who stole the show. Watch the highlights here. Or maybe you want to watch David Letterman’s hilarious tribute here.
In 1841, J.W. Parkinson’s store in Philadelphia hired a man to dress up in a “Criscringle” outfit and climb the store’s chimney, but in 1862 Rowland H. Macy set new holiday standards by decking out the window’s of his New York store and introducing “Santa Claus” as a means of snaring Christmas shoppers. Anglicizing the name of the gift-giving gnome known as Sinterklaas (from the Dutch “Sint Nicolaas”) and costuming him in a red cloak was a hit and made the store Santa Claus a holiday staple. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, each mall Santa has an average of 7,829 children sit on his lap each year. That’s a lot of lap!
My friend singer Ann Osmond gave me some mistletoe the other night. (“With fake berries ’cause real berries are poisonous.”) And I looked up the history of Mistletoe. It dates back to Pagan solstice festivals and was once believed to have magical powers of life and fertility because of its ability to remain green and bear fruit in the winter. Given its miraculous properties, the Druids believed that whenever enemies crossed paths beneath the mistletoe, they had to lay down their arms and observe a truce until the next day. Kiss me, you fool!
Nothing like good fun that raises money for charity and makes people stop, stare, and smile. Take the 11th year of Boston’s Santa Speedo Run. This year’s event raised more than $210,000, which will benefit three local charities that are making a huge difference in the lives of youth across Massachusetts – Starlight Children’s Foundation, Play Ball Foundation and Hospitality Homes. What’s your town doing this year to help its charities? We’re in an economic crunch and charities need our help. Instead of running around the block in my Speedo, I’ll write a check.
Last night my ears caught a snippet of Mariah Carey running the scales and octaves on a few Christmas tunes during her “Merry Christmas to You” special on ABC. But I had to put down the Christmas cards and watch when the Mary Lou Retton of vocal gymnastics was doing a duet with her mother, Patricia Carey. No matter what you think of Mariah or Christmas, the duet to Oh, Come, All ye Faithful is definitely worth a listen. What do you think?
If you’re thinking about getting a pet for the holidays, Westminster and I want to encourage you to adopt. I found him in a rescue van outside the Westminster Dog Show 5 years ago and my life was happily enhanced. The Best Friend Animal Society is the country’s largest no-kill sanctuary and has amazing initiatives in animal care and community programs from its Kanab, Utah, headquarters. This year, get a friend to help you decorate. I did. Check out this video of dogs decorating. It’s hilarious with a nice ending.
Photograph by Marilynn K. Yee for NY TimesSunday’s New York Times featured a story by Vivian Toy about the conundrum faced by buildings in New York City in holiday decorating. It is a Herculean effort to be fair and balanced to the variety of beliefs. The piece, The Tinseling of the Lobby, featured the story of my NYC building and a few of my decorating thoughts on how to meet the challenge of making everyone happy. This year to celebrate the 108 children in our building, I put one ornament on the tree for each of them…and everything is silver, which translates to… NO ho ho ho complaints! 
How many have you seen?The Golden Globes nominees were announced. Congrats to all. After I get back from my Christmas TV Tour (Philadelphia TV this a.m. headed to Chicago)… I’m going to spend the holidays going to one movie after another. I certainly won’t be able to see all 270 films that came out this year… so, I’ll settle for this amazing compilation of a special moment from every film. Congrats to the genius behind this. One of the studios should hire him!
