CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
Every family celebrates Christmas their own way. After thirteen years together, Daryl and I have developed a few household customs. Here’s a few: • Daryl hadn’t seen the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street until our first Christmas together. Now he watches it every year.
• Rhino’s Happy Holiday Hearth DVD is modeled after the annual WPIX Yule Log broadcast. The 1960’s Christmas music is great but most of the time we opt for the “crackling fire” audio track because it really warms up the apartment. (You can download a version for your computer at www.theyulelog.com.)
• Fresh cranberry sauce only requires a cup of water, a cup of sugar and a couple of minutes so it’s my annual contribution to the Christmas dinner. December also means delicious biscotti from DiCamillo Bakery.
• Daryl puts a lot of time into decorating the tree so we are always looking for new ornaments. The two of us head to Beverly Hills to visit Saks, Neiman Marcus and the like in search of unique holiday additions.
• There are three Disney cartoons that Daryl watches annually: Mickey’s Christmas Carol, Pluto’s Christmas Tree and the Once Upon A Wintertime segment from Melody Time.
HOLIDAY MUSIC
My family’s Christmas albums consisted of Herb Alpert, Barbra Streisand and some Firestone collections. Boy, have things changed. The last time Daryl and I counted, we had 150 holiday CDs with a little something for everyone: squawky medieval carols, sacred choral music, acoustic Appalachian, and lots of mid-century pop standards.
I thought we had gone overboard until I stumbled onto the Christmas Yule Blog hosted by Fort Wayne’s Rob Martinez. This guy is admittedly obsessed with documenting every Christmas recording in existence, regardless of its merit. Equally obsessive but more focused is Last-Christmas.com. This is your one-stop reference for all versions of George Michael’s “Last Christmas.” There are more than 300 versions that can be searched by artist or genre including accordion, polka, and metal.
If you’ve ever wondered what Alvin, Simon and Theodore sounded like before their vocals were sped up for “The Chipmunk Song” click on this YouTube clip.
CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORKDaryl loves New York during the holidays and this year he got to share the experience with his mother Rita and sister Annette. Neither had been before so Daryl was determined to cram as much into three days as he could without running them ragged.
They stayed in an 1871 Victorian townhouse on the Upper East Side, within walking distance to many of the sites Daryl planned to take them. They shopped and lunched at Bloomingdales, gazed at the diamonds in Tiffany's, played with the toys in FAO Schwarz, enjoyed makeovers at Henri Bendel, and went to Macy's to peek in on Kris Kringle.
The window displays at Saks Fifth Avenue and the tree at Rockefeller Plaza were highlights. Walking through Times Square, seeing the Chrysler building, and riding the subway were part of the tour. The stagehand strike had been resolved the weekend before they arrived so Rita and Annette got to see The Drowsy Chaperone, their first Broadway show. The three of them strolled through a chilly Central Park and spent their final morning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The weekend went very smoothly and the only real complaint anyone had was that there wasn’t more time. There were two especially magical moments. One happened on the first day when the three of them rounded Fifth Avenue and saw The Plaza Hotel. It started to snow. Welcome to Christmas in New York!
The second happened when Daryl asked Annette what she thought of the Big Apple. She thanked him and said, "It’s even better than I expected."
RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR
On his 100 Things to Do Before I Die list, Daryl got to check off “See The Rockettes and the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show.” It was pure luck that he got to see the 75th Anniversary edition. He and his family enjoyed the 90-minute trip through some of the greatest hits in the show’s history. Radio City has every right to call the show a spectacular. On what other stage can you see a four-story Toy Shop, a working double-decker bus, fifty dancing Santas, and an all-teddy bear version of The Nutcracker? And that's only half the show.
The lineup changes a little every year, but there are two segments that have appeared in every production since 1933: The March of the Wooden Toy Soldiers—which ends with The Rockettes collapsing on each other lik dominoes—and The Living Nativity which boasts more live animals than Old MacDonald’s farm.
A WEDDING
The same weekend that Daryl was in The City That Never Sleeps, I was in Orlando for my nephew Mathew’s wedding. I was just getting used to him voting and owning property when he announced his engagement to Kristen. Time marches on.
The lovely ceremony was followed by a wonderful celebration at which the bride and groom were formally introduced with U2’s Beautiful Day. I’ve heard the song twice since my trip and can’t help but fondly think of Mathew and Kristen’s arrival at the party. (Does that mean I’m stuck in a moment I can’t get out of?)
The reception was a beautiful outdoor affair held at a private lake house near Hontoon Island State Park. There were fun touches like a photo booth and a candy bar. Not a lone Milky Way, mind you, it was an entire station of chocolate, taffy, bubble gum and other confections that guests were encouraged to box up and take home. We graciously obliged. (Snapshot taken by my sister Karen.)
The evening function coincided with a local Christmas parade. During dinner we were treated to a flotilla of brightly-lit boats sailing by the party. It was a perfectly unexpected coincidence that only added to the festivities. I hope Mathew and Kristen’s life together is full of happy surprises like this one.
It’s no surprise that it was such a great event. Kristen started her own wedding planning company a while back called An Affair to Remember. She obviously knows her stuff because the location, the menu, the DJ and everything else were terrific. Her photographer, Karla Fountain was top-notch, too. Check out the wedding and travel shots on her site.
THREE PEOPLE/FOUR PARKS
The Monday after the wedding, friends Juliet and Nate took me to all four Disney parks to see what had been added since I moved from Orlando in 2005. They drafted a plan based on the attractions and park hours which left us time to do a few extras like the revamped Spaceship Earth. The final tally:
We drove from DAK to Epcot and parked the car. We took the monorail to MK and rode a bus to DMGM. We finished the day off by walking back to Epcot. It was the perfect, leisurely end to a terrific day filled laughter and much craziness. Thank you, Nate and Juliet!FLORIDA STUFF
I really enjoyed being home again. Hanging out with my Mom, seeing my sisters Gail, Susie and Karen and their respective families was awesome. Visiting with friends and co-workers was great, too, but I didn’t come close to seeing everybody on my list. How does Santa do it every year?
My family and I went to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and then Karen invited me to Universal’s Islands of Adventure for a day of roller coasters with nephews Tyler & Cameron. It was her first time and even though she doesn’t like heights she went on everything. Her favorite attraction was Spider-Man which we did three times.
Karen and I had a fun evening at the Marketing Holiday Party where we got to see our friend Marge Ann and catch up with former co-workers. The rest of the time, I was at my Mom’s house eating, bird-watching, or working in the yard. It was a great vacation and over way too soon.
BACK IN LA
Daryl and I had a full calendar of visitors, dinners, and get-togethers with friends and family back in LA. Here are a few locations we got to experience:
On the 18th, we had dinner with friends Mark, Ashika and Gauruv at The Bistro Garden at Coldwater. We all enjoyed the atmosphere and dinner but what stays in my mind are the chocolate and pumpkin soufflés we had for dessert. Delicious.
On the 29th, Rob hosted his 40th birthday poolside at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills. This boutique hotel has that mid-century Palm Springs/Miami Beach vibe and offers excellent dining at blue on blue.
On the 30th we were in West Hollywood for an open house at the historic El Mirador hosted by Doug and Richard. This 1929 apartment building is classic Hollywood with Moorish touches like decorative arches inside and Juliet balconies outside. Previous residents include silent film star Marie Prevost, 1930’s film comedian Robert Woolsey and Designing Women star Delta Burke
On the 31st we had lunch with our friends JJ & Adam at Santa Monica’s Cock N Bull pub. We dined on shepherds pie, sausage rolls, fish and chips and hard cider while the staff prepared to ring in the New Year at 4:00pm when 2008 would officially reach London.
SAYING GOODBYE TO 2007
That evening we joined friends at Kim’s house to watch a movie, to see the ball drop in Times Square and to share wishes of love, health and prosperity for the year(s) to come.
We also said goodbye to a few things that 2007 was taking with it: Trader’s Vic Restaurant which closed in March; the wait for the final Harry Potter book which ended in July; our neighborhood Crocodile Café which went dark this Fall; and Daryl’s favorite magazine, House & Garden, which folded this month.
STAR SIGHTINGS
Our last star sighting of the year happened on New Year’s Eve in Santa Monica. While shopping on Montana Avenue, we walked by Leonard Roberts who played DL on Heroes and Forrest Gates on Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
TWO LAST WORDS
In case I don’t say it enough, here’s one last THANK YOU—for reading this update, or for forwarding us yours; for sharing your time, your vacation, your wisdom, your goodwill, your home, or your interests. For being a part of our lives, Daryl and I thank you.
May 2008 be a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year for all of us.
James & Daryl
