It's (Almost) Christmas Time in the City

It's happening already... there's Christmas music on the radio, stores are announcing their holiday sales, and Christmas movies and specials are starting to appear in the tv listings. Christmas is our favorite holiday here at home and we tend to go all out in decorating and celebrating (the 36 or so boxes of decorations will be making their way in from the garage beginning tomorrow in anticipation of my stepson coming to visit next week - we're planning an early Christmas with him since he won't be here for the holiday!) One of easiest ways for us to immediately get in the holiday spirit is of course, to enjoy our favorite holiday movies or specials on the tube.

One of the teams I'm on at Etsy, the Etsybloggers, does a blog carnival every couple of weeks, and one of the themes for the current carnival is holiday movies and specials, so this is the perfect opportunity to tell you a little about mine!

Hands down, my favorite holiday movie is White Christmas with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera Ellen. It's a wonderful mix of music, romance, comedy, and has a heartwarming holiday theme to boot! Beyond that movie, I also love all of the versions of Miracle on 34th St and A Christmas Carol, although some of the newer made for tv movies can be alot of fun to watch as well! If you happen to be a fan of White Christmas too, perhaps you'll enjoy The White Christmas Collection from Manhandled - a cute set of buttons perfect for stuffing stockings or decorating your Christmas gifts!



When it comes to holiday specials, pinning down one single favorite is a task I found to be almost impossible! If I was forced to choose, I think I would have to say that my favorite is Nestor the Long Eared Christmas Donkey - a sweet little claymation type holiday story about the donkey who carried Mary on the Holy Family's trip to Bethlehem. I'll admit that I was a bit surprised to find this Long Eared Donkey (based on Nestor) at Leafdancer on Etsy. I also absolutely adore A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Little Drummer Boy, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.



Holiday music is pretty typical around here at this time of year, but of course I have my favorite songs. Again, very hard to pick that ultimate favorite, but some of the ones that really evoke the Christmas spirit for me would have to be Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy by David Bowie and Bing Crosby, The Gift by Garth Brooks, The Carol of the Bells, and pretty much anything by the Transiberian Orchestra! And once again I was amazed to find this Peace on Earth - Bowie and Bing - Greeting Card at loriville on Etsy... which again just goes to show that Etsy has just about anything you could ever ask for!

Just as an FYI...in talking with a friend (and ex-coworker) yesterday, I was reminded that many corporate holiday celebrations are just around the corner. I've been to a number of company Christmas parties through the years and knowing that the dress code can range from way-out-west hoe-down casual to ballroom formal with everything in between, I thought to myself, "Self, this is great food for thought for your blog shopping spree themes!" So, over the next week or so, I will be focusing on some of the great accessories available to make your holiday party look perfect. I'd love to know what some of your holiday party ideas might be, so that I can find the best of the best to showcase here and make your planning just a bit easier!

Hope your Thursday is/was a great one!