Great. Now these songs will be on my mind 24/7. Not that I mind, I think the songs (and killer dancing moves) are adorable. They’re from the wonderful 1974 Christmas special The Year Without a Santa Claus. Enjoy – and good luck getting the tunes out of your head.
I’m an absolute fool for everything Christmas: The decorations, the movies, the food, the snow… everything. In fact some of my favorite movies of all time are Christmas movies. I’ve highlighted three of them in the banner above:
I could sit down right now and watch each one about a dozen times, without ever blinking. I’ve started collecting everything related to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, so the Rudolph/Clarice/Xmas Tree Musical Ornament shown above is on my MUST GET FOR ME list!
The characters in Rudolph are some of the most beloved and adorable characters of all time. I love them all, of course, but there’s a special place in my heart for Rudolph and his girl, Clarice.
Click through to take a closer look – this is absolutely beautiful.
I’m seriously in the mood to watch this movie!
It’s that wonderful, magical, beautiful time of year again: The Christmas Season. The time of year when I have trouble concentrating on anything but cookies, decorations, gift buying, homemade candy, Christmas music, and Christmas shows.
My all-time favorite Christmas shows are:
Yes. In that order. Rudolph, Clarice, the Misfit Toys, the Abominable Snowman, Santa, the elves… they’ve been close friends of mine for more years than I care to count and they fill me with as much joy now as they did the first time I met them. Maybe more because each year we’ve picked up more precious memories together along the way. The first time I watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with my parents, the first time I watched it with my husband, the first time we watched it with each of our 3 daughters… Indeed, they do fill me with more joy now more than ever.
I was browsing the web this morning looking for Christmas gifts and gift ideas. I made the mistake of logging onto Build-A-Bear Workshop®. I say mistake because I collect dolls, bears, and various other stuffed animals. The last thing I needed was to find gifts for myself.
But lo and behold, as soon as I landed on the website, guess what was waiting for me. Yep.. Rudolph, Clarice, Abominable, and even something I’ve wanted for two forevers: The Misfit Toys. I’ve ALWAYS wondered why I could never find the Misfit Doll, the Spotted Elephant, or Charlie-in-the-Box. They always seemed like such logical collectible items but I’ve never seen them. Until today.
Not only does the Build A Bear Workshop have an unbelievable collection of these beloved characters, they also have a countless number of accessories and other goodies – all kinds of stocking stuffers as well. And if you know anything about Build A Bear, you know that they’re incapable of making anything less than excellent. Couldn’t do it if they tried.
I’ve put the different Rudolph-Themed gifts in this post – I know you’ll fall in love with them just like I have. What excellent Christmas gifts! – Even if they are for yourself! Shhh, I won’t tell on you if you don’t tell on me.
17 in. Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster®
18 in. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer®
Sleigh Guide Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer®
Up to Snow Good Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster®
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer®
Mini Misfit Toys: Perfect Stocking Stuffers!
Oh, stick a fork in me. Sweet Dreams Clarice has on Clarice slippers. 4 of them. And a bell collar… Okay, I pretty much want one of each of these. Build A Bear, I love you.
From the Episode Wilma’s Vanishing Money:
BURGLAR: Uh. Gentlemen…. Now if you’ll stop right there. Hold up your hands, please.
FRED: Barney…
BARNEY: Yes, Fred?
FRED: It’s a stick up.
BARNEY: (getting an idea) Hey, uh, wait a minute. This guy’s a burglar…
FRED: Barney, this ain’t What’s My Line.
From the Episode Fussin’ and Feudin’:
WILMA: Fred’s in there, napping. Trying to relax away the tensions. Today’s the playoff for the Lodge Golf Semi-finals, or something, in Fred’s division.
BETTY: Oh. How’s Fred doing? Is he improving?
WILMA: Last month he broke 70.
BETTY: Strokes?
WILMA: Clubs. You know Fred’s temper, Betty.
Also from the Episode Fussin’ and Feudin’:
FRED: (Dreaming that he won the golf match) My opponent for this match, Charlie Pummlestone, put up a good fight, and was ahead for a while. But as the hula dancer said, It’s how you wind up that counts. He he he he he.”
Also from the Episode Fussin’ and Feudin’:
BARNEY: I got feelings. I’m a people.
Count on it. I’ll have this song playing (and playing and playing..) in my brain for days. I can’t get enough of these guys. They’re classic.
Speaking of classic, I’ll be returning the blog to the golden age of Hollywood, for the most part. I’ll still include the occasional movie review and what not, but this blog was built with Hollywood Yesterday in mind. I absolutely LOVE old movies, classic television, and the one of a kind stars that came with each.
I have a really pretty Audrey Hepburn banner that I’ll put up after Christmas. She’s a favorite and I couldn’t think of a star I’d rather kick the New Year off with.
Oops! I nearly forgot about Snow White’s infamous friends, featured here in the Seven Dwarfs Collectible Doll Set by Knickerbocker.
Adorable!
I’ve always been a huge, huge, huge fan of everything Disney. I guess there’s no getting around it – Disney brings out the kid in all of us. Whenever you see Mickey, Minnie, Donald (a personal favorite!), or any of the Princesses, they take you back to a wonderful time. For me, they take me to the time when my girls were all under 10. Days spent watching (and rewatching!) The Little Mermaid, Lion King, Cinderella, etc. Whenever I see the Disney characters, I think back to those magical days and find myself smiling ear to ear.
It’s pretty hard to beat that feeling!
The little charmer above is the Snow White Collectible Doll by Knickerbocker and she couldn’t be any more fetching if she were carrying a drink from Starbucks.
Click through to take a closer look and to see the other unbelievably beautiful dolls and collectibles from Disney Shopping.com.
Nobody loves Yoda like I love Yoda…. No, not even you Mama Yoda, so stop looking at me like that.
The new Star Wars movie will be animated, which ought to be an amazing ride! From the looks of it, my man Yoda’s wearing it well.
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” an animated film, will open in theaters Aug. 15. I’m officially marking my calendars. It will then launch into a TV series of the same name, that’ll air on the Cartoon Network and TNT this fall.
By the by, I’m going to start featuring more posts, pictures and news on the blog relating to today’s Hollywood. Don’t get me wrong, the Golden Age won’t be wiped out – in fact, it’ll still reign supreme and will have the majority of posts and coverage. I just thought it’d be fun to broaden our scope a little bit.
I think Yoda would approve.
You may not know the name, but I guarantee you know the face and have heard the voice MANY times.
As I said in the last post, Bea Benaderet was Lucille Ball’s first choice for Ethel Mertz, but Bea couldn’t get free to accept the role. She did appear on an episode of I Love Lucy, however, as shy Miss Lewis. At the time, Bea Benaderet was nowhere near as old as the character Miss Lewis – (it was pretty obvious when you looked at her lovely face).
The episode was titled “Lucy plays Cupid.”
She went on to play Pearl Bodine in “The Beverly Hillbillies”, as well as Kate Bradley on “Green Acres” and “Petticoat Junction.”
She also was the voice of Betty Rubble (and additional voices) on “The Flintstones”, and was Witch Hazel and Tweety Bird’s Granny until 1955!
She apparently did most of the female voices on the early cartoons.
I had enjoyed this lady’s talent my whole life without ever knowing her real name. Now that I realize just how talented she was and how many different hats she actually wore, I’m even more of a fan.
When Bea died in 1968 of lung cancer, she was replaced on Petticoat Junction by former Lassie and Lost in Space co-star, June Lockhart.
