Countdown to Christmas

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Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

Happy Easter! Laughing

There's a shop in Edinburghs Royal Mile that sells nothing but Christmas decorations.

Personally the tunes through the pa, the tat, the card all drive me nuts.

This is from a woman who has had a tree on top of the frige for nearly 2 years now.
I buy my cards when they're reduced in price around January and everyones pressies will go in reusable canvas carriers this year ( got them reduced in Tesco after last Xmas )

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 5:57 pm

My brother lived in Frankenmuth, Michigan, where it's always Christmas. They have numerous shops that sell only Christmas stuff, and their apartment was above a bakery that specialized in holiday treats.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

<sings>
Jingle Bells Jingle Bells...

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 8:47 am

Bah humbug - Christmas should start at 11.59pm on 24 December and finish exactly 24 hours later. But I guess that's not very commercial.

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 8:48 pm

The National Christmas song in Ireland is the Pogues, Fairytale of New York, I used to like the Pogues, till I heard FT repeatedly everytime I went near the mall. 7 times in an hour was the most I counted before I ran screaming outside and assaulted a person with a guide dog collecting for the Blind Society.

It starts being played from 1st of November till the 26th of December

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:09 pm

But it has such cheerful lyrics, and so romantic! Laughing

Quote:

You're a bum
You're a punk
You're an old slut on junk
Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed
You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse
I pray God it's our last

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:12 pm

^^@Eight

Awwwwwwww. I love it when you whisper sweet endearments like that Very Happy

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:17 pm

Any time, Irish, you old goat. Laughing

Anyone know where I can buy Christmas cards that say "Happy Christmas your arse"? My best find last year was "chipmunks roasting on an open fire" but I'd like to go one better this year. Very Happy

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:11 pm

A member of our community chorus made up words to "The Christmas Song" - he called it "The California Christmas Song." Unfortunately I can't remember most of the words, except the part that said:

Quote:

But Pepto-Bismol's on it's way.
It's sending soothing anti-acids on their way.

My flatmate and her family were friends of Mel Torme and his family back in the 1950s. She thought he might actually have gotten a kick out of Herb's rewrite.

Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:45 pm

About 20 years ago that wonderful group 'Culturecide,' renowned for their joyful, mainstream music* came out with this cheery, peaceful, and quite optimistic Christmas song:

Quote:

"Depressed Christmas"

(mumbled, murmured, and sobbed to the melody of "White Christmas")

I'm having a depressed Christmas
Just like the one I had last year.
My slit wrist glistens, as I listen
To the last Christmas song I'll ever hear.

I'm having a depressed Christmas,
With this last letter that I write.
May your days be merry and bright,
And may all your Christmases be white.

I'm really surprised it isn't being played evereywhere in department stores and malls.

* Well, maybe not.

Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 12:18 pm

Our local supermarket had hot cross buns last week. I think they've just given up on pretending here's a season for it all.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 31 Aug 2008 Posts: 8

thoughts of Christmas in August........not me!....

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 4:03 am

Where I work it's in the back of our seasonal aisle, ready to move into the on deck circle when Halloween goes main stage

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 4:26 pm

My local paper reported last week on the fire brigade being called out to an artificial Christmas tree fire. (As opposed to a real fire?)

At my age, Christmas seems to be every few weeks. Sad

or

, depending on how you look at it.

Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 5:40 am

On 29th August (that was last friday) I received a catalogue for christmas cards - does that count?

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

Aaaaargh
I bought come stuff for Christmas today.
Tesco were doing buy one get one free on tins of Roses and Quality Street

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 12:25 pm

irishemigrant wrote:

I used to like the Pogues,

I love 'em! Got my tickets for their second night in Brixton this December already. (My Christmas present to myself) Then found out the following day that one of our friends' band is supporting them on the Thursday. D'OH!

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 12:52 pm

Nanny Ogg wrote:

Tesco were doing buy one get one free on tins of Roses and Quality Street

Ours had the advent calendars out on display yesterday too.

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 12:58 pm

^^^

They had Ramadan calendars on sale in my local shop the other day. I felt very sorry for the poor little kids who'd have to wait all day to get their chocolate....

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 1:53 pm

Don't you Brits have Back-to-School sales? That's what the US stores are pushing now - have been since shortly after the kids got out for summer vacation.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

Scots schools went back mid August.
I've now got a letter censuring me as I took my younger son out of school to go to the Reading music festival ( Over the English bank holiday weekend ) unless I can prove " it is important to cohesion of the family due to bereavement etc etc " I sense an "out " there as it was my mum that bought some of the tickets.

Back on topic my younger daughter was in the car as we went past one of the empty lots that seem to sell trees at Christmas. "So sad" says she, eyeing the abandonded Santa suit . "Some poor kid will think Santa is going around naked"
Suppose it would save soot on the suit.

Theres some Halloween accessories in the local supermarket now.
The price of turnips goes up beyond inflation at the end of October round here ( we use them instead of pumpkins )

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:13 pm

... and the whingers who complain about the increase in the price of electricity and then put up 20.000.000.000 lights which burn all night and day from about 1 december right through until 15 january....

...or the numbskulls who think it is "original" to hang a Father X-mas figure on a rope from an upstairs window.... if only they'd hang him on a noose...

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

^^

and how come when it's time to put the lights on the tree they dont work?!
And it's always the last bulb you come to in the series, no matter where you start looking. Thats weird.

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:21 pm

^^^ OK - you just reminded me of a little something I wrote last Christmas.

Display

Atop a pole a Christmas star
Lights up a scene that’s quite bizarre.
The figures on my neighbor’s lawn
Are animated, dusk to dawn.

The baby Jesus catches eyes
As naked in the straw he lies.
The Virgin Mother, rather stout,
Puts him inside, then takes him out.

The donkey’s tail moves back and forth;
He swings his head from south to north.
The camel chews his cud a bit
And looks as if he’s gonna spit.

Beside the babe, in tall black boots,
A wooden soldier snaps salutes.
His arm has gone a little wild
And knocked to earth a shepherd child.

Across the lawn a flock of elves
Cavort and dance among themselves.
A snowman and his lady-lass
Bounce up and down upon the grass.

And on the roof-top, Santa Claus
Defies all gravitation laws
To dangerously swing and sway
Within a reindeer-driven sleigh.

Now, I’m not one to plan and plot
To sabotage this happy lot.
But I’d be hard-put not to scoff
If Neighbor’s power got cut off.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

Thats wonderful Titania.
Any intrest from Hallmark for it?

Strangley its those gardens/houses with the discrete lights that bug me
It's the "look we're into Christmas but we're tasteful about it" attitude that gets me.
Or the artfully arranged trees, all ornaments colour coordinated, humpf
Yeh maybe my tree leans more to the left than the Labour party, maybe the ornaments are old, chewed, squashed but its a life time of kids making stuff at school and proudly bringing it home to hang on the tree, Of shopping trips to buy one new ornament ( all we could afford at the time ) of memories of our old cat trying to climb the damn thing...
( don't know if we ever retrieved the Virgin Mary from down the back of the setee )