Probably the first Christmas special I remember, besides Amahl and the Night Visitors, is Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol. It was so chopped up in subsequent television broadcasts--most of the time the Broadway show framing sequences were cut entirely--that I was overjoyed to see a video version; I bought the DVD almost the moment it came out. The text, although abridged, is pretty much completely Dickens, unlike some modern versions, and the songs are wonderful, not surprising since they were written by a real Broadway writing team, Jules Styne and Bob Merrill. I can’t tell you which is my favorite; I love them all. As a child, young Scrooge’s "All Alone in the World" touched me most; after I fell in love the first time "Winter Was Warm" had special meaning. "We're Despicable" has always been hilarious (and when I was very small, chilling, with those mouths opening!), I loved the wordplay of "Ringle, Ringle," and "The Lord's Bright Blessing" making me tear up every time. In New York in July, though, all I could hear running through my head was the wonderful opening song "Back on Broadway."
I realized last evening I've been watching Magoo's Carol for 41 years!
Operating in nostalgic mode yesterday, I was also reading Sleigh Bells for Windy Foot. I have an entire Windy Foot web page, since these were some of my favorite books in elementary school, so there's no need to explain the plot, but I marvel reading this book every year at the energy these folks have! This is a 1940s farm where there's no milking machine and cooking and heating is still done with wood, and there's very little time for just sitting and relaxing--Dad falls asleep on the sofa Christmas day, but he's just been up all night helping a cow give birth! Toby manages to do chores, keep the woodbox full, and rebuild a big sleigh to fit his pony, plus go skiing and sleighing, gather berries, do minimal Christmas shopping, and wrap gifts! Whew!
But y'know what? Most of it seems like so much fun!
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