“Boxing Day: The Movie”: The Song
Here’s a song that was written in the spirit of the Day After Christmas. Now get up and dance!
Stream and download the full album at the official BandCamp page.
9 Excellent Christmas Episodes You Should Watch on Netflix Right Now
Here are 9+ classic Christmas TV episodes that will make you think, give you chills, make you laugh and generally massage your mind into a limber state of cozy yuletide reflection.
A couple of important notes:
- You don’t need to know these shows to enjoy these Christmas episodes
- You’ll need to be logged into your Netflix account for these links to work.
1. The Twilight Zone, “Night of the Meek”
On one Christmas Eve night, a stumbling wino is granted the power of Santa’s magic bag. Only the wily, twist-addled logic of the Twilight Zone could make this a tearjerker. And a tearjerker it is. (The closing narration alone is worth the trip.)
2. The Wonder Years, “A Very Cutlip Christmas”
Kevin discovers that his hardline gym teacher moonlights as Santa Claus at a local mall. Again, some poignant narration up in here. (Also check out “Christmas” from season 2.)
3. Alfred Hitchcock Presents, “Santa Claus and the 10th Avenue Kid”
A hilariously crotchety old ex-con is assigned to work as a department store Santa.
4. Cheers, “Christmas Cheers”
This episode scored the highest marks in overall Christmassy-ness. (Blizzard: check; Christmas Eve: check; Gaggle of Santas convening at the neighborhood bar: check.)
5. Fraggle Rock, “Bells of Fraggle Rock”
What seems to begin as a drearily innocuous stroll down a high-strung PC tightrope ultimately yields a clever parable about faith, doubt and the seasonal holidays in between.
6. The Office, “A Benihana Christmas”
Probably The Office’s finest and funniest Christmas episode, “A Benihana Christmas” provides the rare, cathartic moment of Michael Scott laughing at his own desperate antics. (By contrast, the first Christmas episode, “Christmas Party,” shows Michael at his most comically deluded.)
7. The Dick Van Dyke Show, “The Alan Brady Show Presents”
This episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show depicts a full-length episode of the fictional Alan Brady Show. Vigorously entertaining and about as meta as you’ll get from 1963.
8. My So-Called Life, “So-Called Angels”
My So-Called Life is probably my favorite way to visit the early 90s. It was an adolescent drama that approached Wonder Years/Freaks and Geeks quality, but without any rose-tinted nostalgia to fall back on. Incidentally, this is probably its worst episode. But it’s still a good way to visit an early 90s Christmas.
9. Doctor Who, “The Christmas Invasion”
Doctor Who has always been great at channeling raw sci-fi quirk toward at meaningful, comfortable end. That’s why it might be the only show that could feature a deadly ricocheting Christmas tree without sacrificing that warm holiday feeling. (Also check out “The Runaway Bride” and “Voyage of the Damned.”)
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
John Williams “Christmas at Hogwarts” (via Santa’s helper hichristina)
A great article and interview about the album:
The Christmas after I turned sixteen, a family friend left an early gift for my mom on our porch. Wadded inside the elf-patterned tissue paper was the Celine Dion holiday album, titled These Are the Special Times.
The sepia-toned cover featured she of the steel-plated vocal folds, holding a…
