Party Like It's 2012

Dick Clark celebrated his 40th New Year's Rockin' Eve with us in 2011.  He started the program to give young people an alternative to Guy Lombardo and his orchestra playing Auld Lang Syne. Both programs have been traditions in my family at one time or another. Both men will forever be linked to New Year's Eve. It isn't a bad holiday to have connected to your name.


The new year means new opportunities. We welcome 2012 and all of its many chances to discover new places and meet new people and gain new knowledge. We can laugh harder and love more deeply and embrace more often and think outside the lines and color outside the lines and walk on the grass instead of the sidewalks.

We can wash the colors with the whites and eat dessert first and eat dessert second and eat dessert last. Then we can order dessert guilt-free. We can yell louder at sports events and paint our faces in the team colors and sing along loudly at concerts and play games at the arcade.

The new calendar represents new births and new relationships and new chapters and undiscovered territories. We do not know what to expect but we anticipate its arrival with enthusiasm and arms wide open.

And we bid adieu to 2011 with the understanding that we are better people for having known those we lost in the past year. We hold in high regard those loving influences who will remain forever in our hearts.

Loved ones join us as we are introduced to this new year. Our inner circle of friends and family who enriched 2011 will be by our sides in 2012. Their presence continues to light our paths and their being with us makes the journey richer.

What will the new year bring?  I can hardly wait to find out. Happy New Year !!

Do You Hear What I Hear ?

The music of this holiday season marks the emotions of the celebrations. The tunes help us recall childhood memories. Specific songs instantly take us back to a Christmas long ago or perhaps a recent memory. There are classics by long-gone crooners and new renditions by favorite artists. We all have favorite songs and favorite performers. Each artist's interpretation is as unique as each of our Christmas visions.

Bing Crosby, Barbra Streisand, Rosemary Clooney, Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis and several different symphonies and choirs represent Christmas to me.  O Holy Night, Jingle Bells, It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, White Christmas, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, I'll Be Home For Christmas, We Three Kings, Sleigh Ride, Deck The Halls, Away In A Manger, Silent Night, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Twelve Days Of Christmas, Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy, Feliz Navidad, Adeste Fidelis ( O Come All Ye Faithful), Faith Of Our Fathers, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, O Christmas Tree, Do You Hear What I Hear, Joy To The World, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, Silver Bells, Here Comes Santa Claus, The First Noel, Let It Snow, The Christmas Song, Angels We Have Heard On High, Baby It's Cold Outside and so many other seasonal melodies represent the season for me. Listen to your favorites. Have a cup of hot chocolate and turn on that beloved music.


Here are just a few of my favorites:


Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Judy Garland

White Christmas
Bing Crosby

Linus and Lucy
Vince Guaraldi Trio

Christmas Time Is Here
Vince Guaraldi Trio

O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Emmylou Harris

Baby It's Cold Outside
Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
Gene Autry

Holly Jolly Christmas
Burl Ives

Silver and Gold
Burl Ives

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
Bruce Springsteen

Feliz Navidad
Jose Feliciano

I Wonder As I Wander
Linda Ronstadt

What Child Is This
Vanessa Williams

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
Andy Williams

You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch
Boris Karloff

Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy
Bing Crosby and David Bowie

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
Brenda Lee

Ave Maria
Josh Groban

Ave Maria
Denyce Graves

Sleigh Ride
Ella Fitzgerald

Good King Wencelas
Judy Collins

Let It Snow, Let It Snow
Lena Horne

White Christmas
The Drifters

Twelve Days of Christmas
Perry Como

Silent Night
Barbra Streisand

The Christmas Song
Rosemary Clooney

Welcome Christmas
The Who Village Choir

I'll Be Home For Christmas
Tony Bennett

Away In A Manger
Julie Andrews

Frosty The Snowman
Jimmy Durante

Carol Of The Bells
David Foster

Caroling,Caroling
Nat King Cole

O Holy Night
Michael Crawford

It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year
Johnny Mathis

Winter Wonderland
Eurythmics

Jingle Bells
Frank Sinatra

Joy To The World
Harlem Gospel Choir

Go Tell It On The Mountain
Anne Murray

O Come All Ye Faithful
Art Garfunkel

Do You Hear What I Hear
Kristin Chenoweth

Do You Hear What I Hear
Bing Crosby

Savor those tunes!

Lights! Action ! Holiday Films !

One of the many gifts of the season is viewing our favorite holiday films and specials. They range from timeless classics to animated television specials. Each one represents a particular memory or touches our heart and/or our funny bone. In no particular order, here are a few suggestions for you to enjoy this season. The Bells Of St. Marys (1945) Ingrid Bergman and Bing Crosby star with Henry Travers in this vintage film. Desk Set (1957)stars Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Gig Young. It's A Wonderful Life (1946) directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore. Henry Travers portrays Clarence the Angel in search of his wings. Ward Bond and Frank Faylen play Bert and Ernie. Lillian Randolph was Annie. To learn more about the characters from Bedford Falls, watch this classic. White Christmas ( 1954) stars Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye,Vera Ellen, Dean Jagger and Mary Wickes. Crosby and Kaye are Bob Wallace and Phil Davis,old WWII buddies in show business who stumble upon Clooney and Ellen (a sister song and dance act) and also stumble upon their former General (Jagger) and....well watch the movie..... The Bishop's Wife (1947) stars Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) features Michael Caine, Kermit, Rizzo the Rat and many Muppets. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) stars Natalie Wood, Maureen O'Hara,Edmund Gwenn and John Payne. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) features Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien and Mary Astor in this classic directed by Vincente Minelli. Holiday Inn (1942) stars Bing Crosby,Fred Astaire,Marjorie Reynolds. ELF (2003) stars Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, James Caan, Edward Asner, Bob Newhart, Mary Steenburgen and Daniel Tay. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) features Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold in this modern classic directed by John Hughes. Also featured are Beverly D'Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki,Doris Roberts,Diane Ladd, E.G.Marshall,John Randolph and Randy Quaid. Home Alone (1990) introduces Macaulay Culkin to the role of Kevin McCallister in this fine John Hughes classic. Catherine O'Hara,Joe Pesci,Daniel Stern, John Candy and John Heard are also featured. Scrooged (1988) stars Bill Murray being haunted by three holiday spirits in this Christmas Carol interpretation. You will find Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Carol Kane, Alfre Woodard, Robert Mitchum. Robert Goulet, Bobcat Goldthwait, Jamie Farr,David Johansen, John Houseman and Mary Lou Retton in this film. Christmas In Connecticut (1945) stars Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and Sidney Greenstreet. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) stars Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Schroeder,Lucy,Sally,Pig-Pen,Patty and Shermy. Any Andy Williams, Perry Como,Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin Christmas television special will bring back great memories for me and will be great fun for you to watch. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1964), Frosty The Snowman (1969)and The Little Drummer Boy (1968)are also cherished specials. There are plenty more favorites of mine and I am sure you have your favorites too. The important thing is to take time to watch them and remember. Start your traditions now. It is never too late. Happy holidays. happy viewing. Could someone get the lights?