My picks for 25 top worst Christmas songs ever – so far

 

Christmas tunes may delight us … or cause us to cringe.

 Each December, the radio airwaves fill with festive holiday fare, as deejays load up playlists with Christmas carols and covers by artists from the past and present. Many stations forgo on-air advertising for long stretches, simply to allow uninterrupted holiday music to play for party hosts, motorists and other music fans.

 

Holiday music gains momentum, as Christmas approaches.

 After Thanksgiving, most of us fill our iPods, MP3 players or other personal music devices with winter holiday songs, getting us into the mood for merriment.

 What are your favorite Christmas songs? Do you love sacred holiday hymns, rollicking pop party songs, folksy versions or another genre altogether?

 NOTE: Written by this author, this copyrighted material originally appeared on another publisher’s site. That site no longer exists. This author holds all rights to this content. No republication is allowed without permission.

 

But some Christmas songs make us cringe.

 Amid all the Christmas spirit, a few harmonic heartbreaks and melodic mishaps seem to creep through every year.

 Just for grins (or groans), I drew up a list of my top 25 least favorite seasonal selections to date, including long-time Christmas classics and current chart toppers for the holiday season. Just to be fair, I’m listing these top dogs alphabetically (by song title) and including the names of the artists whose versions I like the least (if not the original performers).

 

Here are my top 25 worst Christmas song choices.

1. “And So This Is Christmas (War is Over)” – John Lennon & Yoko Ono
2. “Christmas All Over Again” – Tom Petty
3. “Christmas Conga” – Cyndi Lauper
4. “Christmas Through Your Eyes” – Gloria Estefan
5. “Christmas Time Is Here” – Vince Guaraldi
6. “Christmas, Don’t Be Late” – The Chipmunks
7. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” – Band Aid
8. “Dominick, The Christmas Donkey” – Lou Monte
9. “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” – Elmo & Patsy
10. “Howdy Doody Christmas” – The Fontana Sisters
11. “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” – Gayla Peevey
12. “It Must Have Been Old Santa Claus” – Harry Connick, Jr.
13. “Jingle Bells” – Barking Dogs
14. “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” – Maurice Chevalier
15. “Last Christmas” – George Michael/Wham!
16. “Little Saint Nick” – The Beach Boys
17. “Merry Christmas, Baby” – Bonnie Raitt & Charles Brown
18. “Please, Daddy (Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas)” – John Denver
19. “Run, Run, Rudolph” – Chuck Berry
20. “Santa Baby” – Madonna
21. “Snoopy’s Christmas” – The Royal Guardsmen
22. “Step into Christmas” – Elton John
23. “Suzy Snowflake” – Rosemary Clooney
24. “The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot” – Nat King Cole
25. “Wonderful Christmastime” – Paul McCartney

 

For most of the year, I actually enjoy songs by many of these artists. I’ve been a dyed-in-the-wool Beatles fan since before I could read words or musical notes. I’ve attended concerts by the Beach Boys, Elton John and others. Occasionally, I find myself in the mood for a little Nat King Cole, Chuck Berry, Bonnie Raitt, or even Harry Connick, Jr.

 Still, these holiday selections are horrendous, I think. And every year, new nightmares will likely be added.

 Which perennial plays drive you up the wall, or perhaps the Christmas tree? What seasonal songs make you groan like Dr. Seuss’ Grinch? Which worst holiday tracks did I miss?

 Don’t be shy. Holiday party hosts need to know.

 

Related Items:

• 10 top Bible verses for Christmas cards and greetings
• 20 Holiday Music Video Favorites: Merry Christmas Carol Countdown
• Christmas party game: Holiday word scramble
• Favorite Christmas Song/s Ever
• What does your Santa look like?

 

Image/s: adapted from public domain artwork

 Feel free to follow on Twitter. Like this blog?  Check out Practically at Home on Facebook. You are invited to visit my author page on Amazon.com.

Door to door meat deals? No thanks.

 “Ding-dong!”

Nope, it wasn’t Avon calling. It was a guy with meat for sale. Are they kidding?

“Good morning ma’am. Do you like steak? I’m selling $25 worth of meat for $5,” chirped the cheery door-to-door salesman.

He pointed at a rusty truck with a makeshift freezer compartment in the back and hand-painted lettering on the sides. The thing looked like it might have been t-boned a time or two.

Chop! Chop!

“No, thank you,” I answered and closed my door.

I had no beef with the guy, but I wasn’t buying. Potential food poisoning is no bargain – at any price. And the quality control appeared questionable. Not exactly well done.

The meat salesman didn’t give his name. Maybe it was E. Koleye, Sal Minella, Claus Tridium, or Les Teria. Who knows? He could have been Chuck Waggon, Biff Brisket, Phil Aye, Van Eisen, or Sir Lon Supreme for all I could tell.

Whatever his name, he was a rare one, trying to stake his claim to our neighborhood’s meat consumption business.

Sometimes you just gotta shake your head and wonder. It’s one thing to order meat from a reputable purveyor for home delivery. But cold-call meat for sale smacks of something entirely different.

Well, hot dog!

As the guy climbed into his truck to drive away, I ran a quick online search for his company name. You guessed it: I found nothing online.

I might have a bone to pick with such a business.

Fly-by-night door-to-door discount meat may not be such a great deal, after all. And that’s no baloney.

Image:

Adapted from public domain artwork

Feel free to follow on Google Plus and Twitter. Like this blog?  Check out Practically at Home on Facebook.

Share

Q is for Quick Quips and Side Trips

Q is for Quick Quips and Side Trips

Quitting’s not an option when we pursue a worthwhile goal, but sometimes a short side trip can bring us back on course.

“It's always too soon to quit,” wrote motivational pastor, writer and author Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993).

Here we are on the 17^th day of the annual April A to Z Blogging Challenge, and I’m feeling a bit antsy.

I’ve pounded out 185 blog posts on various topics this month already, pre-loading several to publish automatically on their given dates. That means I have approximately 20 left to do before April runs out.

Working hard ... or hardly working?

And I’m stopping to play a bit, now and then.

Here’s my latest online distraction. Have you seen the Bitstrips do-it-yourself cartoons on Facebook? They’re silly and sarcastic and something of a brain bend.

This just-for-fun app allows users to create their own avatars (see pictures) with no photo uploads and make up cartoons that feature themselves and their friends. Then those personalized cartoons post to Facebook, with those friends already tagged.

New cartoon templates are added daily.

Bitstrips are fun to make, and the app is free, even if the user’s time is not.

"You're burning daylight. Get busy!"

Congratulations to all the A to Z participants who are still with us.

Color me overambitious. I signed up eight blogs this year, my third year of participation in the annual spring event. But I’m still on course with the whole lot. My poetry blog is on-schedule with the NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) as well.

I’ve even tried to keep up with commenting, visiting several fellow bloggers’ sites each day.

My kids, my horses, my dog, and my cat barely recognize me now. But I’m still blogging.

My editors are likely scratching their heads and wondering why I’m not pursuing extra writing assignments this month, as I have been wont to do.

Blogging like she's on fire!

And, believe it or not, I am pretty sure I will feel a funny sort of let-down when the challenge month is over. I’m already looking forward to re-upping next year, although I’m not sure I’ll go whole hog with eight blogs.

Happy A to Z to all who are in.

And thanks to all for reading and commenting. Hope you’ll stick around for the regular posts, all year long.

 Image/s:

Trio of Avatar Cartoons

 created by this user on Bitstrips

Feel free to follow on Google Plus and Twitter. You are also invited to join this writer's fan page, as well as the Chicago Etiquette Examiner, Madison Holidays Examiner, Equestrian Examiner and Madison Equestrian Examiner on Facebook.

Share

Rappin' up parenthood still schools moms and dads with humor

Is parenting funny?

Often, it seems to be. From diapers to driving lessons, raising kids can be comical.

At least, folks who stop to consider the frequent foibles, mishaps, and perplexities of the process may find parent humor at nearly every turn. Sure, mothers and fathers can become exasperated, frustrated, and simply exhausted at times.

But it’s not hard to uncover ironic, comical, or downright hilarious opportunities to smile at precocious kids, chuckle over childish views of the world, or even laugh at ourselves while parenting.

Maybe you’ve seen “The Parent Rap.”

 

No, not "The Parent Trap." It's "The Parent Rap."

If you have young children at home, you probably live it. Take a look … and a listen.

.

.

Blame it on Bart?

“The Simpsons” actually aired an episode titled “The Parent Rap,” as the Thirteenth Season premiere of the sarcastic Fox TV animated series in November 2001.

Can’t keep up with “The Parent Rap” lyrics?

Find ‘em here.

“The Parent Rap” was created by Bluefish TV, an outreach of RightNow Ministries, a Christian organization based in Richardson, Texas.

Related Items:

Parental Perfection - a Rhyming Reel on a Parent's Ideal - What makes a perfect parent? Who can qualify for the title of parental perfection? Is it nature or nurture or nonsense? Here's a poetic look at real-life parenting.

Twitter etiquette: 20 tweets we'd like to trash - Twitter is exploding in popularity, as millions of internet users post 140-character messages on countless topics. Posts range from quips and quotes to candid photographs to wholly unfounded rumors to breaking news reports and more. Raise your hand, if you’d like to see a few matters of manners applied to Twitter.

Chicago schools to begin sex ed with kindergartners - A new sex education program has blown through the Windy City’s public school system, clearing the way for reproductive curriculum as early as kindergarten, at least in Chicago.

A Parent Puzzles at 12 Planking Alternatives - Planking isn’t the first fad to come and go. In fact, it’s not nearly the funniest or cleverest. Take a look at a dozen forms of planking. What’s next? A parent has to ask.

Teen boys: 20 ways to unimpress her parents immediately - Dating among teenagers and young adults changes with each generation, but basic parental expectations tend to still prevail. What mother or father wasn’t once a teenager, trying to navigate the complexities of the adolescent social scene?

Top Ten Tackiest Turnoffs when Talking with Adoptive Families - What is the most common complaint among adoptive parents? The adoption process can be challenging. Still, the biggest challenge adoptive parents face may be tacky questions and remarks they receive, often from seemingly well-meaning people.

Image/s:

Parent Rap

Video screenshot – fair use

Feel free to follow on Google Plus and Twitter. You are also invited to join this writer's fan page, as well as the Chicago Etiquette Examiner, Madison Holidays Examiner, Equestrian Examiner and Madison Equestrian Examiner on Facebook.

Share