This one could be worth FIFTY THOUSAND BUCKS....

Here we are. One day away from Thanksgiving, and that means I do my yearly duty and give you another fine Christmas mix. Below are the 45 tracks that make up Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie Presents: Mikey's Christmas Mix 2012! This years mix is bigger and better with over one and a half hours of sonic Yuletide. This makes four years of Christmas Mixes, an they are all available to you! Choose your year, click on it, and ye shall have it!!!: 2009, 2010, 2011, and now 2012

Let's take a look at what we have:

1. Now Sound of Christmas///US Air Force Dance Orchestra
2. Thanks for Christmas///XTC
3. Midnight Sleigh Ride///The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra
4. Thirty Two Feet & Eight Little Tails///Dale Evens
5. Winter Weather///Joe Williams & Harry "Sweets" Edison
6. Holiday Greeting///The Bee Gees
7. Six Tons of Toys///Dave Dudley
8. The Reindeer Boogie///Hank Snow
9. Cowboy Santa Claus///The Prairie Ramblers
10. Pretty Paper///Glen Campbell
11. Holiday Message///Randy Travis
12. A Holiday Song///Starflyer 59
13. Frosty The Snowman///Cocteau Twins
14. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday///Roy Wood & Wizzard
15. Christmas Rappin'///Kurtis Blow
16. Don't Drive Drunk!!!///Madonna
17. Sleigh Ride///Herb Geller
18. Winter Wonderland///Chet Baker & Russ Freeman
19. Holiday On Skis///Al Caiola & Riz Ortolani
20. Christmas Swing///Django Reinhardt
21. Free Design///The Free Design
22. Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas)///The Free Design
23. Ding-a-Ling Ding-a-Ling///Don Cornell
24. Hurry Home for Christmas///Robert Goulet
25. Snow Bunny///Magnus T. Cook & The Oath of Sound
26. I Just Want You For Christmas///The Golddiggers
27. Deck Five///Saturday's Children
28. Norelco Christmas Commercial///Norelco
29. Snowflake///JJ Barnes
30. What Christmas Means to Me///Al Green
31. Doo Wop Christmas///Kenny Vance & The Planotones
32. S. Claus Files Unusual Flight Plan///North American Air Defense Command
33. We Wan't To See Santa Do The Mambo///Big John Greer
34. Let's Have A Party For Santa Claus///Lord Nelson
35. Jolly St. Nicholas///The Ames Brothers
36. You Don't Have To Be A Santa Claus///The Mills Brothers
37. December///Kay Starr
38. Old Timey Christmas///Ambrose Haley & His Ozark Ramblers
39. Jungle Bells (Dingo-Dongo-Day)///Les Paul & Mary Ford
40. Snow///Looney Tunes
41. First Snow Fall Of The Winter///Randy Van Horne Singers
42. Snowflakes & Frozen Lakes///PacMan
43. Let It Snow///Bit Shifter
44. Twas the night before Christmas///Liberace
45. Christmas Greeting///Orson Welles

So, there you go. Listen as you cook your turducken, drink your mulled vino and as you drift off into dreamland for your early start to another horrendous black Friday!

These tracks have come my way via record stores, old tapes, old friends and any other way that suited my fancy, so pops, hisses and other strange noises that may be there just add to the experience. Once you download the file and add it to your iTunes library (or your choice of mp3 program), the mix should be in the intended song order. Just to be safe, refer to the above order.

Enjoy!!!

GO On! Have A Chew On Me, Fellows! It's My Gift!

Good News! I found my copy of Mikey's Christmas Mix 2009. Now you can enjoy mixes from all three years, and in a few weeks Mikey's Christmas Mix 2012 drops. That's 4 years worth of Christmas mixes! Remember, this is NOT in lieu of the 2012 mix!

As always, remember that some of these songs have been collected from vinyl and tapes so you may hear some pops, hisses and other strange noises. I think it just adds to the experience. Once you download the file and add it to your iTunes library (or your choice of mp3 program), the mix should be in the intended song order. Just to be safe, below is the order.

Let's take a look at what we have here...

1. Howdy Doody Christmas Party///Howdy Doody
2. Father Christmas///The Kinks
3. Jingle Bells///The Vel-Mars
4. Meet Me Under The Mistletoe///Dick Roberts & His Orchestra
5. Hello Mr. Kringle///Kay Kyser
6. Musical Interlude (We Wish You a Merry Christmas)
7. Rockin' ''J'' Bells///Little Bobby Rey & His Band
8. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree///Bill Haley & His Comets
9. Winter Wonderland///Danny Janssen
10. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas///Starflyer 59
11. Ring Christmas Bells - We Wish You a Merry Christmas///Mike Sammes Singers
12. Christmas Memories///Frank Sinatra
13. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen///Chet Atkins
14. You Make It Feel Like Christmas///Neil Diamond
15. The Office Party///Jim Backus
16. Christmas Time All Over The World///Sammy Davis, Jr.
17. Here Comes Santa Claus///Esquivel
18. I Just Can't Wait 'Til Christmas///Lu Ann Simms
19. Winterblunderland///Artist Unknown
20. Winter Wonderland///Arthur Lyman
21. Kissin' By The Mistletoe///Aretha Franklin
22. Christmas All Over Again///Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
23. I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas///Gayla Peevey
24. Give Love On Christmas Day///The Jackson 5
25. Snowbound///Ferrante & Teicher
26. The Christmas Guest///Johnny Cash
27. Little Drummer Boy///Bing Crosby & David Bowie

I know it's still a little early for some people, but HERE it is ready to go whenever you are!

Enjoy!

The line ENDS here. It begins THERE.

Well, here we are. November 1st. Some would say it's Thanksgiving season. Others would say that it's even to early for that, but as many readers of this blog would know that around here November 1st is the beginning of the Christmas season.

 If you are new here, welcome. If you are a regular, welcome back! Posts will be here and there until we get a little closer to Thanksgiving, but we have good stuff in-store for you this year including a few new contributors and the 2012 Christmas Mix! New recipes, stories, movie and album reviews, downloads and Christmas in South Africa! Need a little help getting into the Christmas spirit? Browse around the blog. Check out our previous year's Christmas Mixes HERE/2010 & HERE/2011.

 Like us on Facebook if you haven't already done so, and spred the word! Christmas is coming!!!!

First-nighters, packed earmuff-to-earmuff, jostled in wonderment before a golden, tinkling display of mechanized, electronic joy!

Yes, that is my family. I am more nostalgic at Christmas time more than any other time of the year. I'm guessing it's the same for many people (maybe not). Certain songs, smells or images will set off my favorite memories. As an adult I look forward to the Christmas season for some different reasons than when I was a kid, but even then I knew the real meaning of Christmas. Even when I didn't always get what I wanted I never had a bad Christmas because of all the love my family shared for each other.

That being said, I did get some pretty kick butt gifts. Here are a few vivid memories of opening life changing material treasures. Keep in mind I was born in 1980, so this is a time capsule.

Teddy Ruxpin

Mr. Ruxpin was something magical back in those days. He not only spoke, but if you put one of his cassette tapes in his back his lips would move as he told the story and he would blink his eyes. I remember playing non Ruxpin tapes in him, but he just gave be a zombi like dead stare. Unfortunately Mr. Ruxpin had an accident that rendered him some what useless. Sitting on the kitchen floor playing with him I saw a neon green centipede next to me. In terror I smashed the bear's face a top of my deadly attacker. I should mention that I had also received a bunch of neon green glow in the dark bugs for Christmas that year. I must have been so caught up in story time that I didn't have a clear head. Teddy Ruxpin's lower jaw lay there on the floor. Plastic broken and un-fixable. Sure I could still play tapes in him and he would blink at me, but his mouth would never moved again.



G.I. Joe and Transformers were my go to toys and TV shows. I wish to the Dear Lord that I had kept all my figures and toys, but many of them ended up being buried in the back yard or on the roof with a parachute tied to their backs. The following are a few favorites:

Cobra Night Raven was probably my favorite G.I. Joe vehicle with Mad Dog as a close second:

I'm not one who really approves of targeting kids as consumers, but how could I not want this...



One gift I wanted but never got was this ridiculously huge G.I. Joe Aircraft Carrier


I was also a huge Construx fan...

Another favorite Christmas memories from childhood will always be the morning I walked into my living room to find that an Optimus Prime tent had been set up as I slept. Inside was a Gilligan's Island toys set for the bath tub. I often wonder if I am making some of these memories up, but a quick Google search for a Gilligan's Island toys set for the bath tub yields results and Christmas memory validation.

Now for my final and greatest Christmas toy memory. MASK was another cartoon created to sell toys kind of show, and I really loved it. I wanted Rhino, the main vehicle of the show more than anything that year, but was not sure I would get it.

Knowing I may not find it under the tree Christmas morning, I gave my mother a list of other MASK characters and vehicles:

I asked for buzzard:


T-Bob and Hurricane:

Well I got all of those, and I also got Rihno. I literally remember opening it and jumping up and down in crazy joy. My mother joined me. Here excitement for me having some stupid toy will always stick in my head. Not so much as a memory of her giving me anything I wanted, but the joy I saw in her because I was happy.

This will probably be my final post till Christmas day due to tomorrow be a traveling day for me, but I will do a Christmas day post, and just maybe a few post-christmas-posts. Thank you for all the fun this season! It's always awesome to stroll down memory lane this time of year and remember the best times, but my hopes are always for men of good will live in peace again. That stupid political arguments or religious differences don't drive wedges of hate between families and friends. That we let go and forgive the wrongs done to us, and that we see the millions of people all over the world living in utter despair and we make some sort of step to make it better. I celebrate the birth of a Savior, but whatever you celebrate may it be filled with Love, Joy and Peace.

Happy Holidays!!!

Don't worry. We'll make it though... somehow.

Here is another great vintage video. This one in about the history of the Christmas Carol, Silent Night.

Uh..Uh...Uh Santa Claus probably put it there.

We were all told that "it is more blessed to give than receive" but as a kid, that pretty much goes out the door at Christmas. How many times did my parents bestow upon me waaaaaay more awesome gifts than I could ever give back to them? Sorry, guys. It was a bit early in my career.

They weren't left completely giftless though. Somewhere, in the recesses of a kid mind that still enjoyed recess, do I remember going through a holiday-themed school store that catered just to elementary school children. There were more tacky coffee mugs, keychains and wallets than one could shake a candy cane at, but it was a quick, cheap and easy way for a kid to spend their ten dollars of chore-earned cash on Christmas gifts for ones they loved. Luckily my parents never dipped into the same store that I shopped for our presents from about age five until eleven.

I've got to say, as far as the "getting" goes, my sister and I really cleaned up. Looking back, we got some pretty awesome things. A few of my favorites were completely fitting for the time period. The first was a Holly Hobby kitchen set, complete with the pots, pans, plates and two wee-sized aprons for little four and five year old Beth and Jill.

There's home video of us looking, in absolute awe and excitement at a gift that we ended up playing the heck out of. Some people, whose name just happens to start with a "B" and ends with an "H", like it so much that she, I mean 'they', were caught on film pushing me out of the way. Fully, "You best move out of the way, beeotch" hip bumping a certain older sister.

A couple of years later, after my long flowing golden locks had been murdered and turned into a Dorothy Hamill (aka "mushroom cut") and I had suffered an earlier pre-Cabbage Patch Kid incident (it was a homemade fake CPK - my mom wanted to test it out to make sure I was ready for a 'real' one), Beth and I finally achieved true 80's kid stardom with our very own CPKs. Mine had blond hair and was named Nicolette Fay.

As I aged and moved into the teenage years, my taste in Christmas pressies matured…although my taste in clothing quite faltered. Hey, it was the 90s. Further awesome gifts ranged from a pink and grey 10-speed bicycle, a mammoth-sized Caboodle makeup case, leather brown bomber jacket and a full-fledged boombox (with my first CD player, mind you). My former squeals now turned to "Wow, like, totally cool!" but inside that giddiness was still there.

As a grown-up, it's hard for me to think of even a few things that I "want" anymore. The desire to "get" has changed and I've discovered that it really is more blessed to give than receive. But I will never forget the excitement and wonderful memories that were waiting at the bottom of the stairs for my childhood eyes on Christmas morn.

Starving people would be happy to have that...

Five days till Christmas, and you were probably wondering when I was going to be posting some A Christmas Story study materials, right? Well wonder no more:

Click HERE for some awesomeness. I found this pdf on the internets and it's packed with goodies. Enjoy