Monday, October 31, 2011

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Saturday, October 29, 2011

YouTube Christmas Craft Update for 10.29.11

 
kwernerdesign video Holiday Card Series 2011 Day 20

 
Christmas Mini Window Challenge ideas

 
Santa Pops out of Chimney Christmas card

 

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YouTube Christmas Music Grab Bag (Sarah Siskind, Megan Mullally, Rob Mathes)

 

Sarah Siskind - Stocking

 

Megan Mullally - I'll be home for Christmas

 

 Rob Mathes "When the Baby Grew Up"

 

 

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Holiday Album of the Day - Charlie Brown Holiday Hits by the Vince Guaraldi Trio

 

Holiday Album of the Day

Charlie Brown Holiday Hits by the Vince Guaraldi Trio

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

Preview / Buy Charlie Brown Holiday Hits at Amazon.com

 

 

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Christmas update for 10.29.11

Christmas @ Kickstarter


Friday, October 28, 2011

YouTube Christmas Cartoon Grab Bag for 10.28.11

Mr Piper and the Story of the Tin Soldier

 
Here Comes the Grump: Sno Land Like Snow Land

 
Babar and Father Christmas

 

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Christmas Album of the Day: Michael Bublé's Christmas

 

Christmas Album of the Day

Michael Bublé : Christmas

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

Preview / Buy Christmas at Amazon.com

 

 

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Holiday Update for 10.28.11

 

***

  • Toro Y Moi, Dan Deacon, Memory Tapes, More on Free Carpark Holiday Album + Free Class Actress MP3 @ Pitchfork
  • Jack Johnson's new Christmas song 'In the Morning' @ EW
  • Bieber Christmas Leak! @ Popdust
  • Baked Bean Tin Christmas Cake – pt 1 @ Butcher Baker 
  • Vintage Clip Art - Lovely Deer - Christmas @ The Graphics Fairy
  • Free eBook 23 Gingerbread House Designs and Recipes @ Favecrafts
  • Toys ‘R’ Us Gets Nostalgic for Christmas @ NYT

 

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Thursday, October 27, 2011

Overnight Christmas Quickie

 

 

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Christmas Update for 10.27.11

Christmas @ Kickstarter

 

 

Christmas Album of the Day
Little Altar Boy & Other Christmas Songs by Vic Dana

Listen on Spotify

Little Altar Boy & Other Christmas Songs @ Amazon.com

Follow Santas Working Overtime on Twitter, tumblr and Pintrist...

 

Just wanted to take a sec to remind everyone about other places you can find Santas Working Overtime plus some other bits and pieces...

Sometimes I don't have enough content to justify a new post but I have some breaking news or a cool link I really want to share asap. That's what Twitter's for. Follow SantasWorkingOT on Twitter or check out my recent tweets with the widget in the upper right corner of this page. Some of the stuff I tweet (and retweet) will end up posted here but a lot of it will only be on Twitter.

You can follow all my blog posts by subscribing to Santas Working Overtime in your newsreader.

I post holiday related pix and tunes over at tumblr plus more pix at Pintrist.

Have a cool link you think my readers would like to check out? Drop me a line at santasworkingovertime@gmail.com

If you appreciate what I do here and you'd like to help me pay some bills simply do your Amazon.com shopping through one of my many links. Check out the constantly updated Santas Working Overtime  Amazon Christmas Store.

And, most of all, thanks for stopping by!

YouTube Christmas TV Grab Bag (Bob Hope, Kimagure Orange Road, New West Magazine)

 

Bob Hope Christmas Special 1985

 

 
Kimagure Orange Road - Episode 38

 
1991 - New West Magazine - Christmas Special

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Holiday Update - Late Night Edition

 

  • Baked Apples with Savory Stuffing @ Shutterbean
  • Candy Corn Macarons @ Annie's Eats
  • The autumn light and colors of Vermont @ cannelle et vanille
  • The Fun of Fall at the Disneyland Resort @ Babes in Disneyland
  • Eddie Money Celebrates The Season With Lou Gramm and Mickey Thomas @ MNN
  • Kaela Kimura’s “A Winter Fairy is Melting a Snowman” and Melting Your BRAIN @ The Christmas Club
  • Rufus Wainwright Announces Return of McGarrigle/Wainwright Christmas Concert @ Exclaim

Holiday Update for 10.26.11

Autumn (Coronet Nov  1946)

*****

 

Christmas Album of the Day

Christmas Is Coming: A Tribute to "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by The Lori Mechem Quartet

 

Listen on Spotify

Christmas Is Coming: A Tribute To ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' [+Digital Booklet] @ Amazon.com

Kringle's Capsule Reviews presents Kringle's Choice: Best of this week's new releases

 

Kringle's Choice: Best of this week's new releases

Highly Recommended

Michael Bublé : Christmas

I thought this might only be my second or third favorite release of the week but it's the album I keep coming back to, a really solid effort that gets better with each listen. 

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

Christmas at Amazon.com

*

Matt Wertz : Snowglobe

Just barely edged out by Bublé comes this fantastic holiday effort from Nashville based singer songwriter Matt Wertz. No Spotify or MOG links as of yet but trust me this is a great album. You can preview and buy Snowglobe at Amazon or iTunes but if you head over to Matt's site you can grab gift packs that include CD's, download gift cards and exclusive letterpress greeting cards.

Snow Globe at Amazon.com

*

A Very She & Him Christmas

I loved the idea of this album when it was announced. I loved the advance single "The Christmas Waltz". I loved it as it played in the background while I blogged. Then I loved it a little bit less the more I listened. It's actually a bit of a downer after awhile and not the adorkable romp you might expect.While it's not as amazing as I'd hoped it would be (a victim of my unrealistically high expectations I suppose) it's still destined to become a staple on the holiday hi-fi all season long.

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

A Very She & Him Christmas at Amazon.com

*

Chanticleer : Our Favorite Carols

Seeing Chanticleer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the musical highlight of my holiday season each year so any seasonal offering from them is going straight into heavy rotation. So good...

Listen on Spotify 

Our Favorite Carols at Amazon.com

*

Tommy Emmanuel : All I Want For Christmas

Absolutly the best instrumental album I've heard so far this year...

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

All I Want For Christmas at Amazon.com

*****

Recommended

Mannheim Steamroller : Christmas Symphony

The Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Express keeps on chugging with this fairly nice collaboration with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. If your a MS hater this won't change your mind but fans will want to give it a listen.

Listen on Spotify 

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony at Amazon.com

*

Season's Greetings: A Jersey Boys Christmas

Pretty much as good as it gets in the Four Seasons cover band Christmas compilation album genre.

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

Seasons Greetings: A Jersey Boys Christmas at Amazon.com

*****

Other releases of note

Deana Martin: White Christmas

Fairly unremarkable collection of holiday standards from Dino's daughter. I so wanted to like this. A duet with yule crooner extraordinaire Andy Williams fails to enliven the proceedings.

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

*

Randi Fay :  Noel

Workmanlike collection of Christmas standards both classic and contemporary.

Listen on Spotify

*

Scott Weiland : The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I applaud Weiland for taking a risk and cutting a holiday themed platter but as I listened to The Most Wonderful Time of the Year I started to wonder if I'd gotten an album by the wrong Scott since Weilland seemed to be channeling Walker. Except a Scott Walker Christmas album would probably be a whole lot more interesting. And listenable. (Actually the arrangements aren't half bad, so there's that)

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

YouTube Christmas Music Grab Bag for 10.25.11

"Deck The Halls" by Tony Craddock, Jr

Despina Vandi - Jingle Bells (Kalanta English Version)

Mia Rose: What would Christmas be like

Serenades-Come home

Holiday Update for 10.25.11

 

 

Christmas Single of the Day
There's Still Christmas by Clarence Clemons

Listen on MOG


Chistmas Album of the Day

All I Want For Christmas by Tommy Emmanuel

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

All I Want For Christmas at Amazon.com

 

YouTube Christmas TV Grab Bag for 10.25.11

 

Date With the Angels

 
Pee-Wee's Christmas Special

 
BJ & The Bear-Silent Night Unholy Night

 
Arnie with Herschel Bernardi 1971

Monday, October 24, 2011

YouTube Christmas Grab Bag for 10.24.11 (The Christmas Card, Beverly Hillbillies, Hollywood Christmas Parade)

The Christmas Card : A Short Film by Mark Randall Berry
The Beverly Hillbillies
Hollywood Christmas Parade 1960

Holiday Update for 10.24.11

Candy Cane Starburst ~ Christmas 2010

By stevetoearth

Christmas Album of the Day: A Very She & Him Christmas

Christmas Album of the Day
A Very She & Him Christmas
(...already jumped to the top of my favorite new Christmas music list...) 

1003 posts and counting...

 

I've been under the weather lately, so much so that I totally missed the fact that I'd reached, and now exceeded by three, the thousandth post mark here at this incarnation of my Christmas blog. The actual number of holiday related posts I've blogged is substntially higher when you figure in the years I ran the original  Senses Working Overtime (and not even counting my years as an online columnist, DVD reviewer or freelance copywriter).

You can find all 1002 previous posts in our archives,  and there's a lot of really neat stuff there, I was surprised, during a recent perusal, at just how many links from the past are still active. You'll find the archive links towards the bottom of the page on the right sidebar. You can also find old posts using the blogger search box in the upper left corner or any of our tags,though to be candid, tagging isn't my strong suit.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank all the writers, artists, musicians, collectors, and other holiday content providers who have made this blog possible. Santas Working Overtime was born of my own obsession with tracking down all the amazing goodies that are shared on the web each festive season and my assumption that if I was interested in this stuff there must be at least a few other like minded folk who would appreciate a bit of help tracking down all those holiday treats. Hopefully this site has helped readers to find lots of holiday fun and good cheer, but in the end it's the people I link to who deserve all the credit and make all our seasons a little bit brighter. Thanks!

 

If you really want to did deep in the archives check out some Christmas posts from my old blog Senses Working Overtime 

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Christmas Albums of the Day : String Quartets Edition

Christmas Albums of the Day : String Quartets Edition

Vitamin String Quartet – The VSQ Christmas Album

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

The VSQ Christmas Album @ Amazon.com

 

Manor House String Quartet - I Saw Three Ships...and Other Carols

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

I Saw Three Ships..... and Other Carols @ Amazon.com

 

Lumiere String Quartet - Classical Christmas


Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG

Classical Christmas @ Amazon.com

 

YouTube Christmas Music Update for 10.22.11

Factory Star : Lucybel

Rock n Rolling Snowman - Plastic Snow

Melanie Wehbe : Mistletoe (cover)

It's Christmas by ultimate ovation

Friday, October 21, 2011

Holiday Update for 10.21.11

CurvesBy Steve-h

jack_and_jill0001

 

Christmas Album of the Day
Christmas is Swingtime by Harry Allen

Listen on Spotify

YouTube Christmas Music Grab Bag for 10.21.11

 

Leon Russell

 

Dallas Frazier and Joe "Fingers" Carr.

Roger Hoard

Charlotte Church

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Christmas Update for 10.20.11

  • Films I Love #55: The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940) @ Only the Cinema
  • Merry Halloween! the Boogeyman @ Christmas TV History
  • Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Mary Martin Feature in Latest Masterworks Line-Up (Mrs. Santa Claus) @ The Second Disc
  • A Christmas Carol @ Netflix Streaming (2008 NR 47 minutes) - Ebenezer Scrooge discovers the true meaning of Christmas in this classic Charles Dickens tale. Retold in stunning CGI animation, this all-animal version is bound to be a perennial family favorite.

 

Christmas Album of the Day

Christmas Song by Manheim Steamroller

Listen on Spotify

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

YouTube Christmas Grab Bag for 10.18.11

Back In Theaters Xmas 2011! SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS

IL VOLO: Detroit Concert Oct. 16, 2011

Spice Girls with Zig and Zag Christmas 1996

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Christmas Cracker

Kringle's Capsule Reviews Quickie

**** Ultimate Christmas : Dave Koz
Generous compilation of Koz's popular smooth holiday sound. Two new tracks give obsessive compulsive fans an excuse for adding Ultimate to thier collection.  
Recommended
***
*** A Little River Band Christmas
Possibly expanded re-issue of LRB's "We Call It Christmas" of a few years back. The original CD, as per Amazon, featured 11 tracks, this digital version found on Spotify and MOG adds two more. 
While none of the songs reaches the hieghts of LRB in thier prime, this collection still delivers a solid  MOR rock holiday experience.
Recommended
***
** Oh Holy Night : Ronny Matthes
Pleasant enough when in sparsely accompanied  piano mode but dodgier when attempting the full Mannheim Steamroller.
***
** Quiet Time - Peace on Earth : Eric Nordhoff
Innocuous, low key piano arrangements with minimal, reletivly tasteful accompaniment.
***
** Christmas with Amber Red Guitar : Martin Nockalls & Steve Merrett
Another harmless but entirely superfluous guitar centered instrumental collection.
***
*1/2 Christmas in Scotland
Unispired  collection of generic renditions of traditional Christmas and Scots-related tunes in a variety of styles. While not every track here is a clunker the poor decent to dross ratio makes Christmas in Scotland impossible to listen to without frequent visits to the FFW button.
Not recommended
***
* The Great Wee Christmas Album
From the same people wwo foisted Christmas in Scotland on an unsuspecting public, is another collection of generic meh, this time abusing favorite holiday hits and carols.
Not recommended
***
*1/5 A Moose in a Maple Tree (Single)
Bob and Doug McKenzie this ain't. Lame Canadian-centric cod ska version of 12 Days of Christmas. Why?
Not recommended

Holiday Update for 10.18.11

WD_Xmas_Parade_8_FC

  • Stubby's getting a little bit excited over at his House of Christmas
  • Justin Bieber's Voice Changes Just In Time For Christmas Album @ Houston Press
  • I discovered today's Christmas Album of the Day thanks to a post over at The Fa' by "mr.christmas". Visit his post for more info and links...

Christmas Album of the Day

Winter Wonderland by Mandy Barnett

Listen on Spotify

Preview / Buy Winter Wonderland

Sunday, October 16, 2011

YouTube Christmas Grab Bag for 10.16.11

 

 


 

 


 

 


 

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Holiday Update for 10.16.11

Christmas @ Kickstarter

Visit Monster Rally : our spooky Halloween Blog


Christmas Album of the Day

Celtic Christmas Spirit by Caroline Peyton

Listen on Spotify | Listen on MOG 

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Holiday Update for 10.15.11

 

Christmas @ Kickstarter

 

 

Christmas Song of the Day

 

Autumn Album of the Day

Autumn by George Winston

Listen on Spotify

Preview / Buy Autumn (Windham Hill 20th Anniversary Edition)

 

Christmas Album of the Day

Season's Finest - Timeless Christmas Classics and Holiday Favorites from Film and Television
featuring Dominik Hauser and Kate Campbell

Listen on Spotify

Preview / Buy Season's Finest - Timeless Christmas Classics and Holiday Favorites from Film and Television