Top Ten of the Week: December 17, 2017

HERE BELOW is the top ten of this week, starting December 17, the year of our Lord 2017.

It’s the ho-ho-ho-liday season! I’ve been so in the holiday mood since I’ve returned from my trip that I’ve decided to dedicate this entire article to the Greeting Season’s wonders.

Candles

Friends, I love a good candle. During the holiday season, there are many great candle choices out there to fill your home or outdoor shed with the smell of some wonderful things. Whether it be the scent of an evergreen tree, of cinnamon and apples, or Christmas potpurri, an easy way to jump into the seasonal mood is with a candle. I once bought a candle with the scent of “cookies for Santa,” and it was a very good smell. It was so good, in fact, that I even tried to taste the candle in hopes it would be the same! It wasn’t, and I spent the night in the hospital.

Christmas Carols

Shh! Do you hear that? In the distance? It sounds like voices, soft voices singing. Could it — could it be? Um, yup, you bet — it IS! It’s the sound of a group of carollers, patrolling the neighborhood streets and spreading the joy of song. When the kids were younger, I would take them from house to house singing our favorite Christmas tunes. This year, Dale is visiting me for the holidays from his timeshare in Alabama, and after some of our late night shenanigans in Barbados, I can’t wait to belt out some fine holiday tunes with my new best friend!

Dale is sure to be the hit of the neighborhood caroling circuit this year.

Yule Log

I’ve written extensively about some of my negative past experiences with live fire. So this year I’ve decided to step in the technological age and display my fire digitally — with the yule log! I just turn on my tv and play a loop of the beautiful burning wood. It’s so convincing, I swear I can feel the warmth emanating from the television. I’ve even went as far as to place my custom-built television on the ground…to replicate the fireplace.

Jack Frost, The Major Motion Picture

There are so many wonderful holiday films to indulge in, but I wanted to point out a lesser-known one, and it’s Jack Frost. The plot of the movie is that Michael Keaton dies in a car accident, and transforms into an anthropomorphic snow man when his son wishes him back to life. Michael Keaton saves his son from multiple bullies and teaches him the finer points of being a man of the house. I’ll admit I teared up a bit at the end when the snowman melts and Michael Keaton’s ghost is forced to leave the bounds of our Earth. All-in-all, a wonderful film for exactly one whole family to enjoy.

“Kid, let me give you a piece of my mind” is my favorite line from the film.

Star Wars

A huge current trend right now is pretty obvious, and it’s Star Wars. The new film is out, and it’s not only sweeping the nation, it’s sweeping the world. Of course, Star Wars is the nickname given to the Strategic Defense Initiative created by Ronald Reagan in 1984 to protect the United States from a potential Soviet nuclear strike by using space lasers to vaporize the weapons of attack. The plans never really amounted to anything and they cost hundreds of billions of dollars. But it was captivating for a nation to dream and now we have 9 movies to help us celebrate our nation’s achievements in space.

Santa Claus

I love keeping up with my favorite holiday legend, Santa. There have been many different dramatizations involving Santa, but the same cannon always keeps hold. The Santa we all know, married to Martha, with an army of reindeer and elves in tow to defeat the Devil. As always, that pesky Devil is trying to sabotage Christmas and deliver coal to the world. St. Nick isn’t having any of that, and he’s not about to have Lucifer spoil the birth of his Lord. If you don’t celebrate Santa, I recommend you dive into the mythology as much as you can this season.

Santa and the Devil, during their final battle.

Christmas Gifts

Last, but certainly not least, it’s the reason for Christmas itself — the gifts! When I was growing up, we didn’t open many gifts on Christmas morning. It wasn’t because we were poor, my military parents just wanted us Budapi children to become hardened to the idea of not getting what you expect at a ripe, young age. I learned to soften up a bit when I had children of my own, and now I love waking up at the crack of dawn with my family to open gifts. Haha, sometimes I even have to drag my eldest, Bosco, out of bed because he drank too much the night before. I love celebrating the holiday with breakfast and cocoa and my family, and I hope you do, too.

Happy Holidays, everyone! From your beloved friend, Sinclair!