How To Be A Christmas Story Villain

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

The-Grinch-classic-christmas-cartoons-17601683-380-285Two names have become synonymous with evil at Christmas – Ebenezer Scrooge and The Grinch.

For all of the goodness kindness of Christmas that Buddy The Elf and Santa Claus reflect, Scrooge and The Grinch are their antitheses – the mascots for the naughty list.

If anyone we know is being stingy and grounchy at the holidays we call them a Scrooge. If anyone is being greedy or cranky we call them a Grinch.

Scrooge and The Grinch are the ultimate Christmas story villains. Selfish, harsh, mean spirited – they are symbolic of every attitude we strive to avoid this time of the year.

I think it’s about time we change that though. I think it ought to be a compliment when someone calls you a Scrooge or a Grinch.  Continue reading →

They Do Exist

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There are 2 commercials I look for every year that signal the season of Christmas. These commercials have been running since I was a kid and continue to come back on TV twenty years later.

The first is the Campbell’s soup spot where a snowman melts into a kid. The second is the M&M’s ad where the candies meet up with Santa Claus:

You probably know the M&M’s commercial by heart. The three mythical characters bump into each other under the Christmas tree and all faint at the other’s sight, muttering in disbelief, “They do exist”.

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I look forward to this commercial every year because, for just a few seconds, it triggers the childlike wonder that Christmas is supposed to inspire in us.  Continue reading →

When A Gift Isn’t Really A Gift

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FullSizeRender-5Did you ever have that one relative who, instead of picking out a Christmas gift for you, gave you money to go buy your own?

I’m not talking about someone who sends you a card with some cash in it (although this post essentially applies to that as well). I mean more like the person who lets you buy your own gift, wraps it up, and gives it to you on Christmas day.

If you’re the person in the family that did this, don’t worry – this is not a critique of your gift-giving methods. The fact that you’re able and willing to give anything at all is a generous act of love.

In fact, a lot of people would prefer that Christmas worked like this altogether. Continue reading →

Red Cup Psychology

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FullSizeRender-2Few things say Christmas like a Peppermint Spice Mocha.

I do my best every year to get at least one of every Starbucks holiday drink – even an Egg Nog Latte if they’re available.

It’s not just the drinks that taste good – it’s the red cups.

For years now Starbucks has rolled out special red cups during the Christmas season to hold their holiday drinks.

They don’t offer any flavor. They don’t change the content of the drink inside of them.

Yet when they come out each year the red cups evoke a special feeling in many of us. They’re a signal for the holiday season. We feel more drawn to drink out of them than the typical white cups.

You might have heard a little something about the red cups this year. Continue reading →

Remaking Christmas

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muppet-christmas-carol-5-things-you-probably-didn-t-know-about-a-muppet-christmas-carolIt’s just not Christmas for me without “The Muppet Christmas Carol”.

We all have that one Christmas special or movie we have to make time for during the holiday season. And sure, I love “Elf” and “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “Charlie Brown Christmas” and of course “Die Hard”. But “The Muppet Christmas Carol” is my personal favorite Christmas movie.

The original music is infectious. The emotions are heartfelt. Michael Caine as Scrooge should have won an Oscar.

If you’ve never been won over by the charms of the movie you might think this is all blasphemous. You might think adding Kermit and Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat to Charles Dickens’ classic story to be a literary crime.

But what makes “The Muppet Christmas Carol” work so well is that it really doesn’t stray from the author’s original story. Continue reading →

If You’re Working On Thanksgiving, Be Thankful

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FullSizeRenderMy first day on the job at Kohls was Thanksgiving.

2 years ago, and just a few months out from stepping away from a full time youth ministry job, I decided to take a part time job at the retail giant to make some extra cash for Christmas.

I did a few training shifts in the week before the holiday but my first official shift on the register was Thanksgiving night at 8 PM.

This was the first time Kohls and many other stores would actually be open on Thanksgiving night itself instead of opening in the early hours of Black Friday – a trend that is only continuing to grow.

I remember staring at the clock at dinner that night, counting down the hours, dreading the moment I would have to leave the pumpkin pie behind to go risk being trampled by a sea of crazed customers busting down the doors seeking half-priced Keurigs. Continue reading →

What Really Happens When You’re The Last Man On Earth

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“The Last Man On Earth” betrayed its title in the very first episode.

If you haven’t watched the hilarious Fox show, now in its second season, that’s not really a spoiler. You can tell from any commercial that Will Forte’s character finds out fairly quickly into the series that he is not actually the last living human who survived some sort of massive viral outbreak.

I think “The Last Man On Earth” is the funniest and most creative show on television today. Every week the show surprises me as it adds depth to a seemingly simple premise and creatively increases the stakes for its oddball cast of survivors.

I also appreciate how the show has made the lead character Phil an unapologetic, unlikable jerk. Continue reading →

And Still

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ronda-rousey-ufcRonda Rousey just needs a minute of your time – if that.

Rousey is the top female Ultimate Fighter in the world – and arguably the best in the world overall right now. She’s undefeated in her 12 professional fights. And she’s a huge favorite to defeat #1 contender Holly Holm this Saturday night.

Yet all of that doesn’t even begin to describe Rousey’s awesomeness. She doesn’t just win fights. She annihilates and obliterates the competition. Rarely do her fights ever get out of the first 5 minute round – if even the first minute of that round: Continue reading →

Your Mistakes Give You Meaning

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trump.thm_If you’re in the public eye and you want to find redemption for a public mistake, there’s really only one place to go: Studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, a.k.a. the main stage of “Saturday Night Live”.

Actors who take themselves a little too seriously. Celebrities who say the wrong thing on social media. Politicians involved in some sort of scandal.

We’ve seen them all take the stage on SNL over the years.  Just this weekend presidential candidate Donald Trump – a phrase that will never not be hilarious and slightly disturbing at the same time – hosted the show. Over the course of the evening the show roasted his blusterous personality, his reputation as a racist and his tendency to trash his other political candidates.

That’s the catch with coming on Saturday Night Live – you have to be willing make fun of your mistakes. Continue reading →