Bunchland

A countdown of fact and funny until the big man comes to town

Enjoy  this digital Story of the Nativity by ExcentricPT. We especially enjoyed how Joseph and Mary looked for a route that would “avoid Romans.”

Photo by rabasz on Flickr

A countdown of fact and funny until the big man arrives

Anyone watch any number of showings of White Christmas on AMC this weekend? We tried, but fell asleep before Wallace and Davis and the Haynes sisters even got off the train in Vermont. (Don’t worry, White Christmas is a favourite and will be watching during a present-wrapping session or two.)

The titular song, as sung by Bing Crosby, is the best-selling record of all time. Irving Berlin wrote it in 1940, probably. Accounts vary as to when exactly he wrote it.

Oh, we owe you a fun fact, don’t we?

Influential choreographer Bob Fosse (Cabaret, Chicago) made dances for White Christmas, though he is uncredited.

Photo by rabasz on Flickr

Stephanie Potter explains how she sees the entire extended family, without over-extending herself.

Here we are again the holiday season, the time for being together with family. However, having kids really changes the whole dynamic of the holidays. But how do you keep everyone happy? There’s the in-laws, the aunts and uncles, the great-grandparents, friends and the list goes on. Everyone wants a piece of the joy that children feel so deeply this time of year. We figured out early that being at every event left us over-extended.

My husband and I both come from big extended families who love to celebrate. Our exhaustion from all the travel translated into visits that were too short, cranky parents and worst of all, cranky babies. Here are a few tips that we garnered after four Christmases with our darling children. I hope these tips can help you create a holidays that you remember for a life time for all the right reasons!  Read more...

How to keep the Santa magic alive when the kids start questioning things

OK, so you’re telling us that one man, and an old one at that, flies all around the world in one night? And his sleigh, pulled by flying reindeer, is piled with enough presents for all the (good) kids in the world? Even allowing for time zones and such, that’s quite the claim. The seemingly magic appearance of presents on Christmas morning coupled with a visit to your local mall’s Santa may be enough to convince the smaller ones in your bunch, but as your kids start developing those deductive reasoning skills, they just might start doubting ol’ Saint Nick’s veracity.

So you lie. No biggie. You tell them that Santa Claus is able to fly around the world in one night delivering toys to good girls and boys because he’s magic. And if they ask for proof, well, who eats those cookies you leave out for Santa if he’s not real?  Read more...

A countdown of fact and funny until the big man comes to town

This year, were you to buy your true love all the items from the 12 Days Of Christmas, you’d be looking at spending $97,641.05  (US$96,824.29)

The cost of everything is up nearly 10 per cent from last year, according to the Christmas Price Index. While we’re not sure who really gives a flying fig about eight lords a leaping, we always figured three French hens would be rather reasonable – the hens are up 230 per cent this year! (Also, we don’t know what’s involved in these presents – how long do the drummers drum for? Is this a flat rate or are is the true love charged per drummer, per hour?)

Photo by rabasz on Flickr

A countdown of fact and funny until the big man comes to town

Not so much funny as awesome, today we bring you Run-DMC’s classic video for “Christmas in Hollis.” We wonder if Santa has since updated his Simon-type method of determining naughty and nice since this 1987 video was filmed. (We imagine he now just goes through some sort of Santa Facebook and hits “like” for anyone who’s been good this year.)

Photo by rabasz on Flickr

A countdown of fact and funny until the big man comes to town.

Do you know Kate Beaton? The Nova Scotia-born currently New York City-based web comic artist? If you don’t, please, acquaint yourselves with her comic, Hark! A Vagrant. Putting her liberal arts degree to good use, Beaton typically draws from historical and literary figures and events. Here’s a Santa comic. Oh, productivity has dropped to zero because you’re perusing her archives all afternoon? You’re welcome.

Photo by rabasz on Flickr