BEST OF CHRISTMAS

For most, this is the happiest time of the year.  From a list of 25 greatest things about Christmas:

• friends and family
• Christmas tree with ornaments and lights

• vacation time
• parties
• sales
• time for giving
• presents
• treats

• carols and music
• Holiday cheer
• the chance to feel like a kid again
• Santa
• only a week to next year, and, this time it will be 2020, the year I've most wanted to see

Today lists the 75 best Christmas movies of all time, with #75 being Office Christmas Party.  Rotten Tomatoes did not think much of it, with 40/40 ratings.

Can't believe this, but they rated Elf, (2003, RT: 84/79) starring Will Farrell, as #1.  #2 was Home Alone (1990, RT: 65/80) and #3 It's a Wonderful Life (1946, RT: 94/95).  Should you wish, you can probably see this film a dozen times during the holiday season.

However, Esquire has its 50 best Christmas movies, and #1 is It's a Wonderful Life.  This restores my faith in what is good:

#2 is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase, #3 is A Christmas Story and #4 White Christmas, with Bing Crosby.  After all, this is the best selling song of all time, in the range of 50 million.  Elton John is #2 with Candle in the Wind 1997 / Something About the Way You Look Tonight with 33 million.

These numbers look awfully low, especially when Star Wars Rise of Skywalker earned $433,540,627 worldwide in four days:

• #1 Home Alone:  $286 million
• #2 How the Grinch Stole Christmas:  $260 million
• #3 Polar Express:  $183 million
• #4 Home Alone 2:  $174 million
• #5 Elf:  $173 million

In case you missed it, there are 19 Christmas movies this year.  Among them includes Last Christmas, which brings back Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh from Crazy Rich Asians, with Emilia Clarke, Emma Thompson  and Pattie LuPone.  RT:  47/81. 

There is Black Christmas, but RT has it at 39/30, so don't bother.  The main actress is, appropriately enough, Imogen Poots.

According to New York, the hottest overall toy of this Christmas season is the Skyrocket Blume Doll--add water and see who grows.  To quote:

Blume dolls start out looking like a potted plant, and come with a little watering can you use to make the doll spring up out of the dirt. Appell explains “the hair of the doll is made of slow-rise foam, and when you water the “plant,” it looks as if your doll is blooming from the pot.”

Above, $25 for 2 from Amazon.  Hottest toy pet?  Zuru Pets Alive Boppi the Booty Shakin' Llama ($15-$25, depending on where):

Then, of course, how can you do without a WowWee Pinkfong BABY SHARK, only $15.  No doubt many of you already forgot that children's song popular in 2016, an earlier campfire song that has roots linked to Dvorak's Symphony #9, similar to sounds from Jaws,

But the recent inspiration came from South Korea.   Here is the group Black Pink and their version.  Red Velvet and Baby Shark.   And here you thought you had permanently disposed of Gangnam Style.

Baby Sharks spurred the World Series champs, the Washington Nationals, with chomping hands.  Give credit to Gerardo Parra, he started this all in DC.

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Typhoon Phanfone (also called Ursula) made landfall over the Central Philippines on Christmas Eve as a Category 2, killing three.  Phanfone was expected to then weaken, but actually strengthened to 120 MPH and now seems headed for Hainan:

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