Happy winter! Today is the shortest day of the year, with winter arriving late-morning EST. Let us honor the light found within each one of us.

Last week, I shared the Macy’s windows with you. Today, it’s Rudi’s turn, but with a twist. His are the Macy’s windows in downtown Salt Lake, where their Macy’s used to be a ZCMI. And while Rudi alludes to it a smidge in his introduction, it’s worth noting that ZCMI historically (and that Macy’s today) had the confectioners in their candy department build the windows. I mean those displays were impressive when you thought they were made with plastic & fluff….

Believe it or not, today is the last full day of autumn (or spring, if you’re reading this south of the equator), with the solstice arriving late tomorrow morning. Today definitely felt more seasonal, with my vest zippered up, fingerless mitts on, and a scarf tucked in.

Behind today’s door is a post from chick at Blue-Footed Musings about Christmas tree ornaments.

Folks, we’re down to the home stretch, with Christmas now hanging out there at the end of this week. I hope you’re feeling good about things and that Omicron isn’t affecting your plans at all. (I’ve started double-masking in indoor spaces and have decided to give a pass to indoor activities, like the movie sneak preview I was going to attend on Friday, until after I get back from Connecticut. I desperately do not want to miss a second Christmas with my parents and figure these are some small sacrifices in the short-term.)

Speaking of my folks, behind today’s door is another post from my Dear Old Dad, whose got your Christmas dinner trivia question set for you:

Most popular Christmas song the year you were born

I know what you’ve been wondering this week –- Wonder what the most popular Christmas song was the year I was born. Thought that I’d help you out a bit by sharing the name of the website that has the information.

In our house, growing up meant sharing life among six siblings. As the oldest kid I got the best and worst of it all, but at Christmas time, it was always the best. I was the first to get a record player of my own and pretty much first dibs on any 45 that came into the house. I was the first to get the top-selling Christmas record of all time. I can claim no credit for this. It was the collaboration of Irving Berlin and Bing Crosby and a million military men and women all dreaming of a White Christmas. It became and remains the top selling record [single] of all time.

To find out the most popular Christmas song during the year of your birth, simply pick your birth year from the menu at #1 Most Popular Christmas Song by Year generator on playback.fm. Have fun. Merry Christmas.

Thanks, again, DOD! I have to admit I was surprised by mine — a German hit, re-released in English, from an artist whose most recent record had been named after a vegetable. The mid-’70s were a weird time.

I’ve been watching a lot of Christmas movies this year, many of them following a tried-and-true-but-tired recipe of content. As I was watching tonight’s film (Santa Who? starring Leslie Nielsen), the idea of a Bingo card of tropes occurred to me.

So I created one.

Click through and you’ll be given a playing board. You can either play online or print it out. (If you hate the board you get, instructions for getting a different one are under “Help.” But this only gives me 30 players for free and I’m not sure if that’s by IP address or by card, so maybe don’t keep refreshing over and over again.)

I’d play using the entire 2021 holiday movie season (which I think dates back to late-October), and obviously this is all on your honor and up to your interpretation. Let us know in the comments if you’re already at Bingo or a cover-all today. And remember, you’ve got weeks still to go of the Christmas season, so don’t be deterred if you haven’t had a chance to start watching yet!

And, most of all, have fun!

Welcome back, everyone! Christmas Eve is one week from today. I hope you’re getting excited!

Behind today’s door is a post from Bridget at The Ravell’d Sleave. She’s got a hilarious tale of family and music and Christmas for you.

We’ll see you back here tomorrow to start the final week of the tour. Have a great day!

Sorry that this post is a little tardy. I got my COVID booster the other day and the side effects took over last night.

But while I was downtown getting said shot, I had a chance to look at the Macy’s windows, an annual tradition of mine. This year, their windows focused on Tiptoe, the blue reindeer:

[I accidentally cut off the top of the final chapter. It should read:

“Chapter 5”
“Christmas is here and it’s time … ”