First off, Happy Gaudete, the third Sunday of Advent:

When Rudi and I went to Iceland a number of years ago now, one of the fun things we pre-scheduled was to attend a “bedtime story,” in which we were read a Christmas picture book (and sated with cocoa and Christmas cookies).

We came home with copies of that book, which focused on the Yule Lads and which we’ve shared with friends over the years. But the real magic is in being read to, so I thought I’d share a few options with you.

First, while this isn’t the exact book we were read, it’s based on the same folklore: Christmas Is Coming by Jóhannes úr Kötlum with illustrations by Tryggvi Magnusson:

Next up, we have Sutton Foster reading us Memoirs of an Elf by Devin Scillian with illustrations by Tim Bowers:

Finally, a classic, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, read by the classic Liam Neeson:

Do you have a favorite holiday picture book you revisit every year?

While I enjoy a good holiday commercial, mostly I see commercials because I’m watching holiday specials.

Today I thought I’d share three of my favorite songs from Christmas cartoons:

From ‘Twas the Night before Christmas, “Even a Miracle Needs a Hand”:

“We’re a Couple of Misfits” from Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer:

And, finally, “When Christmas Comes Around” from The Polar Express:

Do you have a favorite song from a holiday special?

A wise blogger would have remembered the outdated phone she uses as a camera these days when she went out, but tonight I was not that person. So, I’ll show you some of the holiday sights of D.C. another day.

I am absolutely a sucker for commercials that tug at the heartstrings, particularly near the holidays. I mean, I won’t necessarily buy your stuff (or, in fact, stop criticizing your company if you’re on my naughty list), but I’ll at least stop and pay attention to your commercial for 30 seconds.

You’ve probably seen the short version of this commercial from an online retailer. Watch the long version:

Kroger and Coca Cola both had similar thoughts this year:

I haven’t seen even an abridged version of this one from Chevy on tv, but it’s a tearjerker:

U.K. businesses are the best at Christmas commercials. Here are a couple of my favorites from this year.

John Lewis steps it up every year:

I really appreciate when a commercial is just in it for the holiday spirit and has nothing to do with what they actually sell, like this British clothing company:

And I’ll leave you with the National Trust’s Christmas shop for my knitters:

If you’re also a sucker for this kind of commercial, you can see a whole playlist of them from around the world here or just the U.K. ones. I might be inclined to set the playlists running while I was wrapping gifts, as something festive in the background, but not so distracting that I’d get sucked in for long periods of time.

Have you seen any Christmas commercials that you’ve loved so far this year?

Rudi at Random Duck likes to balance my bonhomie-filled belief in the transformative power of Christmas with the power of laughter and parody (although it should be pointed out that the first dvd he picked for this season was The Holiday).

Today, he’s got a series of laugh-out-loud, skewering holiday skits and performances to start off your Thursday.

Thanks, hon!

Happy St. Nicholas Day! I hope you survived Krampusnacht unscathed and that you awoke this morning (or, come home later today) to find your shoes full of goodies.

Today, we get to do some touring! Raidergirl3 at an adventure in reading is the blogger who’s participated most in the Virtual Advent Tour, having joined in its inaugural year, back when Marg and Kailana were running it. That’s how we met, and I joined her on the tour the following December.

Today, she shares some Christmas memories with us, both from her personal life and of her Virtual Advent Tour posts through the years. I hope you check out both.