Christmas Party Ideas

It’s that time of year again, the time for gatherings with family, friends and the in-laws. Bring out the fancy finger food, deck the halls with boughs of holly, blow up the inflatable Santa Claus that’s been sitting in the attic, strap the reindeer to the roof and grab the pants with the elastic waist band.

The holidays are filled with endless hours of decoration, preparation and dining. Sometimes you wonder how to begin planning your annual holiday party amidst the chaotic craze of the seemingly busy “100 days of Christmas.” This season, The Voice will guide you with holiday theme ideas.

1. Vintage Christmas. Revive the spirit of Christmas with the classy crooners of the Rat Pack: Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop and Sammy Davis Jr. Decorate the tables with old postcards and Christmas poppers.  Light and fashion the Christmas tree with strings of silver tinsel, or try out a 1950’s aluminum tree.

2. Gingerbread Houses: Remember the simple joys of childhood as you gathered with friends and family to make gingerbread houses? Host a gingerbread party and revive the childish spirit of Christmas with bowls of sugary treats, gooey gumdrops, and drippings of homemade icing. Simply cover a large dinging table in a disposable table cloth, purchase a set of gingerbread sheets, ask each guest to each bring a bag of their favorite treat, play a cd with some of your favorite Christmas tunes, and reminisce.

3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Ever wanted to incorporate the infamous holiday movie into your holiday party? Invite guests to dress in bright clothing and bring out their inner “whos.” Play the ever popular 1960’s movie and deck the halls in strings of fruit loops and colorful dishes of candy.

4. Grandma’s Knitted Sweater: Everyone owns one of Grandma’s not so fabulous Christmas sweaters. Invite guests to arrive decked out in their most hideous knitted attire.  You can even host a contest for the ugliest Christmas sweater, Project Runway style.

Sing Like No One’s Watching: Holiday CDs

American Idol David Archuleta released his first holiday album this year called Christmas From the Heart. Audiences all over the country fell in love with his surprisingly mature and sultry voice, and awkward but cute personality in 2007. You can’t help but be mesmerized by the beautiful melodies and song arrangements. This album truly embraces what Archuleta represents—a full-hearted family image. One of the best cuts on the album is “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” which he collaborated on with his mom! However, the rest of the songs, while vocally superior to many other renditions, fail to make a lasting impact and serve better as background music to a party than spotlight Christmas carols. Overall, Archuleta succeeded in creating a well-done holiday soundtrack.

A Very Special Christmas, Volume 7 – Various Artists

For the first time since 2003, the A Very Special Christmas project released its latest collaboration of holiday hits. The proceeds of this charity album benefit the Special Olympics. According to USA Today, the franchise has raised over $100 million for the program’s athletes since 1987.

Creators of this latest album decided to focus on selling to a younger audience so many artists from this collection are from an eclectic but more mainstream background in music. Artists include country stars Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, the Carter Twins and Gloriana; pop stars include Colbie Calliat, Sean Kingston and Charice; and Disney stars include Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Mitchell Musso. Each song presents itself with a new and interesting rendition of the classic holiday songs that differentiates with each artist.

What are the best cuts? Colbie Caillat’s soothing version of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” puts you in the mood to cuddle up by the fireplace, and Carrie Underwood’s rendition of “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” is upbeat with a nice country twang.

But creators focused on sales when picking artists like Miley Cyrus in “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and Ashley Tisdale in “Last Christmas,” who struggle to come up with decent vocals.

So if you’re looking for some new versions of Christmas songs from your favorite artist and want to support an amazing organization, pick up your copy of A Very Special Christmas: Vol. 7 now!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra – The Lost Christmas Eve

  Think you don’t like Christmas music? Think again, because the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is like nothing you’ve ever heard before. This progressive rock band, founded by the big shot composer Paul O’Neill, takes Christmas music from the mellow clichés we have all grown to love to an innovative rock opera worthy of stunning lights and booming pyrotechnics. 23 tracks of classic Christmas songs revamped coupled with the band’s fantastic original music make up The Lost Christmas Eve, the final piece to the band’s epic Christmas-themed trilogy.

Centered around a Christian message, the album follows the story of an angel who is sent to earth on a mission find the person that has best continued Jesus’s work. The album takes off with a symphonic wonder, “Faith Noel,” beginning with a dazzling introduction to “The First Noel,” and easing into a dramatic rendition of “God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen.” The album continues to wow listeners with the power ballads “The Lost Christmas Eve” and “Christmas Dreams.” 

The greatest surprise on the album comes in the form of the sensational “What Child is This.” The transformation is brilliant and unexpected for first time listeners, especially when it climbs into an escalated reflection of a life gone to waste. For those who enjoy a good acoustic tune, the TSO supplies quality acoustic guitar in the genuinely warm “Christmas Jazz” and the enlightening closing track “Midnight Clear.”  The Lost Christmas Eve is truly ear candy for rock lovers. It just so happens that it’s also Christmas music.

For those who enjoy a more modern sound but feel bad leaving traditional Christmas music behind, Relient K offers a glorious combination of the two. Their hit album, Let it Snow Baby…Let it Reindeer, is the perfect compilation of Christmas cheer and good music. It’s fun and diverse, yet obviously a holiday album. The tracks range from heartrending ballads to blissful ballads to upbeat punk rock songs stylistically similar to Blink-182, all while maintaining a distinctly Christmas quality.

Relient K – Let it Snow Baby…Let it Reindeer

From the cheerful “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” to the religious and somewhat emotional “I Celebrate the Day,” Relient K captures all the best qualities of Christmas in a variety of styles, all of which are accompanied by the superb skills of frontman Matt Thiessen, who wows listeners with both his smooth vocals and his flawless piano playing.

Fortunately, though the album only contains a handful of original music, the covers of the classics are amped up by explosive guitars and impressive harmonies. You’ll recognize the songs, but you’ve never heard them done like this before. After hearing Christmas rock at its best, don’t be surprised to find yourself rocking out to “Angels we Have Heard on High” and “Deck the Halls.” Relient K even includes a couple original, more pessimistic tunes like “I Hate Christmas Parties” and “In Like a Lion.” While not full of ideal Christmas cheer, these more somber tunes might be just what’s needed in the midst of Christmas chaos. With something for everyone, Relient K’s cleverly titled Christmas album is not something you want to miss.

Now that you know the latest and greatest Christmas music, go get yourself in the holiday spirit!

Have a Good Read This Christmas Eve

This novel is a bit on the lengthy side, but it takes no time at all to plow through. It’s easy to get into, and will have you hooked by the first couple of pages. The gripping storyline includes love, betrayal, death, and, best of all, drama!

Not much for the Middle-Aged melodramas? Not to worry. Perhaps a more adventurous love story would strike your fancy. Give Annette Curtis Klause’s Blood and Chocolate a try. This is basically the exact opposite of Twilight, only strikingly similar at the same time. Instead of a male vampire falling in love with a useless mortal, Blood and Chocolate tells the story of a mysterious young werewolf who falls in love with a human boy intended to be her lunch. The two fall madly in love and face many challenges as their two worlds collide in an epic adventure. But take caution in opening up this work in the midst of finals week: you simply will not be able to put it down!

If you’d rather depart from the romance genre altogether, then Adriana Trigiani’s newest coming of age novel Viola will deliver the perfect dose of teenage angst, while at the same providing encouraging insights into the world of friendship and growing up. Shipped away from her beloved hometown of Brooklyn to a glum boarding school in the outskirts of an Indiana town, Viola is faced with a whole new world that she feels completely ill-equipped to handle. A talented film-maker, she gradually learns to stop seeing and living life through her screen and open herself up to the new experiences and friendships that await her.

If you find yourself in the mood for some classical delight, but cannot face diving into something quite as hefty as War and Peace, go for The Princess Bride. If you have seen the movie, then you know how entertaining the plot twists and character developments are. And Christmastime is always a little more enjoyable with a bit of Buttercup romance in the air. Another, perhaps heavier, romance is the newly-turned-motion-picture The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. This novel could certainly be considered more of a drama than William Goldman’s The Princess Bride, as it deals with the lessons of love and loss that a young couple encounters during their somewhat fated journey. A box of tissues might be a good idea if you pick this one up.

For more of a science fiction thriller, give Inkheart a go. The popular first installment of the planned Inkworld Trilogy, takes the reader through the many adventures of twelve-year-old Meggie Folchart, whose father possesses a special power of turning stories he reads aloud into real life. Lucky Meggie gets to travel to exotic places she reads about in books, such as Italy and many parts of Europe. If you ever were a fan of the animated film The Page Master as a little kid, this is the book for you. Another novel with a similar feel, C.S. Lewis’s famous children’s adventure tale The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, takes the reader through the closet of four young orphans, and into a magical world caught in eternal winter. It becomes the mission of this brave lot to bring the world of Narnia back to its original enchanting existence.

Some historical fiction might be the way to go if you don’t feel up to the time travelling and mythical creatures. Ann Rinaldi’s Time Enough for Drums is the story of 13-year-old Jemima Emerson living in Revolutionary War America. She finds herself torn between just about every member of her family, each of whom seems to be supporting a different war party: Patriots, Whigs, British officer, militiaman, and Continental Army soldier. This is a good read for those suffering the typical holiday season family squabbles that are typical of the holiday season.

Several decades after Jemima, comes Old Derry, the chubby old man in Edward Lear’s A Book of Nonsense. This charming collection of children’s tales is actually a compilation of limerick’s published sequentially in early nineteenth century England. Do not let the “children’s tales” turn you away, because each of Lear’s snappy poems is packed with clever twists and allusions that a wide range of age groups can appreciate.

So, now that you have a good list of choices for some great holiday reads, hit up your local bookstore – or Christmas wish list – and wipe your brain clean of any finals residue. Happy holidays!

Christmas Traditions

Have you ever wondered how some Christmas traditions started? Who thought of having a huge tree with lights and a star at the top? Who came up with the idea of mistletoe?

Christmas Trees: Whether it is big or small, fake or real, green or tinsel, almost every family has a Christmas tree. But where did they come from? Christmas trees were first seen in the 16th century in Northern Germany and the Baltic States and quickly spread t h r o u g h o u t Germany. In the 18th century, C h r i s t m a s trees were prominent in the Rhineland, located in G e r m a n y , for a long time because they were c o n s i d e r e d a Protestant custom. Roman Catholics soon adopted this custom, and it then spread throughout Europe and into England, where a picture of the Royal Family’s lighted Christmas tree was published in an American magazine that highly publicized the custom. German immigrants to the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries also spread this tradition.

Mistletoe: Mistletoe first appeared in the Greek festival of Saturnalia as well as in marriages. It was used mainly as a symbol of fertility and was believed to have life-giving powers. In Scandinavia, it was used as a peace offering; enemies would call

 truces under mistletoe and fighting couples would kiss and make up under it. In 18th century England young ladies would attend kissing balls, where they stood under balls of mistletoe and could not refuse a kiss. If the young woman remained unkissed by end of the night, it would mean she would not expect to be married the next year. It was also said that a couple who kissed under mistletoe would be married.

Santa Claus: The character of Santa Claus is based on Saint Nicholas of Myra (present day Turkey), who was famous for giving gifts to the poor, especially children. In reality, Saint Nicholas was not a large and jolly white bearded man in red. That idea came from political cartoonist Thomas Nast in the 19th century. The idea of an actual “Santa Claus” came from the Dutch legend of “Sinter Klaas” who would place small gifts and surprises in the shoes of children.

One thing in particular that Santa is famous for is climbing down through the chimney and filling our stockings with gifts. This idea came from the legend of a nobleman and his three daughters who were struggling with money. Because of this, the daughters could not marry for they had no dowry. One night St. Nick threw a bag of gold through a window into the nobleman’s house which allowed his first daughter to get married. The next night he did the same thing for the second daughter. On the third night, the window on the nobleman’s house was closed; St. Nick then climbed down the chimney and left the gold. The next morning, the daughters woke to find the gold lying in their stockings which had been hung to dry by the fireplace.

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