Who's the Best... Santa Claus Comic Cover?

Doug: Do you have a favorite Santa Claus cover? Or, how about an interior appearance?

 

An Oral (Well, Written) History of Christmas Decorating

Doug: Happy day-after Thanksgiving, friends -- or as some say, Black Friday. Meh...

Doug: Yesterday our well wishes featured a few comments about decorating for the holidays. Among others, Humanbelly suggested --

HB: Hmmmmm-- is our topic range expansive enough to touch on some sort of discussion of holiday decorating? Perhaps from the perspective of childhood memories vs. current things folks do? I kind of like the fact that we have a sizable international contingent to weigh in on something like that. . . 

Doug: Why, yes -- our topic range is! So there's your prompt for conversation today (and maybe into the weekend). One thing I recall about my youth was that we always had a real tree. However, it wasn't too long into my marriage that my wife and I decided that we both found that to be a hassle and have had artificial trees for the past 20+ years. It's just so much easier to leave the lights on them and with just a bit of bending and twisting we're ready to go the next year. We really only decorate our porch as far as outside goes -- we did lights on our shrubbery for a few years, but rabbits chewed through the wires. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I've pictured a "family heirloom" that's now come to my house from my mom's. Yes, that's a Coca-Cola Santa Claus. We have had that on display at Christmas time for as long as I can remember, and I love it. When my mom gave it to me a few years ago my sons thought it was a bit creepy. So now we playfully refer to him as "Chucky Claus". Sort of took the luster off of it for me, but what the heck.

Doug: OK, enough about me -- let's hear from you now.

UPDATE: Late today HB sent us a few photographs from his weekend decorating. If you've not been to the comments section, these photos accompany his comment from 8:45 pm.

UPDATE #2: Overnight (to me anyway), Edo Bosnar sent a few photos of the city of Zagreb to reinforce a comment he left in today's post. Thanks, Edo!

About Santa. We Have Something to Tell You...

Doug:  One of the rites of passage of youth, at least among those of a Christian background, is the "finding out" that Santa Claus just ain't real.  Today we're asking you to reflect on that moment, or perhaps for you it was an evolution of thought, when you found out that ol' Saint Nick wasn't really coming down your chimney.

Doug:  To be honest, and this may be hypocritical of me, I don't recall when or how I found out.  I'm going to cop out and say it was on the playground, because after all -- isn't that where many of us learned all of the important "facts of life"?  So instead of my experience, I'll relate a tale of how we informed our younger son.

Doug:  He's such an innocent guy -- really to this day as a college sophomore he's still a loyal, sympathetic kid.  So when he was around 8- or 9-years old, and still a believer, my wife and I decided that we needed to tell him before he got into an embarrassing situation at school.  What's that expression?  "The quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach"?  So we take the little guy to our local Barnes & Noble and serve him up a big hot chocolate and a huge cookie.  We sit at a counter with our backs to the other patrons and begin the process of rocking his little world.  It was humorously painful (if there is such a thing) to watch his face as the weight of our words became realization for him.  He quit eating and just sat for what seemed like a very long time.  And then we could see a light come on, and a whole new level of disdain cross his face -- "Does this mean the Tooth Fairy isn't real, either?!?"  Poor guy...

Doug:  How about you?  Got a story?  And for those of you celebrating, a very Merry Christmas from us to you!