Don’t get me wrong, I like getting into the holiday spirit as much as anyone, but as the yuletide trappings come earlier and earlier each year, it can sometimes get annoying.
When that music also comes from inanimate objects it can get even more tedious.
That being said, we’ve got some collectible items that we break out with the Christmas decorations each year and like to listen to a few times.
That includes a Santa-clad Homer Simpson who sings a parody version of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and his partner an elfin Bart Simpson who parodies “Jingle Bells.”
An M&M glowing Christmas tree plays about 10 seconds of the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from The Nutcracker. This is one piece I’d like to here more of and why they didn’t include an extended version is a mystery to me. I could understand if the music as still under copyright, but it isn’t. Perhaps the performance is copyrighted.
Then there’s the demonic Santa Claus candy dish that serves a variety of digitized holiday classics whenever someone triggers a sensor near the bowl. What makes this Santa seem so evil are his glowing eyes that flash red every time he’s activated. And his high-pitched closing of “Happy New Year” is kind of creepy as well.
This year we added some motion-activated musical ornaments to our collection, which is appearing more and more like a mistake. These decorative orbs play “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” whenever they’re touched or even when someone moves. The first 57 times they went off wasn’t so bad, but now it’s getting on our nerves to the point I want to break out the baseball gear and have some batting practice.
I know the festive sounds of the season are a valued tradition, but sometimes all you want for Christmas is to enjoy a “Silent Night.”