Christmas Countdown Characters #23

X might be for Xmas, but it took some searching to find today's celebrity lurking in the 1990s.

X is for Xena - Warrior Princess.

This may seem a strange selection for a Christmas celebrity list, but there are many Xena fans for whom Christmas would not be complete without a viewing of a Xena: Warrior Princess episode, "A Solstice Carol."

I think I am justifying Xena's inclusion here because she is one of those fictional characters who change from evil to good. The TV series focuses on Xena's quest to redeem herself for her dark past by using her formidable fighting skills to help people. Xena, with her partner Gabrielle, challenge ruthless warlords and their armies in an ancient mythological world. So, it is seemingly impossible for Xena to appear in a Christmas scene, but it happens. In one day Xena met Santa Claus, Jesus, and Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey, but not without criticism.The Christmas episode of Xena is undeniably another poor imitation of Dicken's ' A Christmas Carol' with even more Christmas ...

For today’s Christmas episode, we’re going to look at a Xena episode that somehow incorporates A Christmas Carol, Santa Claus, and Jesus into a single, gloriously insane story. Along the way, it reminds us of mid-90s syndicated television was really like
A Christmas Carol – Yeah, that’s the whole plot of the episode. Of course, since the episode is set 1800 years before the birth of Charles Dickens, Xena gets credit for coming up with the idea.

Santa Claus – Not only is there a character named Santicles (with a long “e” at the end.),He is clad in a red suit and fake beard, and he has to go down a chimney.

Nativity Scene – Xena and Gabrielle meet Joseph, Mary, and their newborn child.

Holiday Cheer-O-Meter – You know what? This episode is goofy as hell, the plotting is crazy sloppy, it’s cheesy, and most of the story requires everybody to be mentally deficient in some way. But as dumb as it is, I really had a lot of fun watching it. It made me genuinely laugh a couple of times, and even the stupid stuff was good-natured. I’m not going to pretend for one minute that it’s good TV, but I had a good time. That, plus the overwhelming amount of Christmas makes it a 10..... (from http://www.spunkybean.com)

Regardless of all of this incongruity surrounding Xena's association with Christmas, she is nevertheless a formidable tactician, inspirational leader, and strategic thinker - Xena, you belong here - Peace on Earth!

Postscript: Yesterday my friend June and I did something we have not done before... I think this Christmas festive spirit has overwhelmed us! Together we went into our local newsagency and we each bought a copy of the Christmas edition of The Australian Women's Weekly, just to get the recipe for a totally indulgent Christmas dessert we would like to include on a menu sometime during the festive season. It so happens that this dessert , Tiramisu Ice Cream Box was created by another "X" Christmas celebrity, Xanthe Roberts, assistant food editor of The Australian Women's Weekly If you want to see this sensation created, watch Xanthe demonstrate it here on the Nine Now website.

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary. Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers). This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach. Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that work up

Christmas Countdown 15 : Christmas Tree #11 - Disposable

Plastic cups https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/christmas-stem-ideas-kids/ Advent Blog : Day 11 - Disposable We are all so much more conscious about ridding our landfills and oceans of plastic waste. For Christmas, here is a way to use up some of those disposable items which seem to multiply at holiday parties and celebrations, or perhaps you have just been saving them up for a creative use.... Who would have thought coffee pods would make such stylish Christmas trees ? ... Add caption If you don't have one of those machines, then perhaps you have coffee on the run - Starbucks or Nescafe ? from https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/369858188126737920/ Nescafe cups https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/72761350208620530/ The disposable cups don' t have to be brand names to work well as materials for Christmas trees. Taking an engineering approach to plastic cup trees seems to be the answer for a more ornate result. from https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as wrapping str

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Search This Blog