Holiday Time In NYC

I love the holidays, especially in NYC.  It seems like the whole city is wrapped like a present (for eager tourists!).  No, seriously, the city is decked-out in beautiful lights, intricate store displays and lots of very happy people!  Despite our troubles that seem to linger in the air like rotten eggnog (and those “troubles” will remain nameless, because we’ve all heard enough!) this time of year gives us all a wonderful opportunity to remember what’s important in life.  Aside from our good friends and family – all those things that make each one of us feel special in our own way.  So, the holidays always make me feel nostalgic because I can’t help but reflect on the past year and all that has happened, both directly to me and in a larger sense throughout the world.  A lot can, and does, happen in 365 days.

One moment that is especially nostalgic for New Yorkers is the lighting of the humongo tree in Rockefeller Center.  This year marked the 76th Anniversary of the Christmas Tree, and posted below is one on-looker’s personal video of the extravaganza (not me!  I’m a New Yorker!  Do you think I’d be caught dead attending the tree-lighting in person?! 😉 )

Aside from the Rockefeller Center tree-lighting, here are some things that make me feel especially nostalgic during the holiday season (in no particular order):

Menorahs

Snow

Vacation

Hot chocolate

Pumpkin and cinnamon flavored things

Teddy bears

Ice-skating

Scarves

Bulky, turtle-neck sweaters

Soup

What makes you nostalgic during the holiday season?

More Powdered Drinks – The “Koolest” Aid In Town

The “powdered drinks from my childhood” theme continues here.  Look who I ran into this morning:

Source: My personal photo

How many of you said “OHH YEAHHHH!!!” when you saw that?  I know I did (I hope he wasn’t terribly offended).  The elusive Kool-Aid man lives on in the hearts of “grown-up” children (unlike me) everywhere!!  What flavor do you think he is?  Mountainberry Punch?  Rock-a-dile Red?  Sharkleberry Fin?  Mmmmmm I can just taste that cold, artificial goodness running down my throat on a warm, spring half-day in fifth grade.  Of course, my parents would never buy the stuff so I was definitely on a play-date whilst enjoying this fantastic beverage.  Therefore, Mr. Kool-Aid Pitcher Dude reminds me of fun, elementary school play-dates (and super red tongues!!).  Man, he makes me look so short.

Did I mention this was taken on a Polaroid camera?  Classic.  That makes me think of, oh I don’t know, taking countless ridiculous pictures with my friends?  It also makes me think of Cher (Alicia Silverstone) taking Polaroid pictures of her outfits in Clueless.  🙂

However, I’m definitely not the only one who becomes reminiscent when running into the Red Man.  Check this out:

I remember the first time I saw this on Family Guy, which is one of my favorite shows of all time.  It just goes to show us all that Seth MacFarlane and all the guys over at Family Guy are also constantly having “flashbacks” and interjecting these bits of memory and nostalgia throughout the show.  It is the perfect placement of the iconic wall-crashing “OH YEAHH!” and reminds me of every Kool-Aid commercial as well.

Dane Cook takes this one step further:

He’s picking on our poor pitcher pal, but his commentary is hilaaarrrrrious so I HAD to post this here.  Dane remembers him, I remember him, Seth MacFarlane remembers him…do you?

How It Started – Cartoons and Commercials

 

 

The above two YouTube videos sparked my initial interest in this “project.”  My brother actually posted these videos on my facebook wall.  When I first clicked “play” I was so, so excited!!!  

Not only did I remember the words to the entire Garfield and Friends theme song and the entire Crossfire commercial, but I absolutely remember every visual of each segment.  These really take me back to Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons in elementary school.  I actually owned a Crossfire game at one point, and am not sure where it is.  I have to go digging for it in my basement.  If I recover it, I’ll be sure to post some nice action photos.  I can’t promise I’ll be surfing on one of the game pieces though.

In terms of Garfield and Friends, wow did I love that show!  What’s there not to love about a cat who eats everything in sight.  I did collect lots of Garfield (and Odie!) merchandise over the years.  Stuffed animals, T-shirts, pencils (I probably received these in a goody bag from a birthday party) and of course, the Garfield stuffed animal with the suction cups on his paws, that everyone used to stick on the inside of their car windows.  What a fun site to see on the Long Island Expressway.  The one thing I never fully understood about the show was the cut to Orson and his farmland-friends, but I enjoyed it just the same.  It was a nice break from the constant sarcasm and digestion taking place in Jon’s kitchen.  But poor Wade with his inner tube.  A duck who can’t swim – no wonder he almost got the crap kicked out of him every episode. 

I miss this lasagna-loving lump!  “Disguises, surprises and pies of all sizes” for all!