1. What's the best Christmas present you ever got?
I had a classroom mentor who meant the world to me in my sophomore year of high school and who had a profound impact on my adulthood and independence. For Christmas in 1997, he gifted me a hardcover copy of Richard Bach’s book,
Illusions with an embossed feather on the cover and an inscription which read:
“It’s so easy to get lost in the illusions. You are the biggest illusion of them all. If you remember this you won’t go far wrong.”
It helps my perspective to revisit that memory every year.
2. Christmas trees: real one or artificial?
I don't decorate much at all, but I have a 1950s ceramic light-up tabletop tree that my late father thrifted years back which I set up on my dining room table in his memory.
And last January I procured a tiny artificial pre-lit tree with a velvet base which I decorated with Muppet ornaments I crafted from a set of cake toppers I picked up on the cheap, saving me hundreds over the cost of the official Hallmark versions. I keep it decorated all year so it only takes me 2-3 minutes to set up for the holidays.
3. How early do you/did you begin to do your Christmas shopping?
I don't have anyone to shop for, but on the occasions when I have I'm generally done by the beginning of November.
4. What's your favourite Christmas decoration (as in, one you put up)?
The first full-length Muppet film I saw as a young man was
The Muppet Christmas Carol. The songs and scenes will forever be close to my heart. Fellow fans may be familiar with the incredibly detailed limited edition figures available exclusively from Palisades Toys some years ago before the company folded. The sets command hundreds of dollars on eBay.
In 2020, I was able to secure sets of the Mini Muppets produced 17 years ago from Wave 2, Series 3 and 4 which capture all the magic of Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, Kermit’s nephew Robin as Tiny Tim, Fozzie Bear as Fozziwig, the hecklers Statler and Waldorf as Jacob and Robert Marley, and the ice skating penguins from the film, as well as the jovial and absent-minded Ghost of Christmas Present.
These premium and exclusive figures are the absolute likeness of the characters I so fondly remember from my childhood. My new tradition is to have them encircle my late father's vintage ceramic Christmas tree in my dining room as a centerpiece to the home.
5. How early, generally do you wake up/are you awoken on Christmas morning?
I wake up at about 6:30 before my alarm every day of the year. I generally don't have Christmas plans or company during the holidays so I just stay in bed and watch documentaries and take in my latest musical research. It's a cozy day off.
6. What's your favourite Christmas song?
Low - "Just Like Christmas"
6a. Do your kids still believe in Santa Claus?
I shall never produce hell-spawn, the only crux of which is that my library will end with me.