Tis The Ugly Sweater Season! Advent 2021: Day 4

It's December 4th. It reminds me a lot of Star Wars Day (May the 4th). To me Star Wars and the holidays are a perfect fit. My 2nd Christmas saw the Star Wars Holiday Special debut on TV. My 3rd through like 8th birthdays were filled with Star Wars presents from Santa. And up until I was in my 20s, the original trilogy always aired on TV on Christmas Day- so after presents I was always watching it.

So let's look at some Star Wars Themed Ugly Sweaters. 

May the Forth of December be With You!

The design of this one reminds me of Atari's Empire Strikes Back video game.

Chewbacca has a very special place in the heart of our family.

Wearing this sweater is sure to mess with the heads of some people.

Admit it- the scenes on Hoth technically make Empire a Christmas movie.

This sweater is absolutely beautiful.

This sweater is based on a 1980-81 holiday greeting card released by Skywalker Ranch.

AS for my Advent gift for you today we go from ugly Star Wars sweaters to ugly Star Wars vehicles. Hey- they can't all be as beautiful as an x-wing! Enjoy!

Classic Toys from a Madman's Youth: Advent 2019 Day 25

Merry Christmas everyone!

It's the final day of Advent 2019! As promised I present to you my favorite toy from Santa. Actually it's a whole grouping of toys and I almost didn't get them that year!A little backstory on that.

It's December of 1980. I wanted to find my dad's comic book collection. So I went into my dad's study and opened his closet. There hiding everything was this beautiful Empire Strikes Back sheet that was hanging down like a curtain! I was in awe.

Yes- I still have the sheets!

So I tore it down, only to find my dad's closet was filled with Star Wars toys! So I grabbed something and ran to my mom in the kitchen and asked if I could have whatever it was I found.

Needless to say, my mom freaked out. She called my dad thinking Christmas was ruined. Anyways, they decided to let me have whatever the toy was thinking that I would forget about the rest in the closet- which I did. Sorta...

So let's jump to Christmas Eve. That day it actually snowed. So much that it was considered a blizzard in my state of North Carolina. We all ended up staying at my Grandmama's house for some reason. But it didn't mean that my mom got off from work. Being a nurse, someone came in a big four wheel drive thing to take her to and from. But I got to stay at my Grandparents house for Christmas. And I had snow cream and hot weenies (spicy BBQ hot dogs) for the first time ever!

What made a great Christmas even better was when I got home a few days later, my floor was covered in toys from the ice planet of Hoth! There was an AT-AT, a snow speeder, Luke and Han on Taun-Tauns; one of which had a slit in which to keep Luke warm. Plus there were several Hoth base play sets! Oh- and a Wampa!

Empire Strikes Back being the first movie I remember going to see in theatres (I had been taken to Star Wars when it first came out, but I was too young to remember!), and after having an awesome ESB themed 3rd birthday party the month prior, this just seemed to be the best Christmas ever. Plus, there was still snow outside. So I got to recreate scenes from Hoth in the snow!

Almost 40 years later and I still am in love with Empire. It's my favorite movie! I feel like I am on Cloud City every time I drive into a brilliant sunset. My Yoda impression is on point! And Hoth is my happy place! I love the cold and as I fall asleep, I imagine I am in a research station on that frozen planet. Man, you cannot tell my joy on those rare times it snows.

I think these toys are my favorite because Christmas of 1980 truly was a magical holiday. Nothing seemed to go wrong at that time. Sadly, as I got older, those yule tide's were more bitter as my family struggled with divorce, health issues and life in general.

But hey- this is a happy time! So as my final Advent present for you this 2019 Christmas season, here's a great video in which somebody turned the Battle of Hoth in a Christmas Parade massacre! It's great!

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!