I'm really interested to learn if the character in question was a real part of Santa Claus history or made up just for this issue. I wouldn't be surprised if 20th Century history actually records the backstory mentioned within this book. I wouldn't be surprised in the least.
A great penultimate issue.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.
Yesterday I looked at one of the largest Advent calendars on the market. Today, I'm looking at 2 which boast being the smallest Advent calendars ever made.
First up is from the UK on a website called Allbranded. They sell what they call 'The World's Smallest (Advent) Calendar'. About the size of a credit card, it's essentially a blister pack of 24 individually wrapped candies. On the flat side, there's an image of 2 leaping reindeer with numbers 1-24 randomly printed on the image. Each day, you find the corresponding number, pop open the wrapper and enjoy a single flavor of candy, randomly inserted. Once again, there's no prize for making it to day 25. But for an MSRP of £1.28 per Advent, it way cheaper than the Lindt calendar found in European Costcos.
Oh, did I forget to mention that you have to buy these in bundles of 1000? That's right! It'll cost you a minimum £1280.00 for an order.
Another contender for the tiniest Advent calendar in the world is from a company called In a Matchbox. They pride themselves in making extremely small gifts that fit inside a standard matchbox in hopes of reducing the cost of shipping on the buyer. Their 'The World's Smallest Advent Calendar in a Matchbox' contains 24 magic door decorations for a Christmas tree. The fun behind these cardboard ornaments are to guess which beloved fairy tale and holiday character is being represented on the front. Open the door to each character's home and a short poem provides another clue to the mystery character.
Small golden ribbons are included so you can make a loop on which to hang on your tree, this Advent sells for $20 and offers free shipping on all UK orders.
Today's featured Advent calendar is currently available in Costco. Only you have to go to the Costco superstores in Europe in order to buy it and that's even if you can afford it.
The chocolatier Lindt released for 2024 an Advent calendar that is 5 feet tall. Selling for £180 ($228.10 American), this controversial Advent had made quite a buzz on social media. It barely fits inside a standard shopping cart. People who video themselves attempting to buy the kit can barely lift it. And if critics are the be believed, there's hardly any candy inside.
The calendar has 24 offerings. So you don't even get a prize on Christmas! Most of the chocolate are bon bons. There's a couple of Lindy reindeer which appear to use the same mold as the Lindt Easter rabbit candy. (That's the rumor, anyway.) Also included are several signature Lindt chocolate teddy bears and no less than 4 2-inch tall chocolate Father Christmas treats.
Many are calling this Advent calendar a giant scam. The doors hiding the candies are 3 times the size of the chocolates awaiting inside the box. Folks are unhappy with the amount of repeats. Plus one mathematical critic went and compared prices with a store in the UK and found that the goodies found inside had a retail value of just under £90 (that's just over $114 American.) So basically you'll be paying half of the price in just packaging, most of which isn't recyclable!
As inviting as this calendar looked based on shear size alone, I think I'd be better off if I bought 24 random chocolates at the Lindt store at the mall in Greensboro, NC, bagged them up and randomly withdrew a piece each day up until Christmas. I'd go one better and buy an extra piece to enjoy on December 25th. I know it certainly be easier on my wallet doing that way!
Brian Joines serves up another serving of a unique holiday comic. The level of humor and quirk is there. However a development within the Secret Society of Santa Clauses has resulted in a lot of the banter in which those elements I've enjoyed in the first issue to diminish a bit.
Plus there's the inclusion of a new character that I don't quite understand why they are in this book.
Besides, isn't he dead?
Not quite the level of perfection. But still an enjoyable read for one looking for off-the-wall holiday comics.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
The painted cover by Kirk DouPonce (in a style that reminds me of Robot Chicken) shows Santa Claus battling zombies. With a whip made of Christmas lights. And a shotgun... Triple barreled. Okay, you've got my interest.
The ad describes zombified reindeer. Exploding sea birds. And a foe in the form of Father Time. Alright. Shut up and take my money!
Ben Wolf crafts an insane story that combines elements of horror, time travel, and Lord of the Rings with the legend of Santa Claus. There's heavy doses of humor, surrealism and satire that make for the wildest representation of life at North Pole since the first 5 minutes of Richard Donner's Scrooged!
A couple of scenes were meant to be shocking. Normally, I'd feel those moments like a gut punch. However, since I had seen the covers of all 3 books in the Santa Saves Christmas trilogy, my level of disappointment and sadness was lessened. In other words, I knew that someone who dies in this book doesn't really die permanently. But you'll have to read the book to find out who.
My enjoyment with this first volume resulted in something I rarely do when reading a prose novel. With about 60 pages to go, I went on Amazon and ordered book 2! And that was after the spoiler!
If your view of life is a tad askew. If you like your Christmases to be a mix of both traditional and contemporary. If you root for the Grinch to make it an un-Merry Christmas to those Whos of Whoville, this is the holiday novel you've been waiting for.
If they ever make a movie of this, you can guarantee it won't appear on the Hallmark Channel!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
I start off Advent 2024 with a very special Advent calendar. Made by Larry Warren, this early 1980s felt Advent calendar was the first such countdown to Christmas I ever had.
Made of red felt, there was a naked green felt Christmas tree in the middle of the calendar. Down below in white appliques was the month of December from the 1st all the way to the 25th. Also included were 25 ornaments that stuck to the calendar with Velcro.
There was essentially 2 ways you could use the Advent calendar. First, you could decorate the tree with the ornaments. Then each day you removed an ornament and placed it over each corresponding day of the month you got closer to Christmas. Or you put an ornament over each day and every day closer to Christmas, you added an ornament to the tree. That was how I did it. I loved getting to customize the tree to my liking and I always made sure Santa was the last ornament to adorns the tree. I think I had his sleigh representing Christmas Eve.
As long as you kept the Velcro clean, the ornaments would stick to the tree really well. Unfortunately no matter what you did to keep the calendar clean, eventually the appliques would get so slick that you couldn't put the ornaments over the numbers. Eventually I would have to put the ornaments to the side where there was a little felt poking through. But even then, that was no guarantee.
Yes. I still have my calendar. It's packed away with other holiday decorations that will probably never see the light of day again due to our cats. But at least I still have it. Though maybe not for long. I see people trying to sell their versions on eBay for almost $200 bucks. So I might be posting mine for sale sometime soon...
