CHRISTMAS EVE

Happy Christmas Eve 🌲 

One of my favorite days of the year. I just love the feeling it has and wished some days, everyday could feel like this. It's been a relaxing day. The Lad and I took the pooches for a lovely walk around the park. We saw several deer, which I had no idea were so close to the mother's house. Could they be Santa escapees? Tonight, I have a surf and turf dinner planned, with the Christmas dinner tomorrow of Roast Beef with Yorkshire pudding. So for today, I'd thought I share some of my favorite pictures from the season from here and Bucks County, that I captured for memories, and some of my favorite Christmas ditties. I warn you, I'm an old soul at heart. Thanks for your friendship and visiting through the year and wish you all a very Happy Christmas. May you be celebrating the way you want.

Home in Hummelstown

My friend's tree in Negley Park

New Hope train station

West Shore Farmers Market

Drinks at the Salt House, New Hope

Mangia Qui

Doylestown Christmas tree

Tree O Books at the Used Book seller in Doylestown

Tip of the hat to Kirk, for sharing this with me. So beautiful. Got me teary eyed. Some amazing giants.

Florals I got for my mother

A visit to my grandparent's grave-always at Christmas.

New Hope's Town tree

And as is tradition, probably my favorite song, from Bucks County neighbor and native Christina Perri and her brother, Nick Perri. The most beautiful song.

Happy Christmas Eve!

AN EVENING INTERLUDE....

....with one of my favorite groups this time of year, The New Christie Minstrels!!! Grab a few cock-a-tails and get ready for some soft shoe. How can one be sour with this upbeat sound? I'm also very inspired by that hair updo with balls! I also think Pam Demic is somewhere voguing to these songs.

LATE NIGHT WITH THE NEW CHRISTY MINSTRELS

 

The New Christy Minstrels, is a large-ensemble folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961, and is still under his direction.From their beginnings as prominent figures in the early-1960s U.S. folk revival, the group recorded over 20 albums and had several hits. The New Christy Minstrels', like the Ray Conniff Singers, have always been part of my Christmas, and my parents had two of their joyous seasonal albums. The key to the record's success is that it doesn't rely on standards, the backbone of the record is comprised of original compositions or new tunes from outside writers. It's true that few of the songs even approach the quality of standards, but it is fun to hear fresh holiday tunes, even if they're decades old, and I love their folk-pop style of music. Here are my two favorite carols from them....

CHRISTMAS WITH THE CHRISTY'S

 

 Mind you... not Governor Christie, hell, even I don't make that many sand tarts!!!!!!

 

I have mentioned before that while there are a few new Christmas Standards I like, for the most part I enjoy the old, vintage classics or the ones with some jazz in them. Probably because it reminds me of Christmas's when I was young and a wee one. The newer ones, just don't have something in them. Two groups I love this time of year is the Ray Conniff Singers and the New Christy Minstrels.

The New Christy Minstrels are an American folk music group founded by Randy Sparks in 1961.They recorded over 20 albums and had several hits. Their 1962 debut album, Presenting The New Christy Minstrels won a Grammy Award and sat in the Billboard charts for two years.Sparks had been a solo musician in the late 1950s, mixing folk music with Broadway. In 1960 he formed the Randy Sparks Trio with his wife, Jackie Miller, and Nick Woods, but soon realized he wanted a larger group. At the time folk music was very popular and choral groups like the Norman Luboff Choir and Les Baxter's Balladeers began incorporating it in their repertoires. Sparks created a 14 voice ensemble, The New Christy Minstrels, by combining his trio with another trio, The Inn Group , a quartet, The Fairmount Singers, and banjo player Billy Cudmore, folk-blues singer Terry Cudmore, folk singer Dolan Ellis and singer/guitarist Art Podell. Large commercial folk groups did not exist in those days, and The New Christy Minstrels burst onto the folk scene with "a barrage of color-coordinated blazers, starched petticoats, choreographed grins, and stage makeup. "The group's name was derived from Christy's Minstrels, a blackface group formed by Philadelphia-born showman Edwin Pearce Christy in 1842. Sparks modeled his relationship to his band after legendary composer Stephen Foster, who had given many of his compositions to the Minstrels to help popularize them.

They have had many good songs, but their favorites to me are the Christmas songs. Can they be beat? Their voices sound all so amazing together........now one of my favorites.......

 

The New Christy Minstrels

 

I do believe the Mistress was left behind from another time. I much prefer the old, peppier Christmas tunes over the new one these days...like The New Christy Minstrels, always a favorite.