It's a wrap

Christmas music advent calendar

How'd I get so behind with this?

• 13^th: Wynton Marsalis – Blue Christmas Jam (because it's a great song)
• 14^th: The Ramones – Merry Christmas (I don't want to fight tonight) (because I can't see anything at all not to love about the Ramones. One, two, three, four...Christmas)
• 15^th: Bob Dylan – I'll be home for Christmas (because Dylan issuing a Christmas album is one of the most gloriously mad music industry events, ever)
• 16^th: Andy Williams – It's the most wonderful time of the year (opening song on the so syrupy-sweet it's indigestible Christmas sampler E sent over from the States years ago for us. By 'for us' I mean 'for me to torment BLISS with')
• 17^th: The Beach Boys – Frosty the Snowman (Hawaiian shirts, shorts, surfboards, and snow, great mental image)
• 18^th: Bob B Soxx and the Blue Jeans – Here comes Santa Claus (because there has to be one from the Phil Spector album, and isn't that the first one reached for every year?)
• 19^th: New Birth Brass Band – Santa's Second Line (because New Orleans, with the local obsessions and attitudes, must do Christmas really well. I read that as much as New York looks dazzling at this time of year, many New Yorkers go back to work on Boxing Day, lobbing their trees into the rubbish skips as they pass by. New Orleans is good at food, bright and gaudy costumes and trinkets, and celebration)
• 20^th: Kevin Bloody Wilson – Hey Santa (because it makes me laugh. Every year. The way Mr Hankie makes me laugh. Every year)
• 21^st: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – This time of year (because they're double mighty, because there's a great sax break followed by an interjection from the horns, followed by the rest of the sax break, because it starts at 100 miles and hour and accelerates without lifting the lead boot from the throttle all the way, and, did I say they're double mighty (and strangely unheard of))
• 22^nd: The Rap All Stars – Last Christmas (because they've taken the unpalatable and made it quite tasty)
• 23^rd: Ingrid Lucia – 'Zat You, Santa Claus? (because this has a sense of humour, and without one, Christmas must be right miserable)
• 24^th: Snoop Dogg – Twas the night before Christmas (because it's a great song “all year, this what I've been good fo', Santa don't fail me now...all through the house, there were a whole lot of roaches, and a pet mouse...)

Wrapping...

...all done, apart from one or two items that (hopefully) will arrive today (and if they don't, well, we'll dispense with the need for wrapping after the 25^th) with immense thanks to DLL, who assisted me no end. By assisted, I mean did everything apart from tearing off pieces of sticky tape, which was the one role I had in the whole business (and if I say so myself, one I carried out almost faultlessly, even if the procedure is rendered a-monkey-could-do-it easy by the little plastic dispenser thingy).

My wrapping, if pressed into doing it, has improved. It evolved from the plastic bag from the shop to the piece of wrapping paper per item, no matter how small, with enough sticky tape to sink several fleets, to between passable (square-cornered, book-shaped presents) and ragged but a good try (anything of any other shape); but it just takes me so long. DLL was at least ten times as fast as me at my fastest.