A Charlie Brown Christmas and the Glow of Colored Lights

Each year, during the month of December, my daughter and I have a tradition of watching A Charlie Brown Christmas with a cup of hot chocolate. We take apart the Charlie Brown diorama that has been set up for fall, and replace it with a winter scene - the one in the holiday special where they go to shop for their Christmas tree. 

While I've yet to find a mini Charlie Brown Christmas tree to scale with this scene that would work, these bottle brush trees seem to capture the colors and images of the tree lot scene well, and we'll just say Charlie Brown is staring off into the distance with a smile, seeing that sparse little tree he wants to buy at the other end of the tree lot.  

A full moon brightens up their way and the glittered background reflects light to make it look like the Milky Way in the Christmas Time night sky. 

These are beautiful, though Charlie Brown sees a tree that is much more real in the distance,
one that is a little beaten down by life like he is

Linus and his blanket at the Christmas tree lot 

Linus shows his support like a good friend should, and brings his blanket to the event, as always. Maybe being misunderstood is bearable when you have at least one friend who is willing to go with you on the journey. Who doesn't want to turn around and see this guy smiling at you? 

It has been such a long, hard year. It has been such a long hard few years, for myself, for all of us on a planet that has been through a pandemic that has forever changed our lives. The marathon continues, and there are a hundred things to do before 2023 turns into 2024, but before this year gets away, I wanted to just have a few peaceful, creative moments, to take a few photos and write a few words....

There is something powerful about the collective experience a generation shares, and there is something amazing about how the smallest of things can help us make that connection. When I would watch Peanuts holiday specials as a kid, I would get this sense that all my problems would go away for those 30 minutes, and I loved the feeling I was watching it with all the other kids in America at the same time.   

I went downstairs this afternoon, tired, holding an empty laundry basket, clean clothes just dropped off in an upstairs room, and as I walked toward the lights of the Christmas tree in our living room, I was thinking of everyone I have loved and lost. I was looking under the tree to see if I had forgotten to put anything there. I was thinking of how I ran out of time to do all the things I meant to. I was thinking of Gen X Christmases come and gone, thinking of how I need to get dinner on the table and of the suitcases I need to pack. I was thinking of all the problems I have that still did not get solved in 2023, of how much work there will be to do in the new year, and all the things I still need to sort out in my life, and said to no one in particular, "I feel lost in time and space." 

And my daughter walked up to me and whispered in my ear, "You are right where you are supposed to be." That might just be about the most comforting thing anyone has ever said to me. 

As hard as all of this is, as bleak and cold as this collective dark night of the soul has seemed, maybe we really are right where we are supposed to be - and there is a hope in that.

Merry Christmas, Generation X, 

to you and to the younger generations you share your holiday specials with.

How we made this diorama

box for scene: painted wood crate purchased from a craft store

moon and sparkly night sky: scrapbooking paper

trees: dyed bottle brush trees, some with snow flocking

ground: white felt

snow drifts: cotton 

fence: purchased unfinished from a miniatures store and painted white 

Linus' blanket: a piece of my old blue tee shirt

tree lot string lights: battery powered colored fairy lights attached with white electrical tape

And for one of our favorite hot chocolate recipes: 

Hot Chocolate and a Charlie Brown Christmas

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(c) 2023 writing and photos by Chloe Koffas

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and the Glow of Autumn Lights

Gen Xers grew up with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving as a mainstay TV special every year just before the big Fall holiday. I loved to watch it decades back as a kid with a bowl of popcorn. If it was snowy or a little stormy that night, that was even better.

Below is the wood crate diorama my daughter and I put together many years back. In the actual story, the Thanksgiving meal takes place outside on a sunny day. We tried capturing this, though it just seemed to lack something - like it was missing the kind of magic the pumpkin patch had in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. So this turned into a different interpretation - more of a late in the day scene. Maybe this is how it would look if the meal got delayed until evening....

Lucy is mostly unseen in this special, maybe everyone needed a break from her - we put her over in the shadow in the corner. 

Three inch tall friends gather around the table for a late in the day Thanksgiving dinner -
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is served! 

What was supposed to look like falling Autumn leaves in this scene looks more like wall paper. And now that I think about it, the scrapbooking paper beneath the table that is supposed to look like grass actually kind of looks like 1970's green shag carpet. Strangely, all of this actually works for circa 1970's interior design when  A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was created since all these colors are in earth tones....this outdoor scene accidentally became an indoor scene, true to its era! Sometimes things don't turn out exactly how you thought they would, and sometimes it ends up being better that way. 

One piece of toast emerges from a tiny toaster.

Snoopy's feet can be seen on the left, as he was in charge of making toast for the special occasion. On the right is a bowl of popcorn (in this case, broken up mail packaging pieces).

We took these pictures way back in 2018, they were forgotten about and just recently found, just in time for Thanksgiving 2023 which is perfect since this year is the 50th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The original broadcast was on November 20, 1973. From then until now, this is one of our truest touchstones as a generation.

Years back, my daughter drew jellybeans and pretzels on paper and we taped then onto Calico Critter plates. 

The handles of the wood crate look like windows, the Autumn garland and lights show through on the other side, although sometimes the purple lights look hot pink, though we'll just go with it. 

Woodstock cuddling with Snoopy behind a plastic bread loaf as they look at the Thanksgiving table

My daughter took this picture to make it look like you are looking inside at the cozy warmth of a table of gathered friends while the frosty purple glow cast down by the moon gives you the chilly feel of an Autumn night.

While I truly miss the collective experience of watching this holiday special at the same time as everyone else did when it came on traditional broadcast television, it's now on Apple TV+ and can be streamed anytime. This means you can watch it at your convenience after you've made toast, popped your popcorn and picked up pretzels and jellybeans from the store. 

Thankful for those who've been reading this blog since it started in 2011. Happy Thanksgiving. 

You can see the diorama we made for the Great Pumpkin here: It's the Great Pumpkin!

                                                                                               (c) 2018, 2023 Chloe Koffas - all rights reserved

The PEANUTS characters and related intellectual property are owned by Peanuts Worldwide, LLC

Get Ready for the Great Pumpkin!

My daughter and I made a Great Pumpkin diorama in a wooden crate as part of decorating for Halloween....

Sally should be making an appearance here somewhere, though these are the characters of the lil' Peanuts set we have, so we'll just go with it. Frosty little pumpkins await the upcoming holiday while Woodstock leans in for a hug and Snoopy dances.

Charlie Brown is disappointed to find rocks in his trick-or-treat bag during this beloved holiday special, though this was only because of a playful argument between animators. Empathetic children from all over the country mailed candy to the studio for Charlie Brown for years each time the special was aired. Those were some thoughtful little Gen X kids!

When the world is not the kind of place we would like it to be, let's use our voices, and hold up our signs, and when we grow tired, let's find a way to quietly sit, and wait, and hope for something better under a starry night sky....

Watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown 

Thurs., Oct. 18th, 2018 

8pm ET on ABC. 

How we made the diorama: Green scrapbooking paper is the ground of the pumpkin patch, blue sparkly paper is the night sky. The moon is construction paper, the pumpkins are decorative vase filler pieces, and the white picket fence is from a miniatures store.

(c) 2018 Writing and photos by Chloe Koffas - all rights reserved

Source:

Seven Facts You Never Knew About It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

The PEANUTS characters and related intellectual property are owned by Peanuts Worldwide LLC/Iconix Brand Group, Inc. 

Christmas Classics of Generation X

There is a whole set of Christmas Classics that Generation X remembers watching in their growing up years....

We got this keepsake set a few years back that includes the holiday specials along with the music that goes with them.  It's the time of year to take this out again.

Images I remember from my Generation X childhood....

This is the 50th anniversary of Rudolph and the US Postal Service is issuing stamps with the characters from the holiday special.  

This set includes Rudolph, the Frosty the Snowman set, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, The Little Drummer Boy, and one I'd never seen before getting this box set: Cricket on the Hearth.


Happiest of holidays, Gen X ~

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and a Couple of Things I'm Thankful For

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving initially aired in 1973, so Generation X remembers watching this each November during our growing up years...

One of the biggest things I am thankful for right now is all the people who have visited my blog this year for the first time, and I'm just as thankful for those who have come back for the hundredth time.

These DVDs get pulled out every year when in the fall and winter for my family and I to enjoy, sometimes with friends, and sometimes with good food. There's something about this time of the year when it comes to the pop culture of the formative years of Generation X - the movies and specials, the characters we grew to love, and everything else.

Thank you fellow Xers, for sharing this time of the year with me ~

Hot Chocolate and a Charlie Brown Christmas (Week 29 of Fireflies at Dusk: A 52-Week Project)

This week, my family and I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas while sipping hot chocolate. Recently, I have thought a lot about Gen Xers as kids watching classic holiday specials as the weather turns cold - a Gen X seasonal ritual. Getting the full experience of any Charlie Brown holiday pretty much requires that you drink hot chocolate and curl up on the couch with a blanket - possibly like the one Linus has.

For all of the evenings throughout my growing-up years that this was shown on TV, I invariably was trying to get through a mountain of homework, and I'd watch it during a study break. No matter what math test was coming up that week that I was stressing about, no matter how behind I was on my history paper, whenever this came on TV, this song made me feel so peaceful - like everything would be completely okay.... (Get a cup of hot chocolate ready before you watch this if you can.)

I remember standing and talking with a Gen X friend in her living room when we were teenagers. I was chatting on about something inconsequential and this was on the TV right near us.  She asked me with a certain seriousness to be quiet for a moment so we could watch this. It felt that in this moment we were in the presence of something sacred. This scene had been very important to her throughout her childhood, and it made me realize how important this was to the childhood of Gen X.

Frustrated again and again by how commercialized Christmas has become, Charlie Brown asks, "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" This is the answer he gets....

"Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about. 

Lights, please.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field...

...keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them...

...and the glory of the Lord shone round about them...

...and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them: 'Fear not, for behold,

I bring you tidings of great joy...

...which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day, in the City of David, a savior...

...which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you. 

Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.'

And suddenly, there was with the angel...

...a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in 

the highest, and on Earth, peace, goodwill toward all.

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

This has become one of the most beloved animated Christmas specials of all time and it has a special place in the heart of many Gen Xers.

Merry Christmas.

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Recipe for Chloe's Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate (Sugar-Free)

canned coconut milk

stevia

powdered cocoa

sea salt

Put three or more tablespoons of cocoa powder in a pan on medium heat.

Pour in one can of coconut milk. One can makes about two cups.

Put in a tablespoon or more of stevia to taste.

Whisk while it heats up until the cocoa is totally mixed into the coconut milk.

A few shakes of sea salt brings out the taste of the chocolate.

Take off the stove right as it starts to boil and pour into your favorite mug.

Enjoy!

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Source: the screenplay/transcript from A Charlie Brown Christmas, 

KJV Bible, book of Luke

(c) 2011 photography and writing by Chloe - all rights reserved