Earlier this year, the Taste of Home website ran a fun vintage feature that included 60 years worth of vintage Christmas images, one for every year between 1940 to 2000, which demonstrate visually how the holidays have changed over time. Check out this fun feature, which includes the 1965 circa Christmas photo you see above.

Go to our "Vintage Christmas" archive to see all our vintage holiday photos.

With his 100th consecutive sell out at Madison Square Garden, CBS special, and current tour with Stevie Nicks, Billy Joel has been in the news a lot lately. What you may not know is that he wrote a Christmas song, which appears on his Nylon Curtain album. "She's Right on Time" was written around Christmas time and Bill Joel has stated more than once that it's one of his personal favorites from his lengthly catalog of tunes. The song was an uplifting love song that acted as a counter weight to some of the more serious songs on the album, such as Allentown and Goodnight Saigon, which were dealing in very heavy themes. Joel considered Nylon Curtain to be "his Sgt. Pepper's" and said it took him the longest of any of his albums to record.

Listen to all our seasonal recommendations
by clicking here: Holiday Song Spotlight archive!

Hallmark announces new immersive Christmas experience

Hallmark has announced a new Christmas extravaganza that will take place right outside their corporate headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Their inaugural Hallmark Christmas Experience will celebrate all things Christmas at the  Kansas City Crown Center every weekend beginning November 29 through December 23, 2024. This free, open-to-the public immersive experience is designed by Hallmark’s renowned creative team "to bring all the charm of a Hallmark movie town square to life, inviting guests to be merry, make memories, and find magic together."

“Creating ways to help people celebrate and connect is at the very core of our brand DNA at Hallmark, especially during the holiday season,” said Lindsey Roy, Hallmark’s SVP, Brand Development. “We are so excited to bring this uniquely Hallmark experience to life, and can’t wait to watch people find joy and make memories together.”

Guests at the event will be able to shop at a Christmas market with event-exclusive Hallmark products and one-of-a-kind gifts created by Hallmark artisans and other seasonal merchants, indulge in holiday-themed food and drinks, and go ice skating. The event will also feature nightly tree lightings featuring "one of the world’s tallest Christmas trees," card-sending and gift wrap stations, contribute to a Crayola Community Mural, and strike a pose during interactive light walks and photo ops.

There will also be exclusive ticketed activities, including events and photo ops with beloved Hallmark holiday movie stars, workshops with Hallmark artists, dining experiences and breakfast with Santa, and much more.

Learn more about the Hallmark Christmas Experience and buy tickets today.

Go to our holiday highlight archives!

Since 1973, Hallmark has been manufacturing Christmas ornaments as part of its Hallmark Keepsake Ornament collection. That first year, they introduced a small line of six glass ball ornaments (see one example above) and 12 yarn figures representing their initial collection. Since that modest entry into the ornament pantheon, Hallmark has produced more than 8,500 Keepsake ornaments and more than 100 ornament series with over 500 active local chapters of the national Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Club in the United States and Canada.

Go to our "Did you know" archive to see all our fun facts!

Our latest review!

Nominated for three Oscars in 2023, including best picture, The Holdovers earned a best supporting actress win honoring the wonderful performance of Da'Vine Joy Randolph Not only was this my favorite Christmas movie of 2023, it was my favorite movie of the year, period.

Read the full review of this movie, and its accompanying music soundtrack, as well as all our mini movie and soundtrack reviews, by clicking here!

Our latest review!

One of my favorite holiday-themed book has become quite the Christmas classic in David Sedaris’ short story collection called Holidays on Ice. Featuring hilarious travails of his time as a Macy’s Department Store elf and other brilliant holiday humor, Sedaris brings his unique narrative style to the holiday season in this must-read book.

Read our full review of this book, and our growing list of mini book reviews, by clicking here!