About Christmas TV History

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Christmas in July 2019 ANNOUNCEMENT




Happy Summer! The annual Christmas in July party I host each year on this blog is happening soon. If you've been around awhile, you may remember that each year the summer time party is a little different. I try to do something special in July each year because we all get very busy in December and it's fun to have a get-together when we aren't in the midst of the holiday season. This is the sixth year we've come together to do this--THANK YOU for joining in again!




This year I'd like to repeat the mini-questionnaire as a way to spark a dialogue and to have everyone get to know each other  better. I was inspired to try this approach from what I saw (and participated in) quite a few years ago on the website Kindertrauma. With their blessing, I've adapted the questionnaire to fit our needs. We did this last year too--remember all the fun answers?  Click on the links to see the 2014 recap, the 2015 recap, the 2016 recap, the 2017 recap, and the 2018 recap.





This is how we do it: Answer the following five questions as completely or as briefly as you like.  Everyone is invited to take part--long-time readers, other bloggers, casual TV fans, or just the curious passer-by.  ****Everyone should feel free to join the Christmas in July party.******

Copy + Paste the questions below in an email, answer them, and email it back to me.  Send your responses in immediately and I'll email you back with a number. That number is your confirmation that I received your answers and it is your place in the queue. I will begin posting the responses starting on July 1st--and roll them out in the order received. (DON'T put your responses to the questions in the comments below--email them in). Email your responses to: joanna @ 1701 press dot com

Don't worry about photos either--I'll take care of that. And, duplicate answers are part of the party experience--don't exert too much effort trying to find rare examples for your answers. If you want to change your answers after you email them to me--please resist the urge. Instead, add comments to your own post when it goes up in July.




The Christmas in July party is supposed to be fun and entertaining so don't sweat your responses.  Don't spend hours on it--just go with the responses that come easily. Get creative and have fun with it!

If you think you need a little help, feel free to flip through your dog-eared copy of the encyclopedia Tis the Season TV--or put a copy on hold at your local library. You can also use the search box on this website (not easily visible on a mobile device but it is top right of the screen for computers) or click through the archives on this website (along the sidebar on the right).  Christmas TV memories will come flooding back, I'm sure.



Whether you send in a response or not, please feel free to follow along throughout the month of July.  Reading other people's responses is half the fun. I want to encourage everyone to leave comments too--it makes people feel good to know their entry is being read by others. If you like, please use the Christmas in July 2019 badge on your website or social media posts to let others know what you are up to!


2019 Christmas in July badge




Let's get this party started:

Christmas in July 2019: (insert your name--and your website/optional)

1. What is your favorite Saturday Night Live Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year's sketch?

2. Do you most look forward to watching holiday episodes from series? Specials? Movies? Animation? or, all of it?

3. What's your favorite soundtrack from a holiday program? (it doesn't have to have been officially released as an album--just what program features your favorite collection of music?)

4. What one program are you patiently (or impatiently) waiting for me to review on this blog?

5. What change in Christmas entertainment have you noticed over the years? Do you like the trend?






Since I'm hosting this party, I'll be glad to be the first one to jump in and lead by example. Isn't this fun already?

Christmas in July 2019:  Joanna Wilson from ChristmasTVHistory.com

1. What is your favorite Saturday Night Live Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year's sketch?

My favorite is a silly one--I think it's from 1986. I like the alternate ending to It's a Wonderful Life. Mr. Potter (played by Jon Lovitz) is given a violent response to his greed by the angry residents of Bedford Falls. Dana Carvey as Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey and Jan Hooks as Mary are hilarious. A close second favorite is also from the 80s. It's the Gumby Christmas special with Eddie Murphy as Gumby and Joe Piscapo as his musical guest Frank Sinatra singing cartoon theme songs.

2. Do you most look forward to watching holiday episodes from series? Specials? Movies? Animation? or, all of it?

I definitely look forward to seeing all of it but I most enjoy the variety music specials. I always watch Christmas in Rockefeller Center and other music specials on PBS.

3. What's your favorite soundtrack from a holiday program? (it doesn't have to have been officially released as an album--just what program features your favorite collection of music?)

This is a tough one for me because I listen to a lot of Christmas music. But I really enjoy listening to old-fashioned music I learned about from watching Christmas variety specials, like old Perry Como, Andy Williams and Bing Crosby holiday records. Most of the Christmas songs from their variety specials they recorded for albums too so there's quite a bit of them.

4. What one program are you patiently (or impatiently) waiting for me to review on this blog?

It is weird for me to answer this question but I have been meaning to write about 1986's John Grin's Christmas for quite some time.


5. What change in Christmas entertainment have you noticed over the years? Do you like the trend?
The popularity of the formulaic, romance Christmas TV movies--the kind Hallmark Channel makes--have come to dominate the industry. Now the other networks follow the lead and make very similar romance movies. I miss the abundance of Christmas TV movies with more general topics (besides romance), such as children's stories, family issues, grieving loss, starting over, finding meaning in one's life, etc. When I look back to the Christmas TV movies aired on the major networks of the 1980s, 90s, and 00s, I see that cable networks don't make movies with general topic storylines anymore. I miss them.





Do you have any questions about Christmas in July 2019?  Ask below in the comments.

Send in your responses today!  Thanks for playing along and Merry Christmas in July.



Joanna Wilson is a TV researcher and book author specializing in Christmas entertainment. More about the TV programs mentioned on this website can be found in her book "Tis the Season TV: the Encyclopedia of Christmas-themed Episodes, Specials, and Made-for-TV Movies." Her most recent book "Triple Dog Dare: Watching--& Surviving--the 24-Hour Marathon of A Christmas Story" was released in 2016. Her books can be found at the publisher's website: 1701 press.com

*Support this website and its research by purchasing the books at 1701 press.com


1 comment:

  1. I'm with you on the Hallmark formula Christmas movies. Always the same story with a different setting and different actors.

    ReplyDelete