Finally In The Holiday Spirit

I recently attended what I thought would be a recital for a friend of mine to see him sing some Christmas selections, which turned out to not only be something different, but an evening of holiday cheer and fun.
My friend, Wes, is a senior in high school. He is a member of the show choir, and during all the times he has talked of this group I apparently had no idea what he was talking about because when I finally saw him perform last weekend I was blown away at how much detail goes into a show for them.
When I heard show choir, I just thought he meant the choir that shows their talent around different schools, but come to find out it meant they put on a dazzling performance with singing and dancing. The event was their Christmas dinner theater and it not only corrected my thinking of what show choir is, but it also got me in the holiday spirit of giving, joy and all that cheerful stuff.
The most entertaining moment for my fiancée from the evening’s festivities was watching the male performers dance 17 centimeters away from my face due to the fact that my chair was placed in the aisle. It wouldn’t have been near as awkward if some of the quick-footed, constant-smiling singers were females, but I not once ever had that opportunity because it was always a male waving his jazz hands in my face.
They weren’t trying to be obnoxious by any means. They just didn’t have a lot of space to work with and my chair happened to be right on the edge of the dancing area.
Since the discomfort I felt of having these teenage boys performing their joyous music in my personal space was not my favorite moment of the night, I will let you know what it was. What I found most appealing was the music selection. Each song they performed reminded me of a holiday moment in my past that I have always held dear.
“Santa Baby” is a tune that each time I hear reminds me of elementary school. When I was in my formative grade school years, the local junior high choir would come to our campus every December to sing some Christmas songs as practice for their upcoming holiday program. What I always enjoyed most about these visits was when they would sing “Santa Baby.” Four female singers would pick a sixth grade boy out of the crowd (usually a sibling of one of the choir members; it always pays to know somebody) and then put on a borderline promiscuous show with the sixth grader being Santa Claus. The thing was very tame by today’s standards, but I’m sure some uptight parent eventually complained because the number has since been discontinued for unnamed reasons.
Other favorite songs I enjoyed from Wes’ program were “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” “White Christmas” and “Carol of the Bells.” These songs always make me think of Christmas movies I watch every December. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” is from “Elf,” which is one of my top five holiday movies. “White Christmas” being from the identically titled film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney. “Carol of the Bells,” heard in several holiday films, reminds me personally of “Home Alone,” a staple in any 1990s family video collection that had children who weren’t deaf, dumb or blind.
Thanks to Wes and his group of merry singers, I am now in the holiday spirit, which couldn’t have come sooner because my family moved Christmas up on me to the Saturday before Jesus blows out his birthday candles.