joy to the world.

First, Happy Birthday Jesus and Ben. I’m sorry I’m late in those well wishes.

Personally, my holidays were grand, and I promised my sister a recap entry about our caroling adventure on Friday, so that is exactly what I will deliver…

And an adventure it was. For four years now, we’ve gathered along with a friend’s family and that friend’s dozens of friends. It’s grown substantially every year, and the turn of events this year went something like this:

First, we gather in the garage for some “adult” treats and beverages. There is usually a toast, followed by a slow migration to our warm up song at the first house we stop at.
The songs are usually the following songs: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and occasionally, Jingle Bells. Since this is traditionally a group of about 40, with more than half of those being under the age of 12, we tend to skip O Holy Night and other such ditties.

So next we start along our tour of the elderly housing complex. We visit every door that has a light turned on, and most of the time, the children fall just short of bringing a battering ram to the door. upon opening the door, well, this is usually when the children shout the beginning of the song – and it would be cute, except that these are elderly and sometimes infirm people…. and I’m not sure if shouting at them right before they go to bed is the best way to share the holiday spirit.

You have really not experienced holiday caroling until you have done so with 20 kids hyped up on hot cocoa in brownies, 20 adults sipping the rum bottles hidden in their strollers and a 6’4 Santa Claus standing in the middle of an extremely busy street directing traffic.

I’m really glad that our friend organizes it each year – because I love the idea of caroling. But usually by the end of the night, my throat is sore from all of the “ooooh.. you better watch out” shouting I’ve done. Because I’ve somehow earned this rep as a singer, it’s up to me to lead the chorus – not an easy task, and it’s something like trying to put a sweater on an octopus. Once you get the children started, somehow, the adults behind you have somehow turned “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” into a round.

When I see picturesque caroling on television – like groups of 8-10 madrigals in costume breaking out into four part harmony on Deck the Halls, I have an extreme appreciation for it.

But really, when you think about it, our ragtag caroling group also breaks songs out into four parts – in fact, I’d go so far as to say even 7 or 9 parts.