Author Archive for: Editor
Entries by Jeff Westover
The Halifax Christmas Disaster of 1917
By B. Francis Morlan Editor’s Note: Every December the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia sends a Christmas tree to the City of Boston, Massachusetts. This story explains how that came about. December of 1917 was a time when the world was in transition. The horrors of World War I were known and the prospects of […]
Christmas Debate: Real or Artificial?
By Jeff Westover (Author bias: We use an artificial tree in our home every holiday season but we do so under protest. If I could, I would use a real tree. But our choice of tree has nothing to do with environmental consciousness. The simple fact is that we live in a desert and real […]
Christmas and Infectious Diseases
This week I attended the most bizarre pre-Christmas sales meeting of my 35+ year retail career. The hot topic? Christmas and Ebola. I kid you not. Tis the season, you see, for sales projections, big plans and visions of crowded aisles filled with shoppers looking to stuff stockings. Over the years I’ve been through it […]
National Christmas Tree Lighting Event Details Announced
The National Park Service and National Park Foundation have announced that the 2014 National Christmas Tree Lighting on the White House Ellipse will be held on December 4th. The event is traditionally hosted by the President and First Family and usually features a celebrity or two that provides holiday entertainment. A lottery for free tickets […]
I am Santa Claus Debuts on Blu-ray
Mick Foley’s pet project I am Santa Claus will be released on Blu-ray this holiday season. Virgil Films & Entertainment has announced the documentary arrives on Blu-ray on November 11th. But check the kids at the door — this ain’t your Daddy’s Santa documentary. Everyone thinks of Santa Claus as a magical figure without flaws, […]
Team YANTSU Announces Live Stream for the WLCP
The World’s Largest Christmas Party will now include a LIVE stream with the world’s foremost Santa Trackers — Team YANTSU. Team YANTSU stands for the YouTube Association of NORAD Tracks Santa Users, a merry band of Santa fans who host a live stream every Christmas Eve to track Santa from around the world. Their videos […]
Gifts for the Shamelessly Rich by Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus is out with their annual catalog of absurd Christmas gift ideas. They’ve been doing this a long time and it makes for great Christmas fun every October. The Dallas-based retailer’s top gift this year is The House of Creed Bespoke fragrance journey, priced at $475,000. For that amount of money you and a […]
Retailers Optimistic for Strong Christmas Sales
The National Retail Federation is predicting a robust 4 percent increase in Christmas sales for 2014. That would be an improvement over the disappointing 3 percent return reported for last year. “Retailers could see a welcome boost in holiday shopping, giving some companies the shot in the arm they need after a volatile first half […]
New Music: It’s Christmas Eve by J.D. Shelburne
Country artist J.D. Shelburne introduces It’s Christmas Eve, a festive country song of Christmas warmth. J.D. grew up on a tobacco farm in Taylorsville, KY, a tiny town southeast of the Ohio River near Louisville KY. J.D.’s love for Christmas runs deep in his heart. Every Christmas season JD and his happy gang of elves […]
Santa Speaks 2014
As we start our trek into the Holiday Season, it is customary for Santa to sit down with a member of the media to discuss the issues of the day and the latest happenings at the North Pole. This Year, Santa sat down with Austin Ball of the Madison Gazette: Austin: Santa, I would like […]
