Go-to-Gay AND Chick Lit Cheerleader: Be Merry!

Jen and Keith are back....this time to talk about the winter holiday season. They even set up this fun interview. Do you agree with any of their answers? If not, what would your answer(s) be?

Have fun reading this one and keep in mind that Keith and Jen are siblings from another mother.


What is your favorite holiday TV special?
Keith: My love for Snoopy runs deep and true, so I always must go with A Charlie Brown Christmas. The scene where Snoopy dances on Schroder’s piano is perfection for me. A close second, though, is a show that is no longer broadcast: The House Without a Christmas Tree. It was a story of a little nerd girl, Addie, and her hateful father who wouldn’t allow her to have a Christmas tree. I am sure the plot was much deeper than that, but I was like five when it used to come on, and all I know is that IT IS THE BEST TEARJERKER HOLIDAY SHOW EVER.

Jen: This is why Keith and I are friends until the end! The Dorothy Hamill worthy Ice Capades opening scene. The sad little homeless tree. Schroder’s speech about the true meaning of Christmas. Charlie Brown doesn’t get a rock. Just a handful of reasons why A Charlie Brown Christmas is my bae. Do the kids still say “bae”? Probably not…


What Holiday TV Show would you prefer to NEVER see again?
K: Frosty the Snowman. There I said it. I never liked it. Never will. As a child, I was obligated to watch it, of course, but I never really cared when he got trapped in that greenhouse and melted.

J: This is why I feel like Keith is breaking up with me. Frosty the Snowman is quintessential 1970's animation at its best! I remember making snowmen as a kid, believing that if I included the corncob pipe, button nose, and the coal eyeballs that Frosty would wake up and say, “Happy Birthday!” I’m still waiting, sadly.

Photo from MeTV

What is a memory from the holidays you look back at and think, “Wow, my family is like a Currier and Ives or Norman Rockwell painting?”
K: My favorite memories of Christmas are when all my extended family would come to our house for Christmas dinner or for Christmas Eve. Aunts, uncles, tons of cousins, and a few family friends would gather seemingly all over our house. Each room was filled with people and food and laughter. It was so much fun, and during those moments, I think our family probably looked pretty cool to the outside world.

J:  Somewhere floating around in the world are photos of little Jenny wearing footie pajamas at Grandma’s house, peeking inside the fireplace trying to figure out how the jolly old man pulled it off year after year. Hung by the chimney with care were stockings sewed by Grandma. Each one personalized. Mine, of course, was the biggest. The mantle overflowed with holiday cards which always seemed on the verge of falling and becoming kindling. If that’s not a Norman moment, I don’t know what is.

What is a memory from the holidays you look back at and think, “Dang. We are certainly NOT a Currier and Ives or Norman Rockwell painting.”
K: We used to put our Christmas tree in our Florida room because it has a high ceiling and we could get a humongous tree in there. It was always so much fun decorating, but taking it down, of course, was another story. Especially when both my sister and I were in high school. We were busy doing angsty teenage things, and couldn’t be bothered helping our mom take down the decorations. Mom kept asking and asking for help. Finally, in mid-January she decided enough was enough. She took off all the ornaments that had sentimental value, and then proceeded to open the sliding glass door in the room, and pitch the entire 15-foot, mostly decorated, tree into the yard. When my sister and I came home, we looked on in horror as the tree lay in the dead grass, tinsel sparkling in the sun, broken glass from ornaments and lights strewn about the yard. The Florida room was back to normal, no trace of Christmas at all, and mom was reading a magazine in her chair. As my sister and I took the rest of salvageable ornaments off the tree in our yard, we decided maybe we weren’t like all the other families on the street, and we were no Norman Rockwell models.

J:  Christmas of 2009, the stomach flu picked us off one by one. The end.

What is your favorite Christmas Carol? Least Favorite?
K: My favorite is "Winter Wonderland." Or "Mele Kalikimaka." Least favorite: "Twelve Days of Christmas" (UGH)

J:  Bing Crosby’s "I’ll Be Home for Christmas" leaves me in tears every time it plays. I think of families separated by miles or missing a loved one. Love that song. "Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer"—no. Just no.

What is the best gift you have ever received during the holiday season?
K: Probably the Star Wars X-Wing fighter and Tie Fighter along with all the Star Wars movie action figures from the late 70’s. Of course, more recently, the first iPhone I received changed my life.

J:  I loved my X-Wing fighter, too! When I unwrapped the Bionic Woman doll in 1978, I lost my mind. Jamie Sommers actually tied with Gnip-Gnop that year now that I think about it.

What is the worst gift you have ever received during the holiday Season?
K: My aunt once re-gifted me something that I had given her for Christmas the year before.

J:  Never select a wine bottle bag thinking there’s a chardonnay inside. It’s never wine, friends. Never. At a White Elephant work party, I was the proud recipient of a recipe book for patients after jaw surgery. A page-turner filled with blended options like meatloaf and turkey tetrazzini. Sorry about the visual.

If you had one holiday wish for the Chick Lit Central family this year, what would it be?
K: That your holiday season be exactly like a TV special or a Currier and Ives/Norman Rockwell painting. And that you eat all you want and gain zero weight!

J:  May your days be merry and bright, your stockings over flow with peace and happiness, and as you light candles with loved ones and for loved ones, remember we’re thankful for each and every one of you!

Jen's kids on Christmas

Wouldn't you love to spend Christmas at Keith's house?

Keith Stewart is the author of Bernadette Peters Hates Me – True Tales of a Delusional Man. A native of Appalachia, he splits his time between his hometown of Hyden and nearby Lexington, Kentucky. His blog is www.astrongmanscupoftea.com. You can find him on Twitter at @Shiglyogly and Facebook at @AMSCOT (A Strong Man’s Cup of Tea). He is a regular contributor to HumorOutcasts.com and the GoodMenProject.com. He lives with his husband, Andy, and their two dogs, Duke and Dudley.

Jen Tucker is the author of the funny and true stories, The Day I Wore My Panties Inside Out and The Day I Lost My Shaker of Salt. In September 2012, she had her children's book, Little Pumpkin published as an e-book. She also blogs monthly for Survival for Blondes. She currently lives in Indiana with her husband, three kids and two dogs. You can find her at Twitter, Facebook, her blog and on her website. And in case you missed them. check out her previous Chick Lit Cheerleader posts here.