It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the 1979 album, John Denver & The Muppets – A Christmas Together. It's long been a Christmas tradition… and we're even sharing the companion TV special online during the holiday season.

3 versions of Muppets/12 Days of Christmas

One of the hallmarks of both the album and the TV special was The Muppets performing "The 12 Days of Christmas". The TV special's execution in particular had a unique take on this familiar song, with different Muppets performing each day with a dash of comedy thrown in.

Last year, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon paid tribute to this original take — 30 years after the original was broadcast — by recreating the song and style. And I must say, they did a very nice job in their modern version.

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Culinary Christmas - December 20: The Boar's Head Carol

Featured Foods: Wild boar, bays, rosemary

It's the final week of Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music for 2010! What does our Culinary Christmas have on tap? How about some wild boar?

The Boar's Head Carol, per Wikipedia, "is a macaronic 15th century English Christmas carol that describes the ancient tradition of sacrificing a boar and presenting its head at a Yuletide feast. Of the several extant versions of the carol, the one most usually performed today is based on a version published in 1521 in Wynkyn de Worde's Christmasse Carolles.

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This is Part 2 of our State Street Showdown 2010. Make sure you read our Introduction before continuing…

Disqualified: Macy's

Another year, another time to mourn the loss of Marshall Field's.

Red lights in the trees on State Street (Last year it was blue)

As tradition here at the State Street Showdown, we cannot award Macy's a 1st Place award by default, given that there are no other competitors. Also, because Macy's is the Spawn of Satan. Continue Reading…

Culinary Christmas - December 19: Christmas is Coming

Featured Foods: Goose

The very first song EVER in the history of Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music was Christmas is Coming by John Denver and The Muppets, posted on December 3, 2001. A primary lyric in that song is "Christmas is Coming/The goose is getting fat", which is perfect for our Culinary Christmas.

Thus, today we present the same song, but performed by a different artist. Yes, Harry Belafonte fans, today is your day! Enjoy this 1971 rendition which is a LOT more reserved than the Muppets version I grew up with.

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Culinary Christmas - December 18: Have A Holly Jolly Christmas

Featured Foods: Gooseberry Pie

As I was picking Culinary Christmas-themed songs for this year's Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music, today's song — Have a Holly Jolly Christmas — came to mind, namely for the reference to "have a cup of cheer." Unfortunately, we had already featured the most well-known version of this song, Burl Ives' rendition, back in 2003 during our Merry Media Memories edition.

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During our childhood, my sister and I would wait at the top of the stairs every Christmas morning. We anticipated my parents placing a certain LP on the record player. (Seriously, yes… our entire Christmas celebration would not start until a RECORD was played. How crazy was that? )

I grew up with this LP

The album? John Denver & The Muppets: A Christmas Together, recorded in 1979. We both strained to hear the needle on the record player drop onto the now scratchy record. The opening bars of "The 12 Days of Christmas" would begin playing and then we would rush down the stairs to see what awaited under the Christmas tree. It was a pretty exciting moment. One year, my sister tripped on her long robe while at the top of the stairs… and she tumbled down quickly. A little crying here and there… but hey, this was Christmas! Stop crying and start opening gifts!

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Culinary Christmas - December 17: Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

Featured Foods: Egg nog, beer, pudding, figs, goose

The Irish Rovers are a Canadian Irish folk that started in 1963… and today you get to hear their rendition of Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. There's just something different about this song when performed by folks from Ireland!

Plus, how can you miss all the great Culinary Christmas references, like egg nog, geese, and pudding. Oh, and beer. You know, as I feature these songs each day, it's becoming apparent that a lot of Christmas songs reference alcoholic beverages. Hmm… that may be telling!

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Welcome to the 8th annual installment of the State Street Showdown, a yearly tradition here at SteveandAmySly.com. This series was started in 2003 to evaluate the holiday windows on State Street here in Chicago. Of course, back then we had numerous stores showcasing their art. Today we're down to just one… Macy's.

Amy & Steve at Chicago's official Christmas tree

Before we jump into the windows themselves, I like to use this introduction post to take a look at Christmas in downtown Chicago.

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Culinary Christmas - December 16: Pine Cones and Holly Berries

Featured Foods: Berries, popcorn, apples, candy, nuts, tea, figgy pudding

I had never heard this song before this year's edition of Steve's 25 Days of Christmas Music, which is funny, because according to my iTunes logs, I added it in 2006. Go figure!

Pine Cones and Holly Berries is 1965 vocal delight by the Living Voices, with a medley of not only the title track, but also "It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas" and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" performed in a round. Not to mention, there are quite a few food items listed. Let's hear it for popcorn!

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Culinary Christmas - December 15: A Marshmallow World

Featured Foods: Marshmallows, whipped cream, pumpkins, sugar

We've got two classics colliding in a Culinary Christmas bowl of fun today. First off, it's Brenda Lee, who is probably best known as the vocalist on "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (which we featured way back in 2002 — on this EXACT day, in fact). Take her distinctive voice and overlay that with the fun found in A Marshmallow World… and we're talking good times!

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