Continuing a yearly tradition here on SteveandAmySly.com…

Halloween has come and gone… and so has It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Now that Turkey Day is soon upon us, why not revisit the special that doesn't get as much attention as its established Halloween and Christmas siblings, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

This episode first appeared on CBS back on November 20, 1973 and was the 9th primetime Peanuts special to air. Because its age is older than Christmas and Halloween, most of the voice talents are very different. Linus is voiced by the same person as in You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, Stephen Shea… who incidentally was the younger brother of the guy who originally voiced Linus in the Christmas episode, Christopher Shea. The episode won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming.

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Continuing a yearly Halloween tradition here on SteveandAmySly.com…

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown debuted on October 27, 1966, as the third Peanuts television special (the first obviously being the Christmas one). It is here that most of the world who wasn't reading the comic strips was introduced to Linus Van Pelt's fascination with "the Great Pumpkin".

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown LP from 1978

Charles Schulz thought it would be funny to see what happens if a child confused Halloween with Christmas… and the rest was history. This year, the show is celebrating its 46th anniversary.

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Continuing a yearly tradition here on SteveandAmySly.com…

Halloween has come and gone… and so has It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Now that Turkey Day is soon upon us, why not revisit the special that doesn't get as much attention as its established Halloween and Christmas siblings, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

This episode first appeared on CBS back on November 20, 1973 and was the 9th primetime Peanuts special to air. Because its age is older than Christmas and Halloween, most of the voice talents are very different. Linus is voiced by the same person as in You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, Stephen Shea… who incidentally was the younger brother of the guy who originally voiced Linus in the Christmas episode, Christopher Shea. The episode won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming.

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Spousal Clashing?

You might say that our Halloween costume this year reflects current events!

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Continuing a yearly Halloween tradition here on SteveandAmySly.com…

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown debuted on October 27, 1966, as the third Peanuts television special (the first obviously being the Christmas one). It is here that most of the world who wasn't reading the comic strips was introduced to Linus Van Pelt's fascination with "the Great Pumpkin".

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown LP from 1978

Charles Schulz thought it would be funny to see what happens if a child confused Halloween with Christmas… and the rest was history. This year, the show is celebrating its 45th anniversary.

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Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.

Steve at Main Street Station (2007)

It's Halloween at the Magic Kingdom! The Main Street Train Station is all decked out in orange/yellow bunting to celebrate the season. You'll also spot a "Pumpkin Mickey" floral design and various stacked pumpkins on the landscape. Oh yeah, and that's me… fittingly wearing my seasonally-appropriate Clue shirt (who doesn't love a good mystery this time of year?)

This photo was taken during a September 2007 family vacation to Walt Disney World. We camped during this trip and it was very, very warm!

Theme Park Thursdays feature photos from one of our theme park adventures in the past.

Snowman Sis (2009)

It's Christmas in July! Why else would I post a photo of my sister wearing a set of Snowman Mickey Ears? This was shot in the Emporium on Main Street USA at WDW's Magic Kingdom during a December 2007 trip.

I'm not sure which is more creepy… the hat itself or the expression on Karen's face!

The first Monday in March is always a school holiday here in Illinois, thanks to Revolutionary War hero, Casimir Pulaski. He was a Polish cavalry officer known for his contributions in training U.S. soldiers.  On behalf of the large Chicago Polish population (myself included), I wish you a Happy Casimir Pulaski Day!

Corner of Pulaski & Addison

As a tribute to Pulaski, the city council voted in 1938 to rename the north-south running Crawford Ave. to Pulaksi Road.

Chicago also has a program for "Honorary" street names, which are denoted by brown signs that are hung along with the real green street signs. For some odd reason, someone found the need to create a "Honorary Casimir Pulaski Way"… on the existing Pulaski Road.  I mean, the street is already named after Pulaski.  Did you really need a honorary designation as well?  Did someone not realize what Pulaski Road was actually named after?  How idiotic is this?

Got to love Chicago politics!

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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Continuing a yearly Christmas tradition here on SteveandAmySly.com as well as the TannerWorld Junction discussion forums…

A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted on December 9, 1965, as the very first Peanuts television special. It's no surprise that it continues to air today!

"Linus, I wish I had some Charlie Brown audio!"

This special came to be thanks to none other than Coca-Cola, which approached the creators of a Charles Schultz documentary called A Boy Named Charlie Brown about doing a Peanuts Christmas special. While this documentary never aired on TV, it featured work from folks we now associate closely with Charlie Brown television specials… produced by Lee Mendelson, animation by Bill Melendez, and music by Vince Guaraldi. So ironically it was commercialism which brought the special to air!

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