Heat Miser

This time of year we get to revisit all of those classic “specials”—holiday programs—that we watched when we were kids. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, “Rudolph’s Shiny New Year”, “Jack Frost” and of course “Frosty”. My all time favorite is “The Year Without a Santa Claus”. Not only does it have the best song, “Blue Christmas”, that makes me weep every time I hear it, but it has some of the best characters too. What would the Christmas season be without the Snow Miser and his fiery brother the Heat Miser? Their constant bickering with a bit of intervention from their mother—Mother Nature of course—always makes me laugh. And now my kids get to watch and laugh with me too.

My son, who is home sick with me today, poor guy, suggested that the Heat Miser’s idea of having a green Christmas isn’t so bad. I have to say, when it’s fifteen degrees outside and the wind chill is fourteen below, I have to agree. Imagine a winter without pulling on seven layers of clothes only to run to the grocery store! Or playing outside without having to worry about frostbitten toes!

But then I think about Christmas morning, with the pink sun rising up over the forest behind my parents’ house, glistening like diamonds on the blanket of white snow. Isn’t that better than the sun coming up over wilted brown grass—not very holly jolly. And how would we play Fox and Goose without the snowprint circle to run around?

I guess we’ll have to get used to the Snow Miser’s chills. Maybe we can cut a deal with Jack Frost and that silly Groundhog Pete to let spring come a bit earlier?