A Bitter Spirit

Day 5: Jack Skellington

Halloween at Christmas? An odd enough combo, but it seems to work when Tim Burton gets involved. In his movie, A Nightmare before Christmas, we’re introduced to Jack Skellington, the leader of Halloween Town, who is suffering from a bad case of ennui.  Jack accidentally makes his way to Christmas Town where he discovers the joy and festive spirit that his life is missing.  He then attempts to bring it to his Halloween brethren but not before Santa gets kidnapped.  If only for his general arrogance and selfishness, Jack hits our Advent Calendar's NAUGHTY list.

The Bishop .. She Smokes!

We had some of The Ebenezer Scrooge left, so yesterday we took a mug of it outside and tried to snap a picture while it was smoking. Yup, that's steam - not a lens flare or anything :) Also - festive!

Day 4: The Jack Frost

Winter holidays mean winter weather - whether we're talking about Buffalo or Vancouver. It only seems right to pay homage to one of winter's naughty boys, Jack Frost. All that nipping of noses and whatnot. As you would expect, there are several versions of Jack and his story (including a modern movie where he is a serial killer turned snowman!), but one of our favourites is the modern rendition of Jack in Rise of the Guardians. In this movie he's a sullen teen (kids, only drink this cocktail if you're of age), but a fun-loving and ultimately redeemed sullen teen. For girls (and guys) who like a bad boy, this Frost is for you.

Day 3: Ebenezer Scrooge

What character in literature personifies the lack of Christmas spirit more than Ebenezer Scrooge? Seriously, the spirit world ultimately had to send four (FOUR!) ghosts to get him to see the error of his ways and to turn him into a decent human being. Yet for most of A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer looks down on the less fortunate, abuses his poor assistant, Bob Cratchett and mutters “Bah, humbug” whenever another character so much as cracks a smile. For that, Mr. Scrooge, you get a well deserved chair at the NAUGHTY table.

Day 2: The Cold Miser

The Cold Miser is usually one cool cucumber. While generally an affable chap, his archnemesis and brother, Heat Miser, definitely knows how to push his buttons and bring out his icy side. For centuries, according to The Year without Santa, the two brothers have been at war. Eventually, the two reconcile at the insistence of their mom, Mother Nature. But for their years of neverending hostilities (not to mention shooting at a pair of Santa’s elves!), both siblings get a well deserved timeout in the NAUGHTY category.

Day 1: The Heat Miser

The Christmas season in the sixties and seventies (at least in the United States) was dominated by stop-motion TV specials such as Frosty the Snowman and the quintessential Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. One of our favorite movies, A Year without Christmas, features the ultimate in sibling rivalry, pitting the Heat Miser against the Cold Miser. Whether it was his stocky build, his love of ragtime-esque songs or his unruly hair, you couldn't help but love the guy and we chose him for our first character-themed cocktail. Because of his intense rivalry with his brother and his unwillingness to compromise, he definitely fits in the NAUGHTY category.