Christmas Countdown Characters #23

X might be for Xmas, but it took some searching to find today's celebrity lurking in the 1990s.

X is for Xena - Warrior Princess.

This may seem a strange selection for a Christmas celebrity list, but there are many Xena fans for whom Christmas would not be complete without a viewing of a Xena: Warrior Princess episode, "A Solstice Carol."

I think I am justifying Xena's inclusion here because she is one of those fictional characters who change from evil to good. The TV series focuses on Xena's quest to redeem herself for her dark past by using her formidable fighting skills to help people. Xena, with her partner Gabrielle, challenge ruthless warlords and their armies in an ancient mythological world. So, it is seemingly impossible for Xena to appear in a Christmas scene, but it happens. In one day Xena met Santa Claus, Jesus, and Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey, but not without criticism.The Christmas episode of Xena is undeniably another poor imitation of Dicken's ' A Christmas Carol' with even more Christmas ...

For today’s Christmas episode, we’re going to look at a Xena episode that somehow incorporates A Christmas Carol, Santa Claus, and Jesus into a single, gloriously insane story. Along the way, it reminds us of mid-90s syndicated television was really like
A Christmas Carol – Yeah, that’s the whole plot of the episode. Of course, since the episode is set 1800 years before the birth of Charles Dickens, Xena gets credit for coming up with the idea.

Santa Claus – Not only is there a character named Santicles (with a long “e” at the end.),He is clad in a red suit and fake beard, and he has to go down a chimney.

Nativity Scene – Xena and Gabrielle meet Joseph, Mary, and their newborn child.

Holiday Cheer-O-Meter – You know what? This episode is goofy as hell, the plotting is crazy sloppy, it’s cheesy, and most of the story requires everybody to be mentally deficient in some way. But as dumb as it is, I really had a lot of fun watching it. It made me genuinely laugh a couple of times, and even the stupid stuff was good-natured. I’m not going to pretend for one minute that it’s good TV, but I had a good time. That, plus the overwhelming amount of Christmas makes it a 10..... (from http://www.spunkybean.com)

Regardless of all of this incongruity surrounding Xena's association with Christmas, she is nevertheless a formidable tactician, inspirational leader, and strategic thinker - Xena, you belong here - Peace on Earth!

Postscript: Yesterday my friend June and I did something we have not done before... I think this Christmas festive spirit has overwhelmed us! Together we went into our local newsagency and we each bought a copy of the Christmas edition of The Australian Women's Weekly, just to get the recipe for a totally indulgent Christmas dessert we would like to include on a menu sometime during the festive season. It so happens that this dessert , Tiramisu Ice Cream Box was created by another "X" Christmas celebrity, Xanthe Roberts, assistant food editor of The Australian Women's Weekly If you want to see this sensation created, watch Xanthe demonstrate it here on the Nine Now website.

May I Present Mrs Chalumeau...

Finally Mrs Chalumeau takes a bow …She is a Pearly Queen … 695 buttons on the doll and 10 on the journal.(I think – could be more). I would like to thank Paula from Antiques and Collectables here in Hamilton, Newcastle and Raku Buttons ETSY seller for supplying me with about 500 of the vintage mother of pearl buttons, and the rest I had in my stash. I think they look great on my pearly queen, but I am truly tired of sewing on buttons. It made me think however, how many buttons must be on the elaborate clothes of the real pearly Kings and Queens! I drew my inspiration from the lovely lady pictured here, and the following description from Wikipedia. ... A Pearly King ( feminine form Pearly Queen) is a person dressed in a traditional Cockney costume covered in mother-of-pearl buttons. These costumes were treasured heirlooms, hand made and sometimes representing much of a family's wealth. .... This doll is all cloth – a little different from most of my other dolls which generally h

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as wrapping str

Too Precious to Waste

Stitched tea bags/ old doily "tea lights" - Wilma Simmons More than a year ago, a decision was made. The annual exhibition of NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) 2015-2016 will have the theme "Mottainai". Mottainai in Japanese refers to more than just physical waste (resources). It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto ( もったいない事 ? ). As an exclamation ("mottainai!") it means roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste." [2] A simple English equivalent is the saying "waste not, want not." A more elaborate meaning conveys a sense of value and worthiness and may be translated as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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