One of the most popular animated Christmas specials each year is “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” More than 40 years after it was originally aired on CBS, it still remains one of almost everyone’s favorite family holiday movies. Based on the Peanuts characters created by cartoonist Charles Schulz, this animated Christmas special is light-hearted, yet touching. And the music is just as good as the story and animation. “Linus and Lucy” was written for this special and later became the signature theme for all Peanuts specials. Another popular original song from the special was “Christmas Time is Here.” Many people think of this as the “Charlie Brown Christmas song.” Here are the lyrics for that song.

Christmas Time is Here (The Charlie Brown Christmas Song) Lyrics
Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Christmas time is here
We’ll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year…

Learn more about the history of the Charlie Brown Christmas song at HubPages.

Selecting the perfect holiday gift for friends and acquaintances can be difficult, particularly if the person is someone you don’t know very well. And if your budget is already tight during the holidays, the problem becomes even more difficult.

Christmas gift cookies or other baked goods are an inexpensive yet personal solution to many gift-giving dilemmas. And they’re easy on the budget, too!

Homemade candies, holiday cookies and treats can be a perfect present. After all, everyone enjoys eating. Even Santa Claus loves it when people leave cookies for him on Christmas Eve! This means your gift will surely be appreciated and used. The fact that you have made your gift trays with your own hands also adds a unique personal touch to your presents that an item grabbed off a store shelf could never capture. Additionally, the process of making the items can be fun and relaxing, giving you an opportunity to enjoy the holidays.

So what should type of culinary treats should you create in your Christmas gift factory? Traditional options include decorated sugar cookies, gingerbread men, or goodies such as fudge. If these require more time or skill than you have available in this busy time, you may want to make something simple but delicious such as saltine cracker toffee.

On the other hand, if you’re feeling a little adventurous, consider making cookies from around the world for an internationally themed holiday tray.

If you need ideas for cookies or other goodies, check some recipe sites such as Allrecipes.com or Recipezaar.

Any of these Christmas gift cookies or treats can be baked ahead of time and presented in a colorful holiday tin, basket or cookie tray. You can find these for a small price at your local dollar store, drug store or superstore. You can stick with one treat or mix and match recipes to build a tasty variety.

Giving tasty holiday treats will surely brighten anyone’s holidays and they’re far less expensive than many less personal items you could buy. So this season, head to your kitchen instead of the mall!

Reprinted with permissionfrom Christmas Gift Cookies and Other Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen on Free Santa Letters blog.

What would happen if Santa Claus had an evil twin who decided to kidnap his brother on Christmas Eve and bring items such as mud pies and cat poop to children all over the world rather than the toys and presents they were expecting? In Dean Koontz’s world, the imposter would quickly be foiled by two little girls and Christmas would be saved. It’s not the usual happy-go-lucky storyline of most Christmas books, but this story does have a happy ending. And kids who love yuck and muck will love it.

Though Dean Koontz is best known for his bestselling horror and suspense books, this Christmas tale is pure fun for both children and adults. It’s a ryhming, rollicking look at the awful night Santa was kidnapped by his twin brother, Bob Claus, and locked in “a dismal, deep, dark, dank hole” at the North Pole. The twin then proceeds to get into mischief, such as this:

“In the front room, at one of the trees
the bad twin of Santa is on his knees,
giggling as he stuffs another gift box
with a few pairs of smelly old socks.
He snorts and he chortles with evil glee
and mutters, ‘No one will know it was me.’”

But the evil twin’s plans are foiled – and Santa Claus is saved – by two sisters who survive a pie in the face, a ray gun that shoots snow and other challenges. The story is colorfully illustrated by Phil Parks.

And if you enjoy the story of Santa’s Twin, you can follow the adventures of Santa and Bob Claus in the sequel, Robot Santa.

“Jingle Bells” is one of the best known and most commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and copyrighted under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh” on September 16, 1857. Despite the fact that most people associate it with the Christmas holidays, it is not specifically a Christmas song.

Jingle Bells Lyrics
1. Dashing through the snow
In a one-horse open sleigh
O’re the fields we go
Laughing all the way.
Bells on bob-tail ring
Making spirits bright
What joy it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight.

Chorus:
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh, O
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.

2. A day or two ago
I thought I’d take a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
Was seated by my side;
The horse was lean and lank
Misfortune seemed his lot,
We ran into a drifted bank
And there we got upsot. Chorus

3. A day or two ago
The story I must tell
I went out on the snow
And on my back I fell;
A gent was riding by
In a one-horse open sleigh
He laughed at me as I there sprawling laid
But quickly drove away. Chorus

4. Now the ground is white,
Go it while you’re young,
Take the girls along
And sing this sleighing song.
Just bet a bob-tailed bay,
Two-forty as his speed,
Hitch him to an open sleigh
and crack! You’ll take the lead. Chorus