Holiday Horrors
In Gremlins only two of the mogwai have names, Gizmo and this leader of the gremlins.
Stripe
A Wish for Christmas. Lacey Chabert makes a wish to Santa (definitely how that works) to be more assertive. She tells off her boss for stealing her ideas, so the CEO of the company takes her on a Christmas Eve business trip to gain a client and save the company. What they really save is each other. And the company. And Christmas.
real, 2015
1940s – Ren and Stimpy spoofed this toy with Log!
Slinky
This character has appeared as balloon in the parade more than any other.
(This includes redesigns, not a singular balloon.)
Snoopy, 43 parades
Reindeer are the only deer species in which both the male and female can grow antlers. A male reindeer sheds his antlers in late fall or early winter, after the rut. But, the females retains theirs until spring for this reason.
Females are often pregnant during winter and needs to defend her food during pregnancy – so Santa’s reindeer aren’t just ladies, they are pregnant ladies.
Most of this movie is not sad, but even one of the puppets is appalled by Kate’s mid-movie reveal that her father died dressed as Santa when he slipped and broke his neck trying to sneak down the chimney – only to be discovered when she went to light a fire days after he had gone missing.
Gremlins
Which famous department store does Buddy hang out in?
Gimbels
The original Black Christmas came out in 1974, but there have been two more movies with the same name – one released in 2006 (woof), and another in 2016 (double-woof). Who played protagonist Jess Bradford in the original film?
Olivia Hussey
Home Sweet Holidays. Widow and careerwoman Jodie Sweetin is laid off at the beginning of December so rejoins her family’s New England saltwater taffy shop to meet the holiday rush demands. When their taffy puller breaks, handyman and single dad Matthew Lawrence is called in to fix it. They repair the machine, their broken hearts, save each other, and save Christmas.
Hoax
1950s – This doll not only had a hit song in the 90s, it had a hit movie in 2023.
Barbie
In 1997, winds caused serious issues for the parade. Most people remember Barney, the world’s most annoying dinosaur wreaking havoc, but this character actually caused what is described as the worst accident in the parade's history.
The Cat in the Hat
When grazing, a reindeer’s preferred food is this fungi, moss-like plant found in high, open spaces.
Lichen
Everett brings home his anxious, bumbling, and tightly wound girlfriend, to meet his tight-knit family who respond awkwardly making her feel like an outsider. Ben, Everett's brother, is the only one who seems to like Meredith. After a series of embarrassing moments, Meredith opts to stay at the local inn and begs her sister Julie to join her for support. Everett finds himself drawn to the friendly, more outgoing Julie, whom his family receives very warmly. On Christmas Day, the children learn that Sybil, their mother, and a breast cancer survivor, recently developed an aggressive recurrence of the disease.
One year later, the family reunites again for Christmas. Meredith and Ben are a couple, as are Everett and Julie. It is implied that Sybil passed away over the previous year, and the family remembers her as they gather around the Christmas tree.
The Family Stone
What is Buddy’s little brother’s name?
Michael (Hobbs)
The movie P2 takes place almost entirely in a parking garage on Christmas Eve in this borough of New York City.
Manhattan
Mrs. Miracle. Widower, architect, and single dad James Van Der Beek needs a housekeeper, so he hires Doris Roberts (the mom from Everybody Loves Raymond). She does a great job, and she teaches him how to find love with a woman who also doesn’t want to date, and they all learn the true meaning of Christmas.
- real, 2009
1960s – These aren’t dolls, they are action figures of the “real American hero.”
GI Joe
Macy’s is the country's second-biggest helium consumer, who is the first?
The U.S. government.
Reindeer have adapted to spend up to 40% of their lives in snow. Their hollow fur helps to trap heat, while these transform as the seasons and terrain change.
Their cloven hooves
A year after the Christmas-day death of his often-absent father, son Charlie finds that he’s been magically restored to life as a snowman on the lawn. On paper, the idea of a snowman possessed by the ghost of your dead dad must’ve been a tough sell, in this story about the deep-rooted desire for just one more day with a lost loved one.
Jack Frost
What is the name of the ghost writer, played by Peter Dinklage, hired by the publishing house?
Miles Finch
2015’s Krampus stars Griff from Boy Meets World as the father. (Yes, we’re that old.) What is this actor’s name?
Adam Scott
Christmas Under Wraps. What if Northern Exposure was a movie instead of a show, and what if it starred Candace Cameron Bure as a surgeon-turned-GP who falls in love with a handyman? She eventually has to choose between moving back to Boston with her friends and professional connections and family or staying in a tiny, rural, Alaskan town and learn the true meaning of Christmas.
- real, 2014
1970s – Speaking of action figures, toys representing this movie series are still a hot item in 2024.
Star Wars Action Figures
Originally, Macy’s had no plans for deflating its balloons, so they were released into the air, where they quickly popped. But that all changed with the 1928 parade, when Macy’s introduced the first 5 balloons filled with helium. From 1928-1932 participants in this post parade event could win $100 for the capture of a released balloon.
Balloon races.
Reindeer are excellent swimmers. They can swim three times faster than the average human at up to 6 mph — the top speed of this Olympian.
Michael Phelps
This grim seasonal drama follows a young girl who determinedly maintains her holiday spirit despite the recent death of her mother, her father’s depression, and the failure of the family business— even when the girl rescues a wounded reindeer she is convinced fell off of Santa’s sleigh. The ending refuses to be too happy; the most it can offer is a reconciliation between the girl and her depressed dad, at least they still have each other.
Prancer
Buddy says goodbye to four animals as he leaves the North pole. Name all four 100 points each.
A puffin, a polar bear (cub), a walrus, and a narwhal
This 1984 movie, whose killer dresses as Santa, takes its name from a common Christmas carol
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Candy Cane Christmas. When businesswoman Holly Robinson Peete has to travel home to find a suitable senior living facility for father, John Witherspoon, she meets the widowed single dad William who is the director of the beloved-but-beleaguered local care community in town. She uses her business acumen to help the financially-struggling facility prosper in time to save the facility, save her father, and save Christmas.
Hoax
1980 – These dolls caused some of the first black Friday sale fist fights among parents.
Cabbage Patch Kids
2024 should have been the centennial parade, but the parade was halted for two years during World War II – Why?
Rubber and helium shortages canceled the parade from 1942 to 1944.
Reindeer’s ability to see this helps them food and predators more clearly in the blaring light of the Arctic. (They are the only mammal who can!)
Ultraviolet light
Conflict arrives when the family patriarch announces he’s accepted a major promotion that will move the family to New York. The children go into full-on crying and garment-rending mode, and eventually he abandons that promotion and lets his family stay in this titular town, where all their hopes come to fruition. However, the one musical number anybody really remembers is Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” with a bottomless sadness as the America of 1944 was waiting at home, terrified for the children they had sent off to die in Europe and the Pacific, and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is really dedicated to them. A paean to the longing we feel for those dear to us who can’t be near to us at a time when we’re all supposed to be together.
Meet Me in St. Louis
Buddy's twelve-second belch was supplied by a voice actor Maurice LaMarche, best-known for playing this plotting, diminutive cartoon character.
The Brain
Released in 1987 this film follows Ellen Brody as she joins her son Michael’s family in the Bahamas for the holidays, while mourning the recent loss of her youngest son, Sean. Little do they know that Sean’s killer has followed Ellen to continue seeking revenge.
Jaws: The Revenge
A Christmas to Remember. Stressed celebrity chef and careerwoman Mira Sorvino gets amnesia in a car accident near a tiny Colorado town. Widower, single dad, and local veterinarian Dr. John takes her into town where she stays with him and his sons. She helps the motherless family find the true meaning of Christmas before she regains her memory and has to decide whether to resume her life or stay with the people she met several days ago.
- real, 2016
1990s – These plastic pellet filled stuffed animals became so popular they were miniaturized and put in happy meals by the end of the decade.
Beanie a babies.
Floats can be up to 40 feet tall and 28 feet wide—but they fold down into a 12-foot-by-8-foot box to make the journey to the parade route through this tunnel.
The Lincoln Tunnel
Within 90 minutes of being born, reindeer calves can run as fast as an Olympic sprinter. Calves commonly run at speeds of up to 50 mph for 30-some miles a day during migration. Unlike this most famous, animated baby deer who took a while to catch on.
Bambi
Jackie and Luke are a divorced couple struggling to help their children be happy. This is far from easy, as Luke is living with his new girlfriend Isabel, several years his junior. After a long string of arguments and hurt feelings involving Isabel, Jackie and Anna, Luke proposes to Isabel causing even more friction.
Jackie is diagnosed with lymphoma, which is discovered to be terminal. Jackie and Isabel manage to establish a shaky truce, as they come to terms with the fact that Isabel will soon step into the role of surrogate mother. Isabel finally lets her guard down when she tearfully tells Jackie her biggest fear is that on Anna's wedding day, all Anna will wish for is her mother's presence. Through her own tears, Jackie says her own fear is that Anna will forget her. Jackie explains to Isabel that, while Jackie will always have their past, Isabel will have their future.
The film ends with the family celebrating Christmas. Jackie, bedridden from her illness. Individually, Jackie tells her children after giving them their presents that even though she will die, she will always be with them as long as they remember her. Later that day, Isabel is taking a family picture of Luke and Jackie with their children. Jackie invites her to join them in the portrait, stating "let's get [a photo] with the whole family."
Stepmom
What are the four food groups of elves?
candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup