Friday, December 18, 2009

All I Want for Christmas is You by Rebecca the Book Lady!

(Having met Rebecca, also known as the book lady, in real life, I know that she's every bit as funny and fun and smart as she seems online. I was so excited that she agreed to write a guest post about one of her favorite Christmas songs--which incidentally is one of mine)

Winter 1994: I’ve just turned twelve years old, and I am solidly in the middle of that awkward adolescent phase where your nose is too big for your face, your hair never looks quite right, and your wardrobe choices can only be described as unfortunate.

And I have braces. Can’t forget the braces. (And this is 1994, so they’re not those high-tech, streamlined, barely noticeable braces kids these days have. These puppies are unmissable.)

With raging hormones (and the pimples to prove it) but nary a suitor in sight, I am facing a sad, lonely, oh-so-single holiday season. And every Christmas song in existence seems intent on rubbing it in.

I can’t listen to “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” because it reminds me there’s no one pining away for me.

I hate “Winter Wonderland” because nobody’s counting the hours ‘til later on, when we’ll conspire as we dream by the fire.

“The Christmas Song” is out because it makes multiple references to nuts. And I’m twelve. So that’s both gross and giggle-inducing.

And Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson haven’t met yet, so their wonderfully sappy rendition of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is still years from conception.

What’s a single girl nursing at least ten unrequited crushes to do?

Well, if it’s winter 1994, then the only solution is to buy yourself a sexy Santa costume, frolic around in some fake snow, and convince that boy he needs you. Tell him that HE is ALL YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS.

Hey, it’s working for Mariah in that new video, right?

Winter 2009: I don’t remember the first time I heard “All I Want for Christmas is You,” but I’ll never forget dancing around my bedroom, singing into my hairbrush, and imagining for just a few minutes that I was Mariah Carey. That I could fill out that sexy Santa outfit. And that it would make Justin (or Wes or Paul or Jeff or…well, you get the point) realize that all he wanted for Christmas was me.

And I’ll never forget the little dance my sister choreographed in the car one day. It’s the same dance I’ve done every time I’ve heard this song for the last fifteen years, and so what if the first move very closely resembles Cher’s “rolling with the homies” thing from Clueless?

Now that I’m separated from my mom and sister by several states, I’ll also never forget, the first time I hear this song on the radio each year, to call them on speakerphone and turn the volume ALL THE WAY UP, so we can sing and dance with each other like we always have.

Over the last fifteen years, I have sung this song to boyfriends both real and imaginary. I’ve sung it in moments of giddy happiness---that Christmas Eve when my best guy friend told me he loved and the Christmas right before my wedding come to mind---and aching loneliness. I’ve sung it to my dad (who rolled his eyes but danced with me anyway) and my mom and my sister and my husband (more times than he’d like) and my dog. I’ve sung alone in the car at the top of my lungs and made the people in the car next to me think I was crazy.

And you know what? I’ll keep on singing it, year after year, because of the old memories it holds and the new ones it hints at.

And because someday….someday I’m going to get that sexy Santa outfit and really live the dream.

Go watch the official video!


13 comments:

Sandy Nawrot said...

There is nothing quite like Rebecca, you know? That was pure fun. It is nice to know that we were all sort of in the same boat back in our adolescent years...bad hair, pimples, and dreams of something almost unattainable! Thanks Rebecca for sharing!

Michelle said...

Hee!

Can I say that this post made me think of the movie Love Actually. A version of this song is in it (though not the Mariah song you speak of here) and I adore hearing it every time. It's so festive.

Thanks for sharing a little piece of your holiday with us :)

Jenn's Bookshelves said...

Teen angst ala The Book Lady =HILARIOUS! Rebecca-I'm sure your hubby looks forward to the day you get to live out that dream! :)

Rebecca @ The Book Lady's Blog said...

Aww, thanks Amy, for the great intro. I'm happy to know my teenage suffering is good for some comic relief these many years later :)

Thomas said...

Thank you Amy and her wonderful guest bloggers for sharing your favorite Christmas songs with all of us. Your post have been a bright spot this Christmas season.

Thomas

bermudaonion said...

Oh, y'all make me feel so old. I was 36 and had a 7 year old child in 1994. I had to go watch the video because I didn't know that song at all.

Florinda said...

Ha. I was younger than Kathy in 1994 (30) but my child was older (10).

I really enjoy this song now - it's a lot of fun - but it took a few years to grow on me. I'm glad it did, though! Thanks for sharing it with us, Rebecca (and Amy)!

Aarti said...

I LOVE this song, too! It was my favorite part of the movie Love, Actually, and it is the only Christmas song I have on my iPod. I don't even need it to be Christmas for me to enjoy it.

Ti said...

I first heard the song from the movie Love Actually and I've been hooked ever since. I posted it on FB like a goob. I don't care for the Mariah video though. I find it hard to believe that she rolls around in the snow for her home movies but it's a great song!

Rebecca @ The Book Lady's Blog said...

Of course she doesn't actually roll around in the snow, Ti, but it's all about the fantasy, right?

(and I adore Love, Actually also, but I've somehow never connected this song to it. Hmmm)

Anonymous said...

I've never even heard the song, let alone seen the video. If it was 1994, I was probably too busy listening to Pearl Jam to bother with any holiday songs.

Jenny Girl said...

This is one of my favorites too! You could be in the crappiest of moods and this one picks you right up. I'm not a Mariah carey fan, but her Christmas music is kick ass! And now I'll be thinking of you the next time I hear this song :)

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

I have a love-hate relationship w/ this song. As soon as I hear it for the 1st time in December, it gets stuck in my head and I can't get it out. I find myself singing it in the shower, in the car, while driving, ALL THE TIME. It drives me crazy. And of course the radio plays it over and over and over again as well. It's really not a BAD song, it is just super addicting and ... it drives me nuts. :)

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