Christmas memories: Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas

I love how Christmastime makes everyone nostalgic. It seems like every year one or two memories rise to the surface and hover there for the duration of the holiday season. Usually it's a different one each season, and it adds so much texture to life when that happens. This year for some reason I can't get the Jim Henson special "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas" out of my head. You know how when you were little, whatever random movies or cable specials your parents caught on VHS become ingrained in your mind? Well this one was on our tape of recorded TV Christmas specials that my Dad brought out every Christmas, and then packed away at the end of the season with the Christmas decorations. Having it out only a month out of the year motivated us to watch it over and over, even more than kids usually do with their favorite videos. As the worn out tape got more and more warbly each year, the images and songs remained clear as sugarplums in our little heads.

As I'm writing this I wonder whether the seed for this muppet memory was planted by my recent viewing of The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Though that used stop-motion-animated puppets instead of live-action muppets. Either way, there's nothing like a hand-made fox, otter, weasel, or catfish to bring a smile to the face of any human, regardless of age.