Once again, I am continuing my Christmas Song of the Day feature until the end of December. As I’ve said before, in the olden days, Christmas was the start of the 12 Days of Christmas and not the end, and one of my pet peeves with radio stations that play holiday music is that they cut it off abruptly at the end of December 25, if not before.
The Christmas Song of the Day for December 26 is a tribute to all the parents out there for whom wrapping presents, then waking up before the break of dawn to watch the kids open them, was only the start of the battle.
I don’t have any children and (probably) never will. But I’ve been a visitor at several of my sisters’ homes for various Christmases when their children were younger. I’ve seen first-hand the struggles of opening those desired toys, which often come hermetically sealed in the most ridiculous molded plastic packages ever devised by man.
One of the many joys I found when I was exploring my CD collection this year was the album O Holy Night by Sara Groves, a contemporary Christian singer. Recorded in 2008, O Holy Night is filled with unexpected pleasures, including great versions of seldom covered songs like “A Cradle in Bethlehem”; traditional lyrics set to new melodies, such as her version of the title song; and some excellent originals. “Toy Packaging,” a short ditty worthy of Dr. Demento, is one of the latter.
In the song, Groves bemoans how difficult it is to extricate those doggone toys from that awful plastic. As Christmas morning dissolves into Christmas night, she resorts to more and more extreme measures (if you haven’t heard the song, I won’t spoil it; the first time I heard it, I literally laughed out loud). And even then, it’s hard to say if it worked.
Here’s the wonderfully whimsical, yet all-too-true, song about “Toy Packaging.”
Tim Neely Stuff 