OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! Are you ready for this one?! Joy to the holy good world, 99.9 KEZ just kicked off their Christmas music!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! To say I am excited and overflowing with joy is a huge understatement!!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! I AM SOOOO HAPPY!!!!! This is going to make for some terrible writing, but I just can't express myself enough if I don't use all caps, sound effects, and like one million exclamation points! So I apologize for this terribly written post, but I just can't help myself!!! It is so exciting!!!
Let's rewind a bit and I'll tell you how this all happened!
Earlier in the month, I had predicted a Friday November 16th 7:00 am start time for the Christmas music kick-off. I had been checking all month in November in case they started early, but to no avail. The week of the 16th comes. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday?! Nothing. Thursday?! Nothing. So Friday morning, I woke-up and looked at the clock. Shoot! 7:25. Did I miss it? I leaned over my bed and shuffled through my purse, scurried to grab my phone and immediately turned on the radio in anticipation for the magical sounds of the season. As much as I hoped the music had started, I also hoped that I hadn't missed the kick-off. That would be an epic Walking Holiday fail.
The radio tunes in, I hear Beth talking, is that Christmas music in the background? I listen intently to hear any hint of a jingling bell or a 'Ho Ho Ho' in the background. Nothing. Sigh. Relief and disappointment. It was now 7:30. Will they start today? Maybe I was wrong. I decided to stay tuned in while I was getting ready for work to listen just in case they started at 8:00. The minutes tick closer. My eye is twitching at this point from having to suffer through what is, in my opinion, some of the worst music this world has to offer. So tempting to turn it off. But for some reason, I decided to trudge through. Finally, 8:00! Next song comes on... oh bloody hell. Another awful 80's tune. Maybe I really should turn it off at this point at save my sanity. Something inside me tells me no, just keep listening. The song draws closer to an end. I hover over my phone as if being closer to it will somehow allow me to grasp what is going on faster. There is a pause. Excitement grows. Where is Beth? She should be talking again by now. I hear background noise, and not the muffled type you hear at the radio station, but a distant, echoing sound of hustle and bustle, like you hear in a crowd. GASP! Is she out and about somewhere?! Finally, she says "Am I on? Are we good, am I on?" YES!!!!!!!!!! SHE IS DEFINITELY OUT OF THE STATION SOMEWHERE TO KICK-OFF THE MUSIC!!! I just know it!!! "Ok," she says, "I'm here at Scotts-" she doesn't need to finish. I know where she is. Scottsdale Fashion Square. "Omg omg omg omg omg" rattles around in my mind over and over and over again. I am at a loss for words. She continues, "...-dale Fashion Square, and, well, I'm here to do something very special." At this point I am in tears. Stop it right now, Beth McDonald! Stop teasing me! As much as I know what is about to happen, that would really suck if she was there for a store's grand opening or something. Rest assured, the next words out of her mouth confirm what I have been thinking, "It's something we do every year, something you all have been asking about." I gasp for air, then immediately cover my mouth so I don't squeal in a fit of joy and miss something. "I'm here with Cory McClosky from Fox 10 News." Oh stop it, the news is there?!?!?! Hell YES! I scramble for the remote. I wait for the TV to start up and it feels like time is standing still. I immediately tune in to channel 10. Beth says, "If you're at home and can turn on channel 10, you can simulcast here with us." Perfect. You and I are on the same page, Beth. I see Fox 10 come back from break with a graphic that says "Happy Holidays". YES! This really must be happening! They send it over to Cory at Scottsdale Fashion with Beth. I am stomping my feet in place as I can't take the anticipation any longer. They are in front of the mall's giant Christmas tree, rambling on about this being something they do every year and they look forward it, but I can't really concentrate as I am still searching for clues to make sure this is really happening. To add to the whirlwind of craziness, there is a delay between the radio and the TV so my eyes and ears aren't quite sure what to tune in to. Beth looks into the camera and says, "I love this time of year, I am so glad we are going this. This is something you all have been asking about since Halloween. So Cory and I are going to go over here," they both walk over to a candy cane lever placed in front of the tree, "and this lever right here is what we pull to start off what we're doing today... THIS WILL START OFF THE CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!! So Cory, without any further delay as I know everyone is looking so forward to this, let's pull the lever!" They give it a tug and my head follows the movement of the brightly lit candy cane all the way down and BAM! "Here it is!" Beth exclaims. "What you've been waiting for!" It starts, the uplifting instruments, the timeless voice of Andy Williams, "It's the most, wonderful tiiiiime, of the yeeeear"! Beth and Cory grab on to each other and start dancing in the mall with giant grins on their faces, and I hysterically start jumping up and down in circles, partially singing along, partially just screaming and getting out my built-up excitement! YES! It happened! I didn't miss it!!! It WAS worth listening to all that horrible music prior to the kick-off! I didn't sleep through it! I made it, I heard the kick-off! Aaand I got to hear AND watch it LIVE!!!!! A Walking Holiday first! My prediction was only off by 1 hour and 11 minutes! Hallelujah!
Ahh, yes! This time of year is truly my favorite. Why is the Christmas music on the radio such a big deal you ask? Bigger than everything else? For some reason, the music on the radio means that the Christmas season is here! It signifies the start of this whole holiday season. Every other Christmas milestone that happens is wonderful, but it's just not Christmas until the music is on the radio. There is something special about knowing there are other people out there listening to the same thing you are at the same time.
This event is more significant to me than some of the other "hints of Christmas" that start happening during the end of the year. I am always soooo excited when I see ornaments and sparkly things appearing in stores, red cups making their debut at Starbucks, Disneyland closing rides for holiday install, etc etc. but there is just something extra special about the day that the radio station starts its Christmas music. The music being on the radio means yes, the holidays truly are here! Alive and well! For me, once this happens, the Christmas season can begin as it finally feels complete. The only thing left after this is the finishing touch for it to be in full swing- the clock striking midnight on Black Friday!
I am so glad the music starts early, before Thanksgiving. This way I have some festive tunes to carol along with while I'm in the kitchen preparing my Thanksgiving desserts! Since Thanksgiving unfortunately has no music, I let it share with Christmas :-) This makes some people mad, but what would Christmas be without a few Scrooge's?? ;-)
If you don't live in Arizona, I'm curious to know if any of you have all-Christmas-all-the-time radio stations in your city and if they have started yet! I feel like this is such a special thing, I wish it could be shared with the world! I hope you all have something like this where you live!
I hope this got you in the mood to turn on the Christmas tunes! And such a perfect time since Thanksgiving is this week! I will be blogging about the parade and (hopefully) including pictures as well! Oh, and I may just go ahead and post the recipes for the Thanksgiving desserts I am making as well :-) I'll give you a hint: pumpkin!
OK, enjoy the Christmas music! If you don't have a radio station that does it, Pandora Holiday is up and running and Cox channel 933 has it until January. Happy caroling to you! Fa-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!
