Fond Memories of ChristmasRobin And The GiantThe challenge to create a collection of songs that, somehow, evoke a magical listening experience is ever-present in all the projects we do. For some reason our Christmas CD demanded a level of that “magic” a bit higher than anything we had done before. So, it was with that hope and expectation of ourselves that we approached this collection.We had written almost all of the songs for this CD in 1989. At that time we took those songs and produced a Christmas cassette entirely on a four-track cassette recorder. We created a “live” show based on those songs and performed for children at schools all over central Florida. It was great fun and the memory of those shows shines brightly for both of us.The children seemed to love the energy we brought to their cafeterias and gymnasiums but I think their FAVORITE part was when Robin would walk into the audience and sprinkle artificial snowflakes on everyone. My son, Alex, was just 3 years old and he attended almost all of our shows. Alex would hold “Aunt” Robin’s hand and walk with her as the two of them got the audience into a holiday frenzy with those little plastic snowflakes. The children LOVED it (but we suspect the custodian wasn’t so thrilled!)There are only three cuts on this CD that were not written in 1989. “Santa Claus This Year” was written in 2001, “The Christmas Tree Poem” was written in 2003, and “Please, Mrs. C” was written in 2007.The process of recording and re-recording of these songs was as fun for us as those children had in our audience 18 years ago! (Just think, those children are now grown, graduated from college, and have children of their own!) This was recorded entirely in the summer of 2007 in Florida! Sprinkled with dialogue, sound effects, and a joke or two, this collection will hold a special place in our hearts for evermore just as our memory of those earlier shows does. The photos for the CD cover and internal artwork were all taken at Roger’s Christmas House in Brooksville, Florida which sells Christmas items all year long!Here are the details on each individual song:“Fond Memories Of Christmas” – This song opens the CD with a collage of sound effects and dialogue. The singing carolers in the background, by the way, are us layered over and over again with overdubs. We do sound like a bunch of misfits, don’t we?“Fun” – This little song holds such big feelings for us. We wanted this CD to have a magical flair to it and this song definitely adds to that. Grab a cup of hot chocolate and reminisce with us.“The Homecoming Queen Of North Pole High” – This is such a “pop” sounding song! Always a fun song to perform “live” and greatly rewarding to hear this new recording. The cheering and the coach’s whistle add to the “high school” feeling of this song. There is a line in this song that we were criticized for back in 1989. The line is, “She was so cute, I hated her guts.” We pondered the idea of changing that line for this recording but, as you can tell, we left it in. We decided that it is an authentic, if not tongue-in-cheek, sentiment. Hopefully you see the humor in it.“Myths Of Winter” – This is a fun observation of weather related expressions. “Chill factors, therefore, must be a fantasy” is testimony brought before our fictional judge in this song. There’s an almost mysterious tone to this song that stems from the chord progression and our approach to the arrangement of the song in this recording of it.“Snowflakes” – A painting created with words. Robin wrote this lyric and sings this song that conjures visions of standing in an open field of freshly fallen snow and watching the new snowflakes drift effortlessly to the ground. The subtle musings interwoven into Robin’s lyric make this a beautiful poem as well as a beautiful song.“Santa Claus And Daddy Wear The Same Size Shoe” – The children see footprints in the snow outside the house on Christmas morning and conclude that Santa Claus wears the EXACT same size shoe as Daddy! What a coincidence!!!“Santa Claus This Year” – Christmas has always represented giving. God gave us Jesus. The visitors to the manger brought gifts to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Santa Claus also represents that giving spirit. This song expresses the desire to be a giver.“The Stable Boy For Santa” – Perhaps the second most “pop” sounding song on this collection (behind “Homecoming Queen”) this is a fun story of the guy who works with Santa’s livestock! He even FLIES the beasts!!! (And crash lands at the end of the song!)“Mr. Stone” – This is an acoustic song. Set inside a chapel, this song tells the story of an artist who created a stained glass window for his church to depict the Nativity scene.“Carol Ling” – Picture this. You’re in seventh grade, it’s early winter, the Ling family moves into town and they have a cute daughter named Carol. Every boy instantly has a crush on Carol Ling and they ALL think they have a clever idea on how to get her attention by making a play on her name. Wouldn’t you have done the same thing?!!!“Please, Mrs. C” – Every year the church helps out the needy in the community by organizing a Secret Santa campaign. To celebrate the success of the campaign the church always holds a Secret Santa Lunch and everyone brings a covered dish of food to share with the congregation. One dish, a casserole, is always a favorite but nobody seems to know who brought it in. It simply says, “Donated by Mrs. C” on a note attached to the dish. The mysterious casserole has appeared for the last 29 years. A little investigation reveals, sometime in May or June, that the same casserole also shows up at the orphanage. Hmm…who could she be?“The Christmas Tree Poem” – A poem of a man who questions whether or not he should get a Christmas tree since his children have all grown and moved out and now he lives alone. After driving around to look at the trees he decides not only to get a tree for himself but, in the true spirit of Christmas, to buy many trees and deliver them to the less fortunate. In each tree he places a note to remind them of the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place.“Listen To The Bells” – This is like a little mini-movie for the ears. Often it is enjoyable to stop what we’re doing and enjoy the activity going on around us. Step outside your front door, sit on your steps with a hot beverage, and listen to the bells.“Christmas Wish” – We wish, for all of you, a life filled with love and absent of all pain.Merry Christmas!!!