Feel like fibbing? You won't fool your fam.

The first exposure we get of the female leads in the movie comes as the sisters are getting ready for their dance number.  When their manager informs them that Wallace and Davis are there to check out their act, purportedly due to a letter from their brother (affectionately known as "freckle-faced Hanes, the dog-faced boy").  Judy attempts another lie to cover up her deception in writing the letter herself.  However Betty, the older sister, can see right through Judy's lies and calls her on it. 

This is the lesson I wish my kids would take away from this scene: You can lie to your family, but you can't fool your family.  I am constantly amazed at the ease, frequency and determination my children employ when lying to me.  But what is more amazing, is that they truly believe they will hoodwink me.  Must be that physiologically-immature brain, because I'm hoping they aren't really that slow of learners.  So - to my children - you may choose to fib to me, but don't expect me to be fooled. 
"Everybody's got a little larceny operating in them."  - Bing Crosby

Plan Your Smorgasbord Carefully (or you'll scar your guests for life)

A favorite scene in the movie has Rosemary Clooney sent against her will to the lodge for a midnight snack. (Honestly?  Forcing people to eat in the middle of the night when they aren't even hungry - can you say budding eating disorder? *chuckle*) Unbeknownst to her, the food is a ruse to get her into a romantic dialogue with Bing Crosby.  Here comes the odd part.  As Bing describes the various sandwiches, he expounds on his theory of nutritional oneirifaction (yes, I made that term up to signify the effect of food on dreams - mainly because making up scientific gobbledygook is so much more fun).  When he talks about the effects of turkey and ham sandwiches - he claims they will cause dreams of a blonde "first-sacker-type" and a brunette "a bit on the scatback side".  What kind of man is he - touting sandwich consumption that causes him to dream about football players?  Truly, the take home message here is that unless you are wanting to be scarred for life by some twisted female-football player dreams, the only safe bet is liverwurst -- where you dream only of a repulsive sandwich meat by-product.  Rosemary really dodges a bullet by not eating much that night.  As for her ending up with Bing Crosby, well she might need some of those midnight sandwiches in her future.  *wink* 

"Whatever are you talking about?"

When Bing Crosby confronts Danny Kaye in the club car about his generous deception in giving away their train tickets, Danny simply replies with a marvelously ambiguous deflective query, "Whatever are you talking about?"  This line comes in very handy in any sticky situation.
So what is your favorite White Christmas line?

Who knew feather fans were so versatile?

There is nothing like a blue, ostrich-feather fan to make you feel feminine. . . unless that is, you are Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. 

Nothing says White Christmas quite as much as a light blue, feather fan.  It is the prop for the dance number "Sisters" by Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen.  But anyone with any sensibilities at all can recognize that it becomes quite the multi-functional tool when weilded by the leading men of the show.  As they lip-sync the spoof musical number of "Sisters", you realize that a fan has more uses than simply highlighting femine wiles.  Namely:

• A Screen - nothing better than a fan to hide the face of your cohort, or competitor, allowing you to hog the limelight.
• A Tickling Device - watch Danny Kaye's face as Bing flaunts his feathers in his face and tell me some of that laughter isn't from sheer ticklish delight.
• A Weapon - Danny Kaye retaliates by whomping Bing in the stomach with said fan.
• A Distractor - this one isn't quite as effective as the others, since no matter how much fan fluttering goes on, one's attention isn't complete distracted from the homely, garter-clad legs of Danny and Bing.  

So what's the life lesson - when life hands you ostrich feathers make a fan?  Nah, the take home message is that men shouldn't dance around with their pants rolled up - with or without sock garters!  

Tradition

“There is no creation without tradition . . . novelty is always a variation on the past.” - Carlos Fuentes
Being raised in a family of 4 girls, tradition was a mainstay of our family culture and identity.  I believe that because of that, my sisters and I grew up in a practical, yet creative home.  Traditions tie you to people - whether that be family or friends.  It enriches one's sense of history, belonging and adds the enjoyment of anticipation to life.  One of our favorite traditions centered on the day after Thanksgiving.  I know, for most people, the highlight is the holiday itself.  But in our family, we would dip over 100 pounds of chocolates on the day after Thanksgiving, then when everything was cleaned up, we ate pizza and watched White Christmas.  Even now that we all have homes and traditions of our own, White Christmas is an anchor of the holiday season.  After having watched it multiple times per season for decades, I finally decided to share the charm, wit and wisdom that is found in the lost art form known as the 1950's musical.