Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Santa

Norad Santa help?

cgs — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:16:31 -0800

Tracking Santa: I can't install the Google Earth Web Plug-in (mac).. help please! I have six hours to get this working for my nieces... - I've downloaded the plugin, but when I doubleclick on it, nothing happens.
- The file info says it should open with Plug-in Installer, but I can't find that on my Mac.
- I've installed Google Earth, proper, but I don't think the whole Norad / Santa thing is part of the real app.
- This is a Powerbook running 10.4.11, and Firefox 3.5.6

Thanks for your help-
cgs

Find me a Santa!

pianohands — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:21:15 -0800

Who's the best Santa in NYC? I'm planning on taking my sister, 3 year old niece, and 9 month old niece into the city for a day trip for the holidays. The three year old is very much a believer in Santa, so I'd like to find out where the best Santa is in NYC. Bonus points for being close to the subway line or other fun things that a three year old would enjoy. Unless the department store ones are somehow phenomenal, I'd also like to avoid stores. The time line for this would be sometime this week, so if anyone can point me to an awesome Santa, I'd very much appreciate it!

The snowblower really is her second choice

These Premises Are Alarmed — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:12:37 -0800

My wife would love an iPhone for Christmas. She totally deserves one, too, but AT&T coverage at our house is nonexistent. What should I do? We live on a peninsula near a very small airport on Long Island Sound in Connecticut. The poor coverage could be a total lack of infrastructure, or maybe it's because the tower is lower than normal due to the airport. My Verizon Blackberry will sometimes think I'm on Long Island.

When my mother visited for a week with her non-iPhone 3G handset, she got no signal the entire time she was in our house. Friends with iPhones have had a similar experience. It's conceivable there's a corner where she could get one bar, but we haven't found it.

We currently have out-of-contract Verizon phones that work tolerably at home. If it's a more than 30 second conversation we will use the home phone, but at least when someone calls, we hear a ring 75% of the time. That said, she is not interested in a Droid phone or anything other than the real deal from Apple. She has a Blackberry and will want to continue to use whatever she gets for her primary email account.

She actually doesn't care if she doesn't have good cell phone coverage at home, but I do and will be annoyed if I have to call two numbers to reach her. Plus, I'll want to get an AT&T phone for myself and want it to work at home. We have and will continue to have a land line. We've moved recently and plan to get new numbers with any new service.

So is there any solution? Ideas I've had:

1) Is there any iPhone application or setting that would do something like "If I'm on $home_wifi, forward all calls to $home_number."? This would be *perfect* but I suspect isn't possible.

2) Would an external or roof antenna help? What do they cost and how difficult are they to set up?

3) What's up with the AT&T Femtocell? Will it ever be available in CT (even though I find the idea of paying extra for basic coverage so distasteful) ?

4) We both have Google Voice accounts, could this be used to *automatically* route an incoming call in a helpful (eg, location-based) manner?

To summarize: Is there a simple, automatic way to make an iPhone worthwhile when there's no AT&T coverage at your home? Or should I just get her the snowblower that's her second choice?

Santa Barbara for Thanksgiving

silsurf — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:59:27 -0800

Santa Barbara Thanksgiving Dinner Location My wife and I are going to be in Santa Barbara, CA for Wednesday and Thursday the 25th and 26th.

We are eating at the Hungry Cat on Wednesday night, but so far cannot find a restaurant that is even open for Thursday. Perhaps it will be a quiet night at the hotel, but if there are any suggestions out there, we would love to hear them.

Thanks.

Henry

SantaFilter: The Naughty List of the Film, TV,

Unsomnambulist — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:09:07 -0800

SantaFilter: I'm trying to make a list of the worst of the worst kids from film and TV, etc., that would end up on Santa's naughty list, year after year. Any suggestions come to mind? Names that immediately come to mind: Adrian Mole, Lucy (of Peanuts fame), Scut Farcus from "A Christmas Story." Bullies and other kids whose purpose on life seems to be making the lives of other kids miserable.

Bonus points for any links to articles about actual real life naughty kids.

(I'm casting a wide net, but mainly looking for kids whose awfulness, however dark, inspires laughter... perhaps in fellow naughty listers).

NO BISCOTTIS ALLOWED

ROU_Xenophobe — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:28:50 -0800

Help a complete GPS newbie help Santa. [spoilers for biscotti] biscotti could use a gps navigation dingus to help her find her way around WNY and southern Ontario for agility trials and dog shows and the like, and has mentioned to me that I might mention this desire to Santa should our paths cross.

The problem is that [schultz] I know NUSSING [/schultz] about gps.

It would be primarily for the car, though I guess being convenient to walk around with would also be good for giggles.

biscotti has said that she values a really good map set over very simple usage.

I gather they run like $150--500. Price matters insofar as a cheaper GPS means Santa can bring more other things.

Other than that, I don't even know what to look for, so hivemind, please hope me.

Needlepoint hot air Santa

nat — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:31:01 -0800

Help my mother complete this needlepoint kit, sans instructions. When my great-aunt died, my mom inherited her unfinished sewing projects, including a needlepoint, which is supposed to be Santa in a hot air balloon. See images here and here.

We can tell it's a kit because the canvas is preprinted. However we have no instructions and thus can't figure out how to finish it. If we could find another copy of the kit or even a picture of the finished product, we could likely figure it out.

Any other suggestions welcome- the main thing we're confused about is how to connect everything together.

German to English

rahnefan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:13:43 -0800

Can anyone please translate this short phrase into German? It's from the Rankin-Bass movie, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. "Toys are hereby declared illegal, immoral, unlawful, and, anyone caught with a toy in his possession will be placed under arrest and thrown in the dungeon. No Kidding."

It's for a personal calligraphy project; positively no money or trade or any kind of profit involved.

If you can go different ways with a word or phrase, please lean toward umlauts. :)

Or if you have a suggestion for a different language I should use instead (I'm thinking Germanic traditions more than Myra/Turkey), then that would be even better (if you can translate it).

Is there someone in Santa Cruz who can fix my Marine Head?

Ekidnagrrl17 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:24:16 -0800

My Sailboat is in Santa Cruz harbor, I have been having issues with my marine head. Does anyone know someone I could have come out and look at it?

Refill compressed natural gas tanks? Santa Cruz

Ekidnagrrl17 — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:59:28 -0800

Where can I refill compressed natural gas tanks? My partner and I are tying to find a place which allows civilians to refill compressed natural gas tanks in the Santa Cruz area.

When should Santa Claus Come to Town?

Point n Click — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:28:53 -0800

When does your family open Christmas presents from each other? My husband and I have only been married a few years, and haven't yet been able to find a good time to open Christmas presents from each other.

My husband's family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve, so we travel to spend all of Christmas Eve with them (decorating the tree, Christmas dinner, etc.) and then leave to travel to my family's Christmas on Christmas Day (again, all of the traditional Christmas things). Since we both typically have to work the days following Christmas Day, we have been celebrating "our" Christmas the following weekend, but it feels cheap and anti-climatic after having returned to work, and spent all of the Holidays with family.

My husband suggested opening presents on Christmas Eve morning, but that feels like cheating. (Santa still visits both our parents houses.) And we could stay up late and open presents after getting back from my parents house on Christmas Day, but that doesn't seem like a good idea right before returning to work.

What does your family do? If it isn't Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, how do you keep it feeling "Christmas-y?"

Artist seeks Santa 2.0

Ogre Lawless — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:01:35 -0800

Artist/illustrator seeks photo reference for Santa 2.0. Perhaps you source? No raunchies need apply... I have on a few occasions in the past years run across friends of mine or strangers on the street in some moment of beatific corpulence bordering on the hirsute and it has struck me that they represented either some facet of a theoretical Santa's existence (Santa as a young man, Santa on his wedding day, Santa as a disgruntled 30-something, Distinguished Black Santa, etc) but I was never able to capture them photographically and of course by now they have all shaved and moved on.

Conceptually perhaps you can see where I am steering. I very much love the powdered white Santa and regard that image as, of course, iconic but for my own card wanted to show a man having had an inner journey to become that iconic symbol.

Hopefully one of you digital photo obsessives will have captured one of your friends in a frame that fits?

Santa Monica College or Full Sail?

RocknRollJunkie — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:04:46 -0800

Should I go to Santa Monica College? I am currently a sophomore at Arizona State University, majoring in pre-film production, which means I have to take a few film studies courses before I can apply to the to program in the fall. Because the film program is new, I have my doubts about it, and I'd also like to go somewhere that's not soo hot during the summer. I really wish I had heard about SMC when I was in high school because I would love to do film at either UCLA or USC and I heard that SMC has the highest UC transfer rate. However, I heard SMC doesn't offer film production, just film studies. Should I still consider going to SMC in the fall, hopefully obtain residency and then transfer to UCLA/USC to do film production? The thing is I don't want to be working on my bachelor's for-ev-er because I am also planning on going to grad school. I would like to spend no more than 5 1/2 yrs on my bachelors (I started august 06).

I am also considering a school in Florida called Full Sail, it's a technical school not a lot of people have heard of, but it has a good rep. Their film program is in the top 5 in the nation. If I go there, I would be done with my bachelors in 2010 (but I would still want to go to grad school at either USC/UCLA/NYU). However, tuition would cost me $70,000 no joke! And it doesn't have that typical college atmosphere--I'd also be in school 21 months straight, with little time for a job or fun activities.

So, what should I do? Stay at asu and finish my bachelors in film as soon as may 2011 considering I dont take another semester off, transfer to SMC and get an assoc in film studies and hopefully tranfser, or go to Full Sail and devote my life to school for 21 months?

Californian Wineries

rocco — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:11:18 -0800

As a gift, I'd like to be able to order Californian wine from a Napa or Santa Barbara winery (or anywhere) and have it mailed to a family member in the United Kingdom. (I live in Los Angeles) I know a lot of wineries do mail deliveries, but are international deliveries possible? Can anyone recommend a winery for this kind of thing. THANKS!

What to do for new years in LA?

evanm — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:09:03 -0800

I want to go to someplace cool and exciting with my friends for New Years.. I live in the LA area (Santa Monica) and would like to stay within 15 miles of the city. I'm fairly new to the area--having just moved here this summer--but still know a bit. I'm 22 so I still have the energy.

Searching for a Disney Santa Short on DVD

anastasiav — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 08:03:09 -0800

I'm trying to find a copy of a favorite Disney Christmas-themed short (B&W, probably from the '20's or '30's, featuring a very jolly Santa and lots of little kiddies) on DVD. Problem is, we don't know the title or anything else about it -- can you help ID this film? My husband has a well-worn VHS tape full of a wide variety of Christmas-themed animations that he had taped from TV over the years. We've been able to find copies of everything on the tape as DVD -- with one exception. I'm hoping you can help us ID and locate the one.

Its a black and white short animated film, probably from the '20's or '30's. It was produced by Disney, and shown on the Disney channel as part of a holiday special sometime in the '80's.

The film features a very fat, jolly Santa with a bag full of toys. He visits a house where there are a dozen or more quite tiny children, and when he lays the bag down the toys all march out and set themselves up, as well as decorate the tree. There are a lot of toys: some notable ones include a "Little Tramp" wind up walker, and a Dirigible that helps decorate the tree. Santa also fills up the many, many stockings hanging from the mantle -- each stocking has a list inside - one stocking gets a bat and glove, another gets a doll that flops over and Santa straightens her skirt, and another gets an umbrella put inside, opened, and then the now-expanded stocking is filled with other gifts. There is also a puppy in a box under the tree.

I think its possible that this is a section cut from a longer film, because on the copy we have it sort of fades up at the start and fades out at the end, and my husband remembers seeing a segment about elves in Santa's workshop associated with this, but its not on our tape.

What we don't have is the title, date, or any other info other than "its now owned by Disney". Any pointers you have would be helpful.

where can I stay in Santa Barbara?

drjimmy11 — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:09:26 -0800

where can I stay in Santa Barbara? I'm taking next week off work and I'm thinking of getting out of L.A. I've never been to Santa Barbara, and I'd like to go, chill somewhere quiet-ish, and do some writing.

So I'm looking for a hotel that's nice, not absurdly expensive (would be nice to keep it under $150 a night), and will have a room on short notice. If the hotel has a cool restaurant/bar in it, that would be a bonus. Near a quiet beach would be great as well.

(I did read the other S.B. related questions, but didn't see hotels addressed in detail) thanks!

help me find a good vista point to spend fourth of july.

punch_the_mayor — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 21:34:25 -0800

4th of july filter: what's a good hike in topanga canyon state park that allows panoramic views of los angeles and the ocean? last year on the fourth of july I drove into the hills outside of my home town and watched three different fireworks demonstrations from afar. it was by far one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed.

this year, I'm planning a similar excursion in the santa monica mountains. I'm not too familiar with hiking and topanga canyon and am looking for suggestions of a hike/vista point for my independence day celebration.

Santa plays the Horde!?

XiBe — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 01:25:48 -0800

In order to illustrate a part of a loooong blog post I'm finishing about World of Warcraft, I'm looking for a small, one panel comic that features Santa Claus raising his fist and, to his apparent disbelief, yelling "For the Horde!" to Rudolph. For the life of me I can't find it. Could any of you hope me on the matter? An Alliance counterpart would be fine too - doesn't have to be santa, just to be funny.

Additionnatlly, I'm open to any funny and/or representative illustration/video about WoW. I'm using a few videos already: Office Space commercial, "Live to win" section of the South Park episode, and the "Gay Bar" video from the Pretty Pink Ponies guild. I won't be putting the "Warcraft is for porn" video, 'cos my post is all written in French.

In short, I don't need much else than the Hordy Santa, but if you know of something truly good, please don't hesitate!

Thanks!

Who wants to be the Pied Piper?

melt away — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:08:26 -0800

This video [NSFW] has been passed around communities that I frequent for the last week or two. Does anyone know anything of it's origin or have the skills to find out? I've tried Google and other resources but haven't found anything informative.

I need some Santa Claus-faced chocolate chips

freddymungo — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 19:01:25 -0800

Where can I get some of those special red-and-white Christmas chocolate chips that look like Santa Claus faces? I can't seem to navigate the world of Christmas chocolate chips anywhere on the internet, and obviously since it's past Christmas, I can't find them at grocery stores. Anybody know where I could get some? I can't even find a picture of them, so "red and white Santa Claus faces" is the best I can do to describe them.

Gifts from Santa - Wrapped or Unwrapped?

anastasiav — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 09:04:25 -0800

When you were a child, did the gifts you got from Santa arrive wrapped or unwrapped? As we set forth to celebrate the first Christmas with our son, we've run into an unexpected cultural divide. You see, when I was small, Santa always brought me three gifts (no more, no less) and they were unwrapped and unboxed and completely set up, waiting for me under the tree.

At my partner's house, Santa always left a random number of presents, and they were carefully wrapped in paper that was different from any of the other paper on the other gifts. Large items, like a bike or a dollhouse, might arrive unwrapped, but even those things had a bow and a tag on them.

I maintain that Santa doesn't have the time or resources to wrap everything, plus the wrapping would get all tattered in the sleigh. He maintains that Santa can do whatever he wants, and unwrapping gifts is part of the fun of Christmas.

Popular culture isn't any help -- many cartoons, etc. show Santa physically leaving unwrapped toys being left under the tree or in stockings (see The Island of Lost Toys, etc.) but others (ie: A Christmas Story) clearly show children unwrapping gifts from Santa.

Is this a regional thing? (Our families come from two different parts of the country.) Or just random decisions made in each household? I'm trying to sway him over to the "unwrapped" side of the fence, but he says my family tradition is weird and that most children get wrapped gifts from Santa. What did your family do?

Chicago Santa Clauses!

cajo — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 09:38:13 -0800

Chicagofilter: Does anyone know of a place along the El where I can take my son to get his picture taken with Santa Claus? Thanks!

Santa Baby

MsMolly — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 16:33:39 -0800

Help me caption this Christmas image. I'm making an ornament for a party on Saturday and a prize will be given for the best one. I want to use this image on my ornament

image here

and I'd like to add some sort of caption too: either something that Santa's saying to the woman, the woman to Santa, or some kind of appropriate quip. I'm blanking and can only come up with really boring Santa/package jokes, so I'm turning to y'all.

You can give me your dirty ideas, but they probably won't get used since there will be kiddies at this party, although a good double entendre might be just the thing.

The winner gets... well, nothing but my thanks, I suppose. But they'll be very sincere thanks!

Help me be Santa!

attercoppe — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 18:37:49 -0800

Help me be Santa Claus! I'm playing Santa for my small town's Christmas parade, and pictures etc with kids after. I'd like some tips on things I haven't yet thought of or been told (particularly related to interacting with the kids). (A Google search didn't get me much.) Tips from your experiences and pointers to relevant websites both welcomed. Thanks!