Tag: holiday

Art Biz with Liz: Holiday Crafts

Elizabeth S 1 Comment

Throughout finals season, my inbox has become inundated with news about wellness events. Arts and craft sessions often fill up quickly, and with a busy schedule I decided to take up my own art projects.

While I’m sad at how quickly the school year has flown by, I’m looking forward to a break. I’m also looking forward to the holiday season! If you’ve kept up with my content, you know I love arts and crafts. For Christmas this year, my housemate and I decorated stockings for our friend group. Stuffed with candy and other goodies, the stockings looked great adorned in glitter glue. I also enjoyed making handmade ornaments. The snowflake ornaments still need ribbon, but the only materials required for these—besides the wooden base—were white paint, glitter glue, and sharpie. Handmade ornaments are a wonderful craft to give as a gift because of how unique, collectible, and personalized they are. They are more than decorations for a Christmas tree, as they capture meaning and memories. I messed up these last two, but the process was fun, and the recipients enjoyed them.

Making holiday crafts is a fun activity for people of all ages to enjoy. For college students, it could be something done as a break from finals or something to look forward to. Plus, it’s a great activity to do with friends in cozy pajamas. What are you waiting for? Turn up the holiday music, make yourself some cocoa or cocktails, and get to crafting!

Study Hal: Week 30 – Surprise Gifts

Leila Mullison 1 Comment

Happy holidays, everyone! It’s been a nice and restful break over here. Today, though, a special surprise shook things up: Hal got a late-coming package from his cousin Fil!

Fil started knitting during the first lockdown. Apparently, he’s only been getting better, because he managed to make a whole hat for Hal! It’s not quite the right size and style for Hal’s head? But, it’s the thought that counts. Hal had to call him to thank him for the gift right away.

Did you get any late-arriving surprises from relatives? More likely, did you catch up with loved ones over the phone? However you’re celebrating the end of the year, Hal and I wish you a safe and happy holiday season.

For those of you not in the know, Hal is a U-M student studying remotely this school year! Check out the Study Hal tag for more of his antics, or come back on Tuesdays in the new year for new installments!

The Christmas Rom Com

Jordan Brown 1 Comment

During the holiday season it seems like the only things on television are Christmas related.  Every other channel is running a Christmas movie marathon with all of the classics like Elf, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, and Home Alone.  There are so many Christmas movies that there are genres within the genre of Christmas movie. One of the most popular genre is Christmas rom coms.

Christmas rom coms are very similar to normal rom coms.  With a plot consisting of two people meeting, waiting a while to get together, a big twist and they break up, and then a big gesture at the end so they end up together.  But Christmas rom coms have their own set of tropes that are different from other rom coms throughout the year. An example of this is that in order for them to be together they both have to be really into Christmas, and if one of them is not they will learn to love it by the end of the movie.  Snowstorms keeping someone in a small town in another classic trope that makes the two main characters stay together and then fall in love.

Some classic Christmas rom coms are “Love Actually”, “The Holiday”, and “Four Christmases”.  All of these movies are constantly playing on TV. The most popular of the three is “Love Actually”.  The movie is different from other rom coms because it follows more than one couple throughout the movie, it has 4 different story lines instead of just one.  But each storyline still follows that same general arc as a typical Christmas rom com.

Netflix has been making more rom coms in the past year, and this includes Christmas rom coms.  The most popular Netflix rom com is called “The Christmas Prince” and it follows one of the typical rom com stories of a normal girl falling in love with a man who turns out to be a prince.  “The Christmas Prince” was such a big hit on Netflix that they have now made a sequel this year. Other Christmas rom coms on Netflix are “The Princess Switch” starring Vanessa Hudgens, and “Christmas Inheritance”.  These are only movies that are made by Netflix, you can also watch other Christmas rom coms on Netflix as well.

Christmas rom coms is a feel good movie genre that is meant to put people in the holiday spirit.  Everyone in all of the movies are extremely kind and they always give to others, something that not everyone does in the real world.

Classic Holiday Entertainment

Jordan Brown Leave a comment

From Black Friday to January first, Holiday music and movies are playing nonstop in stores and on TV.  Most of the classic holiday movies also have very popular songs to accompany them.  Here is list of classic holiday songs and the movies that accompany them:

Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer

The popular song, “Rudolph the red nosed reindeer” actually came from a book written in 1939 by Robert May.  The song was created in 1949 by Johnny Marks.  The first claymation movie adaptation was created in 1964.

Santa clause is coming to town

The song “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” was written in 1934 by John Frederick Coots.  The claymation movie was made in 1970 starring Kris Kringle, A.K.A. Santa Claus, and his journey of becoming Santa.  A book was written in 2008 to accompany the song and movie.

Frosty the snowman

The song “Frosty The Snowman” was written in 1950 by Walter E Rollins.  The first movie adaptation was a 2D animation created in 1969.  Many more movies have been created after this showing Frosty’s life and featuring the song.  There have also been countless books that depict his life as it is laid out in the song.

Little drummer boy

The song “Little Drummer Boy” was written in 1941 by Harry Simeone, Katherine Kennicott Davis, and Henry Onorati.  The claymation movie were released in 1968.  Ezra Jack Keats wrote the book adaptation in the same year,1968.

The Year Without a Santa Claus

The classic songs “Heat Miser” and “Snow Miser” were in the claymation movie “The Year Without A Santa Claus”.  The movie was created in 1974.  Unlike the other classic Holiday songs on this list, the songs were written for the movie and become classics and popular through the movie.

Grandma Got run over by a reindeer

The song “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” was written in 1979 by Randy Brooks.  The animated movie adaptation was created in 2000.  This newer movie has quickly become a classic for people under 30, with the movie appearing on Cartoon Network frequently over the Holiday season.

Jingle Bells

The song “Jingle Bells” was written in 1857 by James Pierpont(not the man Pierpont Commons in named after).  The song was originally called “One Horse Open Sleigh”.  There have been many movie adaptations of this song, and many other movies have used the song to add a Holiday feeling to them.  “Jingle Bells” was the first song to be broadcast from outer space.  The two astronauts sang the song to mission control with bells and a harmonica after pulling a prank on them!

The Art of Halloween Costumes

Sarah Ogar Leave a comment

Halloween costumes can be classy, trashy, cartoony, or in the several cases below – artsy!  After perusing the interwebs for artsy costume ideas, I came across these cute kids… and some adults with some serious art cred.  I had planned on Cat Woman until I saw that I could not get a costume for less than $60 (major sad face).  I am now thinking of drawing a unibrow, sticking flowers in my hair, and finding a brooding Diego.

If you are looking for artsy costume ideas, look no further!

Love the soup cans.
Love the soup cans.

A cheap, yet chic costume for dudes

Bringing Mondrian Back!

I think this one would be great with a dudes face (preferably bearded).
I think this one would be great with a dude's face (preferably bearded).

I love it when high art meets popular culture!

Image credits: http://ohhappyday.com/2012/10/little-artists-costumes/
http://www.saltlakemagazine.com/blog/2010/10/12/top-five-tuesday-five-artsy-diy-costume-ideas/