To my fellow puzzlers: A merry Christmas to those who celebrate and a happy, peaceful holiday season. May your days and nights be blessed with beautiful vignettes, good food, edifying community, and the wonder that these quiet moments bring. Sending all my love and compassion your way, now and always. 💙
@Mike And same to you. You're a fine fellow, Mr. Mike from Munster.
@Mike My vision is more blurred than usual this morning (I was awake earlier than everyone else, reading without my glasses, which is always a mistake.) So I read "Sending all my love and congressmen your way...." and was quite dismayed for a serious moment! Frohe Weinachten, unser Freund!
I haven't always agreed with it, but I thought you folks had a policy of avoiding words that are obscene or deeply offensive to distinct groups of people. So how could you possibly allow 13A? The notion of a Caesar salad based on KALE is an absolute obscenity, and highly offensive to those who love good food.
@John Daly Technically the word "kale" is not offensive per se, as long as it appears in the correct context such as "barely-edible 'leaf' that should be thrown in the trash"... ;) (I find it fascinating that I love/like most brassicas but can't stand kale)
@John Daly Mmm, try baby kale, but that sounds even worse on the obscene scale.
@John Daly it helps if you massage it
@John Daly Agreed. It’s ROMAine or nothing in a CAESAR salad. Someone serves me a “kale Caesar” salad it’s going back and I’m calling the FCC for obscenity ( Food censorship commission)
You all need to try some new kale recipes. But never in a Caesar salad! I like kale, but I'm not a monster! <a href="https://www.loveandlemons.com/kale-pesto" target="_blank">https://www.loveandlemons.com/kale-pesto</a>/ I use cashew seeds though... They're always on hand! Great addition to soups too! Don't kick me out.
@John Daly Kale should never be the base of anything. Certainly not a Caesar, who's heavy dressing requires a crisp stiff romaine. I lost 'cause I could not believe someone would put kale in a Caesar. Could have used a more believable clue, such "decorative garden no-annual now considered edible (by some)" PSA: Kale contains oxalates, and is not good for people with kidney disease. Also toxic for cats except in minute quantities.
@John Daly Making it worse, one year "Santa" (aka Mrs. Claus) put a lump of KALE in my stocking. Thanks NYT for bringing back the memory. Then again, maybe that makes more sense than using it for a Caesar salad. Maybe someone can make a cruciferous jokey themed puzzle that we can all find disgusting.
@John Daly I'm here to stick up for kale. I love it. Nice texture, healthy.
@John Daly I've always liked Cyanide and Happiness's take on kale: <a href="https://explosm.net/comics/rob-kale" target="_blank">https://explosm.net/comics/rob-kale</a> Also I like to quote a director/choreographer friend who said "I find that if you saute the kale for about five minutes in organic coconut oil, it will slide into the trash much more easily."
Amoeba's favorite carol: Single cells Single cells Single all the way Oh what fun it is To slide with a lone force on substrate (I had snow business posting that.)
Everything looks funny when observed through the @Mike-roscope! Thanks for giving us a very punny year!
@Mike I have been avoiding this but I now officially acknowledge your talent. May it serve as a force for good and to bring pun and joy to the world. Cheers!
@Mike For you, from PhysicsDaughter, who is here for the holiday: "Though I'll divide Many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you!"
@Mike We count the days, pun at a time, and we miss you when you're not here. Thank you for the fun you've given us this year and the puns we're hoping for in 2026.
Dear Deb, A special note to thank you for your post on BlueSky today and especially for all your years of patiently helping us to be better solvers. I started NYT Crosswords late in life after retirement and am so grateful for your support and humor. Your columns are always so personal as well as helpful and you will be greatly missed. All best wishes for a fulfilling retirement and more time to spend with family. With deep gratitude.
Thank you so much, @Cheryl Fippen! Happy holidays!
Easiest ezersky puzzle ever. I couldn’t believe the constructor name when I solved it. It’s a Christmas miracle.
So glad I found my crossword hobby this year, and this new quirky community. Merry Christmas to all.
A puzzle based on LAUGHING all the way, and a song that is associated with the 25th of December (or any time there's snow, actually). So we have LOL, HEH, HAR HAR, TEHEE and HAHA. Conspicuously absent is HO HO HO. Sam, someone may be on the naughty list.
@Steve L Yes I was shocked that we didn’t see S(HO)E(HO)RNS or (HO)TC(HO)COLATE or better yet, hit song by The Merrymen (HO)T(HO)T(HO)T. Still how much can you expect?
@Deb — Re asking the puzzle editors for help, and then figuring it out on your own: In my first job as a computer programmer, one of my colleagues said, “What we need around this joint is an intelligent-looking mannequin.” Whenever we’d be stuck working on a program, we’d go to a colleague, explain the issue, and halfway through slap ourselves on the forehead and say, “Oh, I see it.” The colleague hadn’t really done anything besides sit there with an intelligent look on their face.
@dlr when my kids were in elementary school, they had a practice called “learn it, teach it, know it”. I think it’s the same concept here - the act of thinking through your challenge clearly enough the make sense to the person you are asking is enough for you to see the flaw that you has been overlooking.
@dlr Where I work we call it rubber ducking. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging</a>
@dlr In tech this sounds like ‘rubber ducking’ - you’d have a rubber duck on your desk to explain your code to, line by line, to reveal its issues.
Family event, will return tomorrow or Saturday, and look forward to rejoining! Wishing each of you at least one big happy surprise….
Also offline for a few days. Enjoy the peace and quiet. (Today's puzzle was a laughing matter.)
@Lewis @Barry Ancona Merry Christmas to both of you and your families. You will be missed.
Merry merry Christmas, friends. This place is a light in the darkness (even when we argue;)
This is my first post to this forum and I write it to say, to the people who I know would truly appreciate this: Today is DAY 1000 of my streak!!! I didn’t plan for it to happen on Christmas Day, it’s just wonderfully serendipitous that it did :)
@Melissa333 Perhaps a smaller crowd than usual today but we're all on our feet cheering for you! 🥳
@Melissa333 Congratulations! Be sure jump into the conversation anytime.
@Melissa333, Whoa ho!!! Drinks all around!! Congratulations 1000 times over! That is one super milestone to reach. And to reach it on Christmas is just icing on the cake!
Thank you very much to all! Here’s to lots more days of challenging, witty, inscrutable, funny, punny, sometimes exasperating, but always worth-the-effort NYT crosswords. Cheers!
Sleazo???!!!!!!! Sometimes I am happy when the puzzle teaches me a new word (like Flirtini!) but sometimes I just become more convinced that a thing is not a word.
@kt mo That “o” was my last fill, but I liked the rest of the puzzle so I ain’t mad
Was waiting for the fun twist or devious trick, but it never came. That’s OK, I suppose. You can’t catch someone out if they’re always on their guard. Thanks for another year of great crosswording fun. This was the year that I finally broke the 1000 day streak after blowing it at 921 days a few years ago when I forgot until a couple of minutes before midnight… onward to 1500 in 2026, I hope!
@Tim Sneath congratulations! What a fun accomplishment!
@Tim Sneath Truly impressive streak. Congrats!
@Tim Sneath That is truly impressive!
@Tim Sneath Congrats on your streak. But did you know that as long as you do one day's puzzle before the next day's you don't lose your streak? I've opened the app on a Tues and noticed that I forgot to do Monday. Not a problem! Just do Monday before you start Tues. It works every time! And Merry Christmas to all my xword friends!
I have successfully (cleanly) solved the last couple of Sam E difficult puzzles. Huzzah!! Alas, today I was stumped on 31A and 31D. I knew neither ?IRK nor ?OR. They are nowhere in my bingo ball cage. To me, that Dee cost me an EFF. My transcript is ruined! Ruined, I tell you!! HAR! It's all good! Happy holidays to all who celebrate! Sending an extra measure of love and light to those of who find the holidays difficult for whatever reason.🕯️ 🤗🕯️
@HeathieJ That was a very, very tough cross. Somehow, I know not how, I had "dirk" stored somewhere are something. Given that I have a fascination with all things Scots, I thought it just might work. As far as balloon DOR is concerned, it could have been any letter as far as I was concerned. I hope you have a great holiday.
I learned yesterday that Jingle Bells isn't actually a Christmas song - it was written about winter travel and never references Christmas in the lyrics. My mind was blown and I've been talking about it to anyone that will listen all day. Imagine my surprise to see this theme.
@Marc Presumably vetted to avoid giving offense to anyone, but they seem to have overlooked this verse: "Now the ground is white Go it while you're young Take the girls tonight Sing this sleighing song" And the suggestive Miss Fanny Bright?
@Marc same with Frosty the Snowman, no? I wonder what other holidays are strictly secular.
@Marc I always heard that it was a Thanksgiving song
@Marc How about My Favorite Things. No mention of Christmas anywhere.
@Marc There’s an Instagram post claiming it was originally a minstrel tune.
@Marc Just don't speak of The Diminutive Male Percussionist. We were warned.
@Marc Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" was written as an instrumental; the lyrics were commissioned 3 years later and written by Mitchell Parish. It too is a winter song which now rarely gets heard once Christmas is in the rearview mirror. fwiw it's a fun song both to sing and to play; percussion and trumpet get special treats in the whipcrack and the horse's neigh at the end. I can't find a good live version with full orchestra and chorus, so here's an instrumental only. At least they knew where to point the camera for the horse's neigh. ;) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ98oN9LN98" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ98oN9LN98</a>
My holiday was sidelined by some Grinch at Costco who passed along something that I am still coughing up, 6 days later. So I am grateful to Sam for providing something that went down easy yet was still very satisfying, like a warm bowl of tomato soup. Happy spirit of the season to everyone here. May all who celebrate Christmas enjoy a great holiday feast. Just don’t serve Kale Caesar Salad. Nobody wants that.
Agree with the vibe that this was the easiest Ezersky in memory. I was all set to come in kvetching about how [Chilliness] is not remotely a synonym for APLOMB. I read through the comments, mystified that nobody else had pointed this out. And then — happily BEFORE I hit “post,” unlike what Deb relates in her column — the penny dropped …. Another good reminder than 99% of the time, it’s you making the mistake not the editing team :). Meanwhile about those Tuesday NFL games — I thought at first it might be a Christmas-day thing but in fact it’s even rarer than that: at least according to Google (forgive the massive energy use for the AI lookup here) Tuesday games in recent decades have all been last-minute reschedulings because of COVID (in 2020 and 2021) or snowstorms (2010). Thanks to Will and the whole team for giving us this daily source of challenge and amusement!
@Nat K ...only if you like the slangy use of "chill" .....
Oh, the perils of too many crossing letters. Seeing so many, I quickly filled in HEADWAITER without any doubts. Especially since I had no idea about a cable lead-in to TV and staring at T_U, and we already had an IOTA, I mean, heck, what was there to think about? Luckily, as I near my 86th birthday, I no longer obsess about solving completely correctly. Merry Christmas, everyone!
What a pleasant surprise to find a Sam Ezersky puzzle that didn't live up to the terror that struck my heart when I saw the byline. And on a Thursday, no less. Just a breezy and quick solve, with more than a few chuckles along the way. In keeping with the holiday spirit, I'll leave out the ones that made my eyebrows arch. Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating, and Happy Holidays to everyone else!
Thanks, Sam! Figuring out the theme helped me with typos! I hope everyone enjoys this one, as I did. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. I wish y’all peace! 🎅🏻🎄
I was able to point my compasS NORTh, be a solver WHO OPtimizes my theme-guessing skills, and lollygaG RINgs around all the lollygaggers. To wit: I saw that it was going to be laughing all the way! Ha! Theme adjacent: here is a two-cat open sleigh, cutest thing ever: <a href="https://youtube.com/shorts/uySjw-ex__k?si=hNLeG0zwd7NWUFQc" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/shorts/uySjw-ex__k?si=hNLeG0zwd7NWUFQc</a>
@Cat Lady Margaret Adorable video! Though at first I was so confused why their ears looked so long 😂 Like mutant bunny-cats or something ... (I did figure it out though)
I’m having a wonderful Christmas with my daughter and her family in Southern California. It’s been great to be here when my youngest grandchild and only granddaughter has just started crawling. Tomorrow should be pretty special with her and her almost 5-year-old brother. I hope everyone out there is enjoying the holiday season with their loved ones. Have a Merry Christmas and a great 2026, everyone.
@NYC Traveler Sounds lovely! Same to you, friend! 🤗
Dashing! I enjoyed this one, and I had a relieved EXHALE when I finished because I was intimidated knowing it was Sam who constructed it. AND YET it didn’t have any devious elements; jolly all the way through. This is a busy week for someone in my line of work, but I’m happy to have had a sweet family time Wednesday night decking the halls with my husband and children, placing the presents under the tree, and watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (26 minutes is the right length of time for my kiddos). Being alive is so magical. I wish you EACH a lovely holiday time, a PERIOD of togetherness and tradition and coziness.
Ho Ho Ho, who wouldn't go? The theme actually helped after I caught on. Is the FLIRTINI in one of the movies, because I only watched the show where they drank Cosmos? Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
@Vaer I can’t answer your FLIRTINI question, but I have one of my own. That drink was an answer in crossword from somewhere else that I did a few days ago. It could’ve been the New Yorker, LAT, WaPo . . . Anyone else remember seeing it?
@Eric Hougland I typed Flirtini and Sex and the City in Bing and a few references came up as to it being a drink created for SJP on the show. Definitely do not recall.
@Eric Hougland I'd agree that at this point in timing and for you probably not worth it. It's very New Yorky and of Its time. And really just about the 4 women looking for Mr right or Mr right now. And also their careers. But anyway, if you were looking for a comedy that you had missed, I'd go with Parks and Recreation.
Merry Christmas to my fellow crossworders! It’s a rainy, windy Xmas here in the Bay Area, and I am keeping fingers crossed that the power stays on.
The best puzzles are the ones that teach us something. Knowledge can come from anywhere if we're paying attention, so never hesitate when you're hopelessly stuck to go looking for an answer elsewhere. After a puzzle is done and forgotten, the knowledge we gained is still with us .
I found this puzzle lots of fun, but I did not use the theme while solving. It was tough to get the last few words right in the lower left, my last to fall. I confess I found the clue "Right-eous path?" for EAST not particularly well crafted: I don't view east as a "path" in any sense.
@Dan East is typically on the right side of a map, no? The clue is corny, but it works for me.
I was worried seeing Sam’s byline but this was a pleasant Christmas gift (from one Jew to another as it turns out). Maybe Wednesday-ish but worthy since it runs on Christmas, had TWO themes more or less so had an Ezersky level of construction complexity, and enough tricky clues to go along with the gimmes (RICHARDHARRIS for me, too bad he is more famous for Harry Potter over Camelot). A few random thoughts— RICHARDHARRIS was also the name of a very noteworthy oncologist at Cincinnati Children’s hospital, where I work; and coincidentally LARRYDOLAN who was also clued recently is the name of an excellent endocrinologist there. How weird is that? Can anyone hear the word LOLLYGAG and not think of this scene from “Bull Durham”? <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RjtmKIWa4tY" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RjtmKIWa4tY</a> One of these days I will stop mixing up Michael CERA and John Cena; today was not that day I tried to fit in HOSTDRESSER for SNL VIP. My friend Donna Richards has had that role for thirty years and it’s one of the most stressful jobs in the business. Agree with Steve L I missed HO HO as well That’s all I have—Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
@SP Since the column refers to songs that become earworms, and RICHARD HARRIS was a gimme for you, let me note that the very same Richard Harris of Dumbledore fame had a very earwormy song in the 1960s, "MacArthur Park." Listen to it at your own risk.
@SP I could probably pretty much give the dialogue of the clip you linked to. "Bull Durham" is a gem. Speaking of Michael Cera, I rewatched "Juno" the other night. Michael Cera ought to get some kind of award for hilariously good under-acting. Perfect part of him after "Arrested Development". I'm a big fan. Wow, concerning your contact with someone employed by SNL. I would think that has to be the highest pressure show imaginable. I thought "Studio 60", which seemed to be a backstage dramatization of an SNL-like show, was brilliant, although I seem to have been in a minority.
@SP Inquiring minds want to know how you know that Sam is a(n) MOT?
Merry Christmas my fellow cross word solvers..
That was a fun solve. Today’s mini is a fun construction too.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. Ours was on the 21st (Yule) so we’re in a happy post celebration stupor today. A brisk walk in the freezing cold to the pub is as energetic as it’s going to get. A very easy, breezy none Rebus Thursday; even more of a surprise given the constructor, but a pleasant one nonetheless. I note the lack of HO HO HO, but love the Jingle Bell theme. Have a happy, peaceful holiday with those you love. See you in the New Year.
SLEAZO? Okay, if you say so, Sam. I always thought SLEAZe was bad enough. As for the rest of the puzzle, it was lovely, and fun, and so nice for a day when I don't want to work too hard, but still want a challenge. I spent the last two days baking, but our planned trip to see the kids tomorrow may not work out. Climatologist son-in-law is watching the storm for us; if it starts late enough in the day, we may make it there and back in enough time. However, son and d-i-l returned from a cruise with some unnamed illness, so we won't see them. I hope we're not stuck in the house with all these cookies! (Hm, neighbors may benefit...) To those of you celebrating, get off your phones and laptops and go make memories. Take lots of photos. To those, like us, whose holiday is over and are vegging today, it's a good time to go through file cabinets and shred! I've already watched two versions of Dickens Christmas Carol (whatever happened to Mr. Magoo? That was my favorite version). Dinner at friends' tonight. They firmly said "do not bring anything" so I will crochet a toy for their cat. So there. (Mom said never show up empty handed. Mom comes first.) Enjoy it all! See you tomorrow!
Seems to me only a real SLEAZO would actually use that word. 😛
41 degrees Celsius here for Xmas. Enjoyed this puzzle a lot for a Thursday!
@Alli That's insanely hot. If it's cold you can always put on more clothes, but there's a limit to how many clothes you can take off.
Now there, Deb, La Guardia is a LOT nicer than it used to be.
@John Came here to say the same thing! The new terminals B and C are straight up awesome.
@John 100%. The first time I landed at the “new” terminal my jaw dropped. I couldn’t stop remarking what an unbelievable change it was. And to have accomplished the rebuild without closing down the airport was an amazing engineering feat. One of my new favorite airports to use!
HA HAppy Christmas to those Puzzle People who celebrate. This was a nice puzzle theme with which to give a nod to the season without excluding anybody (except those of us without SNOW... here, we had a record high of 80 degrees. HOO BOY, indeed.) Hmm, well, I disagree with the clue for 1D; one can be cool as a cucumber without exuding a chilly aura. Humph. And the Bee quite often spells 16A with an A in the first syllable, much to my annoyance...but just look at who is spelling it otherwise today! Also, phooey on PELLA...who did not stand behind a defective sliding door that allowed a main room to be flooded in a storm. Quite the span of eras, eh? A WWII novel, The REAGAN YEARs, even THE EU. And remember when "1984" was distant and unimaginable? No LAUGHING matter now.... but determined to hope.
Good long workout for me, but ended up being an enjoyable Thursday solve. And... really wasn't catching on to the theme until I was almost done and went back and reviewed everything. That's just a nice touch. And.. appropriate puzzle find today: A Sunday from December 21, 2008 by Elizabeth C. Gorski with the title "Laughing all the way." A string of theme answers: 69a: LOOKWHOSHERE 74d: "December 25 answer to 69-Across?" JOLLYSTNICK A couple other theme answers: \ KRISKRINGLE SANTABABY And then... 10d (at the very middle at the top of the puzzle - "Greeting from 74 down." And that answer was 21 rebus squares - the rebus in each of them being "HO" So.... HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/21/2008&g=10&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/21/2008&g=10&d=D</a> ....
EMO didn't occur to me, the way my mind works now, but a discussion shortly before this taught me a brand-new word "SLEAZO"! Before that Deb had kindly provided the L of LGA and when I looked up the brand-new word PELLA, sure enough, windows and doors! I have HEADW_ITER at 28D. R seems likely but I tried A as well when that didn't work. Neither makes sense in the T_U I have across it. There has to be something else wrong somewhere. Aha! It was something that happens to me over and over: Where I had typed MOES it had changed to MOEH, and my GEEKS/TUE had become GEKKS/TUK. What could cause that?
@kilaueabart Season's greetings. Typos, the bane of our existence. Nice to see a post from you. It's been awhile.
@kilaueabart, Merry Christmas! Hope you’re having a good one!
Merry Christmas! Thanks for taking it easy on us. Busy day coming up.
@Michael Goho Merry Christmas right back! I was hoping for something to keep me busy while the (adult) kids slept in. Oh, well.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all in lovely Crosslandia! LAUGHING out loud at the theme today. We watched “A Christmas Story” as usual, but we added “A Christmas Story Christmas” this year as well. I loved it. They sing “Jingle Bells” in the car… in both movies 🤣 And yea, that song will be the ear worm for a while…🤣 thanks Sam! 😝 <a href="https://youtu.be/VAl-pDRsRAc?si=uBHEsE78mPGbQFO9" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/VAl-pDRsRAc?si=uBHEsE78mPGbQFO9</a> The Pineapple Express brought crazy weather to our neck of the woods (San Diego for Christmas). So middle child had second leg of his flight to join us moved to tomorrow morning. After he sat at the airport in Flagstaff for two hours, we cancelled his flights and he’s joining our oldest son instead. We will catch up to them on Friday. Bad flu bugs kept two other family members from joining us as well. All that to say wishing everyone out there safe travels and good health for this holiday season.
This was fun! Thankful Santa did not bring the rebus that would have stolen Christmas! 😅 Have a Merry Christmas, all!
Ended with 2 letters I didn’t know. So I gave my phone to my pet monkey and voila. Lookout AI. Merry Christmas Y’all
I'm an SATC diehard and it took me FOREVER to come up with FLIRTINI. I think the only mention of that cocktail comes in S2 E4, "They Shoot Single People, Don't They?" (featuring a very young Bradley Cooper!). Great pull. Merry Christmas, all!
@Angela Actually, it's the TARTINI in S2E4 (a worthwhile rewatch on Christmas Day), and the FLIRTINI appears in S3E18 ("Cock A Doodle Do"). Perhaps a themed holiday watch for HBO Max subscribers with time on their hands after a fairly quick Thursday solve!
Fun little Christmas Eve puzzle before I go to bed. Not tough and that’s OK. I think there’ll be fewer complaints given that it’s Christmas Eve. Ho ho ho! And…. Mehhhhhhrry Christmas!
This was as easy as the radii of pie slices -- good clue, that one -- but what the heck, it was a fun Christmas puzzle.
its not often that i find the mini more grin worthy than the maxi. today was such a day...
@Matt You are right. It was darling.
I work in a retail pharmacy, so I'm subject to the overhead sound track my entire working day. I'm both happy and sad to say that I made it to December 17 this year before I heard this song, but at least it was the Spanish version!
@Cynthia Schmidt The Spanish version doesn't count, not any covers. Only the original version by Wham! You won!
@Cynthia Schmidt Back in the 60’s I worked at Sears. The Christmas music was on a 90 minute loop. They used the same loop for the three seasons I worked there. It was really weird because all of the employees subconsciously learned the sequence. We’d mutter the name of the next up song in unison. Customers were amazed. I’d hear the same songs on the radio and it was disconcerting when the next up song was “wrong.”
I'm not going to be the one to go all Scrooge on this puzzle. No "Bah! Humbug!" from me. But it's Thursday! It feels like it's been ages since we had a decent Thursday-style gimmick in a puzzle. Yes, it's Christmas, and it's fitting to get a Christmas-themed puzzle, but can't it be a bit trickier? [And isn't WHITE HEELS a bit on the "Geen-Paint-y" side?]
@The X-Phile Thanks for pointing out the weakness of WHITEHEELS. When the clue is that long and there's no pun at the end of the solve, it's usually an unsatisfying entry.
@The X-Phile PS A better answer would have been ROUNDHEELS ironically for a bride.
Nice puzzle. But a Christmas Day puzzle with the theme of laughter and no "HO, HO, HO"? Disappointing and a missed fun opportunity.