It’s Not the Holidays Without the Winter Wonderland Parody Ad

The Winter Wonderland parody ad is one of those holiday traditions of the YouTube era that simply must be indulged in.

Much like comedian Clay Weiner's "The Christmas Tree" and actress Natalie Walker's rousing alto rendition of "All I Want For Christmas Is You," there are a number of classic YouTube clips that seem to make the rounds every holiday season. I feel like "Winter Wonderland" is a lesser-known classic in the Christmas comedy genre, so I figured I'd share it by way of boosting the holiday spirit.

The clip comes courtesy of College Humor (now known as Dropout TV). It's a parody of those hyper-local TV advertisements that came to prominence in the '70s and '80s where the business owner was also the hawker. Think Barry and Elliot from Jordan's Furniture or Bernie and Phyl if you're a Mass native. Actually, scratch that. This guy is much more in the spirit of Crazy Eddie. Remember him?

Bookended between commercials for Countrywide Home Loans and Progressive Auto Insurance, the fake advert has the look and feel of something that would come screaming out of the TV at you at around 2 a.m. after you dozed off during Saturday Night Live. A man with a heavy New Jersey accent dressed as Santa Claus begins belligerently roasting someone's Christmas decor. Then the fun begins.

Suddenly, you're in a Winter Wonderland, conveniently located in the northwest corner of the IKEA parking lot in Paramus, New Jersey. Christmas trees and decorations are being hawked by a prototypically shady huckster. Yes, it's the guy in the Santa suit. Yes, there are unexpectedly hilarious pop culture references. Yes, it has some NSFW language. Yes, you'll have a few good laughs and probably add this one to your list of Christmas comedy clips. Happy Holidays!

Taking a different approach to this week's 12-Inch Poll. But still keeping it festive with Christmas songs people love that I just don't.

My initial idea was to make a big, long list of "The Worst Holiday Songs," or something of that nature. But that's the tricky thing about the music of the holiday season: there might be a song that puts you in the mood or brings back fond memories of holidays past that someone else might hear and want to jump out a window. One person's Christmas trash is another's Christmas treasure, etc.

So I decided to take a different angle. I decided to make a short playlist of just six songs. These are all very popular songs that are heard around the holiday season. They're played on the radio, pumped over sound systems in malls, and even used in holiday advertisements. There's even one that's spawned a global game centered around avoiding the song for as long as you can.

OK, now that I think about it, maybe "hate" is too strong a word. I dislike these songs. For me, they do not spark holiday joy; they do not put me in the Christmas spirit. But I'll tolerate them, depending on the context. That context is usually: "I'm with my kids, and they like this song, so I'll just let it play."

Perhaps you'll be in my camp regarding these, perhaps you will not. I respect your decision. But, in the spirit of the 12-Inch Poll (and the holiday season), I'd like you to choose the one you like the least. You can scroll through the short list and cast your vote below. Then, to cleanse your palate, you can peruse my punk rock Christmas playlist. Happy Ho Ho Ho-lidays!

"Oh, but it's cute! It's for the kids!" No, it's not. It's trash. And if you never played it for them, they'd never ask for it.

I'll indulge in the Eartha Kitt version, because that woman is a legend. The Madonna version is borderline parody. And it wasn't meant to be, which makes it worse.

Enough. Enough with the fake "tradition," enough with the memes. Retire this one already.

Look, I'm all for a "sad" Christmas song when the mood calls for it. But this isn't "sad." This is clinical depression.

Shit song. Absolute garbage. Not even wacky-ass Mac DeMarco can redeem it.

Obviously I'm not trying to mess with anyone's Whamageddon streak, so here's the Jimmy Eat World version to stand in.