A Barack Obama Christmas

Are advent calendars, traditionally the Whitman Sampler of holiday offerings, getting a cool makeover? Exhibit A is Stephen Colbert's Video Advent Calendar included as a bonus feature on the "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All" DVD ("Relax everybody, " begins Colbert's Dec. 21 greeting, "you have four more days to buy last minute Christmas presents. That's a ton of time").

Exhibit B is "The Obama Family White House Christmas," an equally charmed Christmas countdown that recounts in 25 windows how Barack Obama became the nation's 44th president. With the economy in shambles and Illinois' scandal-plagued governor a nationwide disgrace and late night punchline, we, like the song says, need a little Christmas right this very minute. We could also use a good laugh. "The Obama Family White House Christmas" calendar delivers on both fronts.

Set against a festive, White House snow scene, each calendar window opens to reveal a holiday-twisted caricature of a key player in the Obama saga. Among the notables who have already made their appearances include a rather fetching Oprah Winfrey as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Mayor Richard Daley, pockets stuffed with cash, as the Ghost of Christmas present, Rahm Emanuel as the third Wiseman, and Jesse Jackson as--wait for it--The Nutcracker.

The calendar was a little late to the party. As with Marc Shaiman's viral video hit, "Prop. 8: The Musical," which appeared after the passage of the anti-same-sex marriage initiative, "The Obama Family White House Christmas" calendar was a better late than never inspiration, according to former Chicago Sun-Times editor Chris Whitehead, who conceived of the idea with his wife.

"We had followed the election more closely than most," he said in a phone interview. "It was so exciting, and we live about a mile from [Obama's] house. We were talking about the characters [involved in the presidential race]. I don't remember how it turned into the idea for an advent calendar, but we googled to see if anyone else had done it. Nobody had."

Beginning less than two weeks before Thanksgiving, Whitehead recruited editorial cartoonist Chris Britt from the State Journal-Register in Springfield to create the caricatures, and graphic artist and illustrator Rick Tuma to create the White House backdrop. The rest is now history.

The calendar takes its light-hearted tone from Whitehead's former "Casual Fridays" column. Republicans and Democrats alike receive some gentle holiday jeer. John McCain is typecast as Scrooge, with Sarah Palin as a gun-toting Snow Queen. John Edwards, pants around his ankles, is the red-faced reindeer (Whitehead takes pride in coming up with that one), and alleged Senate seat Impresario Rod Blagojevich is Tiny Tim.

Rush Limbaugh and Hillary Clinton, puckered up expectantly under the mistletoe, each appears as themself. "They are their own characters," Whitehead explained.

The calendar retails for $18.00 and can be purchased online at ObamaAdventCalendar.com. It is also available at Paper Source retail locations in the Chicago area, Washington D.C, Boston. San Francisco, Berkeley, and Beverly Hills. It is also available at 57th Street Books and What the Traveler Saw in Hyde Park.

Though we are now staring down the business end of the holiday season, Whitehead suggested it's not too late to make full use of the calendar. Once Christmas is past, he suggested, it could also double as an inauguration countdown.

Comments

[JeffmChicago]

That was quite funny, Mr. Liebenson!

Now could you make that calendar happen?

[cgr]

I suggest we celebrate a Barack Obama Christmas by going green and being energy-responsible. A new Christmas tradition, for those who celebrate Christmas, and those who seek to profit from it, that doesn't demand a gazillion lights everywhere. Where is it written entire government buildings, businesses and homes be decked in electrical lights? Wouldn't it be just fine to redefine the holidays as a time for giving, caring, sharing and the quiet beauty of what is natural?

I vote for that.