The Monkees finally hit the big time. They score a recording contract and a national tour, and become a sensation. Even as they sell millions of records and play to packed concert halls, however, they struggle for artistic and creative freedom, co...
It was Christmas Eve, but in California, it never really felt like Christmas, and particularly in Palm Springs there seemed to be a lack of Christmas atmosphere. Throw into that mix a couple of Jews — Wendy and Gabby — and it was kind of confusing to everyone's system. Still, the two Jews rallied everyone and insisted that the group stir their stumps and make an effort to get into the spirit of the holiday. The guys and the girls split up a list of errands and chores and decided to try to do a bit of gift shopping as well. The girls took their car and the guys took the Monkeemobile, which was larger, so the guys were charge of buying at least some sort of decorations.
When everyone returned to the condo, the results were actually pretty satisfying. Somehow the boys had managed to find an actual Christmas tree and some cheap ornaments, as well as some cranberries and popcorn for everyone to string on the tree. They had stopped in the desert somewhere and picked up great big branches of wild greens to spread around the house with ribbons tied to them, and on Peter's insistence, they bought candles (Peter was a candle freak, having been given a really weird one shaped like a penis at the Monterey Pop Festival by someone backstage).
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The girls had gone to the grocery and purchased the fixings for a decent Christmas dinner. Fortunately, Jan was an excellent cook and volunteered to cover that part of the celebration, since the other girls were pretty hopeless. Also, Lynda and Robert would be coming down that evening and Lynda was competent in the kitchen.
The family sat around for the late afternoon, drinking eggnog and stringing the cranberries and popcorn for the tree. Or at least, that was the plan. Unfortunately, Micky was acting like a three-year-old and either kept pricking his finger and howling with pain or complaining that it was too hard to get the needle through the hard cranberries, or he'd be caught trying to filch a piece of popcorn and get scolded, or he'd get a piece of popcorn onto his string and get it almost all the way slid down and it would break apart and he'd get frustrated and pout. Finally, Gabby went into the kitchen and grabbed him a plate of cookies, steered him into a chair in front of the TV, placed the remote in his hands and told him to entertain himself while the grownups took care of their work. Everyone gassed with laughter at Gabby's inadvertent motherly tableau and even Micky took some satisfaction in it, grinning to himself as he began hunting around for something to watch.
Robert and Lynda arrived bearing dinner, several pizzas that Wendy had called in an order for, and the party felt like it was truly underway with the entire family assembled. Lynda asked where she and Robert would be dossing down and Wendy showed her to a small office that had a couch with a pullout bed. After they ate, there were Christmas presents to wrap, so everyone snuck off to their rooms or other people's rooms to take care of that chore in secret. Suddenly, a pile began to grow beneath the tree that made their celebration seem real and legitimately festive.
Wendy had the radio on blasting Christmas carols and made sure everyone had plenty of eggnog or their drink of choice. To her surprise, the doorbell rang and it turned out to be a few of their friends from their first trip to Palm Springs who were back in town for the holiday. The party got bigger and more festive, and even though this wasn't her holiday, Wendy took great joy and satisfaction in the scene set before her. She had even purchased a Santa Claus hat which she was wearing at a jaunty angle. She reminded Mike about the conversation on their first double date with Peter and Dawn at the flea market about how a hat can transform your persona and mood.
