Welcome to our first Lit for Christmas party of Season Four!
In this episode, Marty and Beth partake in a little drink called the Frodo and talk about the creator of Middle Earth, J. R. R. Tolkien, and his book Letters from Father Christmas, in celebration of what would have been Tolkien’s 132nd birthday on January 3, 2024.
BONUS POINTS: Take a shot every time you hear the words "Polar Bear." CAUTION: You WILL get very drunk.
SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT:
(courtesy of Tara Reyes and https://popgoestheculture.com/pop-culture-kitchen-middle-earth-cocktails/)
1 shot vodka (eliminate for nonalcoholic version)
1 shot peach schnapps (substitute peach nectar for nonalcoholic version)
2 shots cranberry juice
2 shots lemonade
Add the cranberry juice to a cocktail glass with ice.
Add vodka, peach schnapps, and lemonade to a mixing glass and shake well.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with maraschino cherry, if desired.Directions for Non-Alcoholic Frodo Recipe
Follow same directions as above, eliminating vodka and substituting two shots of peach nectar for peach schnapps.
Lit for Christmas Party Hosts:
Marty has an Master's in fiction writing, MFA in poetry writing,
and teaches in the English Department at Northern Michigan University in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He served two terms at Poet Laureate of the Upper Peninsula, and has published the poetry collection The Mysteries of the Rosary from Mayapple Press. For more of Marty's thoughts and writing visit his blog Saint Marty (saintmarty-marty.blogspot.com) or listen to his other podcast Confessions of Saint Marty, also on Spotify. Marty is a writer, blogger, wine sipper, easy drunk, and poetry obsessor who puts his Christmas tree up in mid-October and refuses to
take it down until the snow starts melting.
Beth has a BS in English Secondary Education. She has
worked as a substitute teacher, medical transcriptionist, medical office receptionist, deli counter attendant, and Office Max cashier. Currently, she works in a call center and enjoys discussing/arguing about literature with her loving husband.
"Jingle Bells Jazzy Style" by Julius H, used courtesy of Pixabay.
"A Christmas Treat" by Magic-828, used courtesy of Pixabay.
Other music in the episode:
Dalton, Brendan and the 1740 Boys Choir. "Christmas
in the Shire."
Christmas in Middle-Earth. bandcamp.com, 27 November, 2020.
A Christmas Carol sound clips from:
The Campbell Theater 1939 radio production of A Christmas Carol, narrated by Orson Welles and starring Lionel Barrymore.
This month's Christmas lit:
Tolkien, J. R. R. Letters from Father Christmas. Harper
Collins Publishing, 1999.