My top 5 Christmas songs of 2025

I listen to Christmas songs year-round but they’re still more special in December. I like to pick which are my favorites and this year there’s a new one (to me) that takes the #1 spot. Here’s my list, check them out and add them to your playlist, you won’t be sorry!

5. “Merry Christmas Baby” Hanson…

4. “O Holy Night” Anne Wilson…

3. “It Came Upon The Midnight Clear” Jars of Clay…

2. “Christmas in L.A.” Vulfpeck…

1. “Winter Wonderland” Colbie Callat. What a beautiful voice and the apex for me is how she delivers “…though your nose gets a’chillin’…” Can’t get enough of it…

Merry Christmas!

-Out of the Wilderness

The Jeep Wild Animal Review Commercial – All the Animals and More

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The Animals. In order, the animals appearing in the ad are a black bear, moose, Eastern wolf, squirrel, bald eagle, box turtle, possum, Canadian goose, great-horned owl, raccoon, mountain lion, and Big Foot. My favorite is easily the possum. It’s not so much of a secret that I want one of these as a pet one day.

Human comments on YouTube are mixed; some are excited about the ad and the Jeep lineup while others are skeptical about the size of the engine advertised and the use of AI in the ad. I’ll admit, my heart dropped when I heard the eagle announce the 2-Liter engine. That seems small, right? And would an eagle be pumped about something so average? Maybe Jeep missed the mark with that one. Something like a lizard would have been more realistic, a creature that blends in with its surrounding– a Jeep engine that doesn’t stand out.

Critiques aside, I love ads that use fun and/or adorable wildlife and this accomplishes that hands (or paws?) down. How do you feel about the ad? Where does it stack up against previous Jeep commercials?

-Out of the Wilderness

The New Copilot Christmas Commercial with the Interracial Clauses

Happy holidays! If there’s one thing we can count on during the Christmas season besides Thanksgiving being overlooked, feelings being hurt when the newlyweds still have to sit at the kids table, and signing up for a jingle bell run but sleeping in instead, it’s Christmas commercials. There are the stars like this one from Publix and this one from Amazon, but throwing their Santa hat into the (reindeer) mix is Microsoft Copilot. Check out their 2025 commercial then scroll down for more…

So Mrs. Claus is black. Statistically and traditionally this is a stretch but that’s not where the creative license ends with this ad. There’s yet another interracial couple and an Asian woman with a golden retriever. I’ve never met an Asian person who has a golden retriever, no offense! I thought all this pandering (or is it political correctness?) crap was behind us? I have no problems with interracial couples or anyone who wants to own a golden retriever. My issue is with the presentation of the product. It’s not necessary to pack in every type of every race in every commercial. It’s completely acceptable to have an all-black cast, an all-Asian cast, or to have Santa and Mrs. Claus be white. What’s next– Changing the classic lyrics… “May all your Christmases be whiiiittte and ethnically diverse…”?

Get a grip, Microsoft. I’m calling it– this ad will NOT go down as a holiday classic.

-Out of the Wilderness

The Amazon “Girlfriend’s Dad” Christmas Commercial

What do you get for the man who has everything? And what if that man is your girlfriend’s father? Lord, have mercy on the young man who finds himself in this situation… Like the kid in a new holiday ad from Amazon. Check it out then scroll down for more…

I’m reminded of the climactic line from Ace Ventura, “What do you know about pressure?” Well, (I haven’t kissed a man but) I have purchased a gift for my girlfriend’s dad. In a perfect world, 95% of the responsibility for that gift should rest on the shoulders of the girlfriend; that is, if she likes her boyfriend at all. Of course if she’s looking for a way out, Christmas is a great opportunity to watch your boyfriend flounder and then drop him like a dead fish.

If the girlfriend WAS using this opportunity to sabotage the relationship, the boyfriend screwed it up by getting a really nice gift. Thanks a lot Amazon!

-Out of the Wilderness

The First Four Episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 (No Spoilers)

I’ll start by saying this post contains no spoilers other than to tell you that in each of the first 4 episodes of season 5 there is soooo much talking. It’s like a movie where the only way they can explain the plot is for two characters to go on and on in a dialogue about what happened, what’s happening, or what will happen. The disappointing thing is that Stranger Things doesn’t need to have pages and pages of dialogue. The plot is pretty simple, right? Find Vecna. Kill Vecna. Am I missing something?

Without a doubt, the best character is Steve. Second place is a tie between Dustin and Murray. At the very bottom of the list, and a little annoying if I’m being honest are Will and Robin. I suppose I can’t support any of these claims because then I’d have some spoilers for you.

Overall though, the real stars are the graphic artists. The world they’ve created with the upside down is nothing short of incredible. From the ideas to the artists creating these animations, it’s very, very good. I’d probably appreciate them even more if I wasn’t fast-forwarding through the episodes because of… all the ….talking. 🥴

-Out of the Wilderness