When I dragged out my Christmas stuff after all these years, I came across Bowser Holly, a delightful part of the Christmas decorations.

Of course I originally bought him (I can tell it’s a boy by the voice) because he reminded me of Miss P and I would tease her with him.   And after I found a small Phillips head screwdriver, replaced the batteries and removed the corrosion, he started to sing again.   He sings and barks his way through “Deck the Halls” in a very engaging version.

This is my other singing battery operated Christmas decoration/toy that I got two years ago.  I include him in Christmas just because he is a reindeer wearing a scarf.  He sings “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”, not a very seasonal tune.   But he is cute and he claps his hands and raises his ears, and is generally adorable.

The Three Stooges are not part of Christmas, but they do have batteries so I’m including them in this post.   These were sold as “dog toys”, although they are quickly demolished by any competent dog.   (I sent a set to my fellow Stooge fan and brother.   His dog took an instant dislike to Larry and killed him at the first opportunity).   They don’t have any moving parts, but when squeezed they feature voices of the actors.

Dear Rex is the senior among these battery operated marvels.   I probably bought him in 1985, and he has gotten a little arthritic over the years.  But his eyes still glow and his jaws still move.   He is the king of the collection.   He is somewhat modeled on Godzilla, and as I recently argued on Facebook, Godzilla is part of Christmas too (at least if you live in Japan, where he is part of every holiday).