Santa Brought Me "Donny & Marie!"

Well, actually my mom gave this DVD to me, but I was as excited as if Santa himself had come down the chimney (or wood stove, in our case) and left it for me. It was like being a kid again.

If you're younger than 40, you may not remember the 1970s TV gem "The Donny & Marie Show." It ran for a couple of years and featured the brother and sister team of Donny and Marie Osmond. It was so perfectly cheesy and wonderful. Variety acts by 70s celebrities, ice skating, corny banter between Donny and Marie, and Bob Mackie-designed gowns!

The DVD contains just a few select clips from each year, but I'm surprised to see just how talented these kids were. And Donny was such a heartthrob with those tight pants and that hair! My sister and I watched this religiously, and it inspired us to put own "shows" for my parents and their unsuspecting friends. We had a sliding glass door and a curtain that separated the den from the carport. We would stage our shows in the carport with the curtain closed and then open it for our "audience" in the den. So much fun!

And that sweet, sentimental tune they used to close their show every week still brings tears to my eyes: "May God keep you in his tender care, until he brings us together again. Good night, everybody!"