Joe took me to see Elf in the theater a while ago, and I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think Will Ferrell is hysterical. Of course, he was even funnier in Old School, where he was allowed to swear and drink and run around naked. What a great movie!

Anyway, afterwards, I told Joe that I hadn't heard that song before, the duet Buddy sang with Jovie. "You don't know that song?" Joe asked, surprised.

"No, but I totally love it!"

Around that same time, we had started listening to the twenty-four hour Christmas station while we slept. I was up late one night, and Joe had already gone to bed with the Christmas music playing. I finally felt myself fading enough to realize I should head to bed, too.

I entered the darkened bedroom, and as I slid under the covers next to a soundly sleeping Joe, the clock read 3:33 (three is my favorite number, and always has been), and Baby, It's Cold Outside softly tinkled on the radio. It was one of those moments of sheer perfect timing, like a little gift from the universe, to hear a song I'd newly fallen in love with at just that moment. I smiled as I drifted off to sleep.

A week or so went by before Joe and I found ourselves at Tower Records. I don't remember if I purchased anything that evening, but Joe bought a few Christmas CDs. We listened to one of them as we tooled around in the car, and it wasn't long before I heard Louis Armstrong singing, "I said it's cold outside..."

"I love this song!" I said. And only a moment later, Joe and I were singing along with it.

It stuck with me, and I began noticing it playing in stores sometimes, even just recently in the clothes store I've been working in.

"I've adopted this song as my new favorite Christmas song!" I told my co-worker, and softly began singing along with the radio.

I hummed it often since it was frequently in my head. Sometimes I sang it around the house without even noticing I was doing so. I'm not sure quite what it is that appeals to me so much. The sort of swing-style beat? The melody itself? Maybe it's the way the male and female voices overlap each other again and again throughout the song. Some combination of all of the above, as well as a touch of something I can't quite put my finger on, causes this song to enchant me whenever I hear it. The notes lift up my very soul, I can't help singing along, and suddenly I'm all filled up with a sweet kind of calm, as if cinnamon ran through my veins, and warm apple cider filled my heart.

One evening, I was was washing some dishes in the sink, when Joe came into the kitchen. "I love you," he said sweetly.

"I love you, too, baby," I said.

He came up behind me, and put his arms around me. He softly hummed the first few notes...

"I really can't stay..."

And I joined in, humming along naturally.

"Baby, it's cold outside..."

He swayed with me in his arms, dancing with me, and I swayed right with him, even while I was still occupied at the sink. A smile swept across my face as we danced to the song playing only off of our lips.

"I've got to go 'way..."
"I said it's cold outside..."

His arms were warm, as was the feeling inside me, a gentle loving happiness swirling around inside my heart.

"Baby, it's cold... out...-side..."

Joe bent down and kissed the side of my neck as we simultaneously wound down our song, and I smiled even wider. I finished up at the sink, while he went about getting himself a snack, which is what he originally came into the kitchen to do. I watched him as he headed back to his desk, and still smiling, filled with that warm, Christmassy, giddy-teenager sensation, all I could think was, "I love my husband." It was as if time had paused just long enough for us to share a magical Christmas moment, singing and dancing in the kitchen to my new favorite song. It's those kinds of things - a song, a dance, a kiss, and a love that grows ever stronger - that fill my heart with a special kind of magic and joy.

"I really can't stay...
Ahh, but it's cold outside....."

Download the mp3 when you visit this site (does not download automatically when you click the link). Note: This is NOT my favorite version of the song, but if you're new to it, like I am, at least you'll get to hear it via this link.

All lyrics are the property and copyright of their respective owners. All lyrics are provided for educational purposes and personal use only.

This has been a Fa-La-La-La-Las Collab entry.