Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate!

Today’s beautiful thing is something for the kid in all of us. On December 7, 1969, the CBS television network aired a new animated movie called Frosty the Snowman, and an icon was born. I can vividly remember my family gathered around the television to watch the movie when it came on every year. No matter what else was going on, everyone stopped what they were doing for Frosty. I’m not sure what made it so special. There were certainly other Christmas movies that played every year, but Frosty the Snowman was the only one for which time stopped in my house.

The film’s narrator (and the original singer of the iconic song when it was released in 1950) was Jimmy Durante. In fact, Frosty turned out to be the final film performance for the 73-year-old Durante. The animated feature, written by Romeo Muller (of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer screenplay fame), was inspired by the Durante recording.

When I found Frosty the Snowman in its entirety on YouTube, I just knew I had to share. So for those of you who’ve seen it a dozen times, this will hopefully bring up some happy memories. And for those out there who’ve never seen it, maybe it can become a new tradition in your family, too.