Eve of The Idol ~8th Night~ Ding Dong, Sleigh Bells Ring - lol's 'xmas kiss'

As Santa prepares his sleigh with gifts galore, we look up to the skies, wondering just when we will hear those sleigh bells ring out into the night...

✴❅✴8th Night ✴❅✴

The Christmas season is all about celebrating with your family, and it can also be about giving. Of course, Christmas is not about focusing on what to get someone, or how much you spend; it's about giving those you care for something from the heart, allowing them to know that you love and appreciate them greatly. During this time of the year, we can sometimes become lost in the commercialism and bright lights, but always remember, it's not what you buy, but the meaning behind what you choose to give someone.

As I myself come from a big family, there has always been an emphasis on simply being there, and celebrating with those that raised and love me. My parents and siblings don't care about the gifts, but they appreciate what is given. If I can't buy anything, they completely understand, and are just happy to have me home. This is what Christmas is about, in my eyes: It's about wanting your family around you, and not caring about the gifts, so long as we are all under one roof and happy. Of course, everyone approaches Christmas differently, and I cannot begrudge you however you might celebrate it, or if you don't celebrate at all.

For 12 Nights, and 12 Nights only, let's take a journey with Idols of all kinds and enjoy the wintry styles they have adopted. Whether the song is old or new, let's celebrate all it delivers. This season, let's fall in love with our Idols all over again...

Let''s begin our Eighth Eve. If we listen close enough during the night, just when the snow begins to fall, maybe we will hear those magical sleigh bells ring...

Can you hear the bells in the distance?

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I still think this is a hideous name XD Why would you name yourself after slang word!?

Good grief, child, put those legs away! It's freezing, you don't want frostbite on those legs, do ya now?

Now that is one fluffeh coat! Cruella de Vil would luuurve it!

... Okay, why is one girl wearing Santa's sack, another lingerie, and the third is the only one dressed somewhat appropriately for the winter season? xD

Also,damn, boys, you hit those moves!

Damn foggy windows... -wipes-

Eramgerd, yer a beauty! *^* <3

Hot damn, that's a floofeh coat, too! I kinda want one owo

Awww, Santa-san! D8 Lemme help you, it's a bit blustery! -hauls sack-

Okay, who are you, and why are you so damn adorable?

-squints- Santa, I cannae see a bloody thing! Turn off the Aircon!

Hot damn, first you have a fluffeh coat, and then I see you have symmetrical hair... like Cruella De Vil... Hmmm...

I'm onto you, kid >o>

Santa-san: "Ho... ho... Cannot do it no more..."

After so many years of sending gifts out to the children of the world, Santa's finally starting to feel a tad tired.

Oh good gawd, man, your hair is beautiful!

Your ears are also very pointy. May I ask, are you of the Elven breed? I hear you only come out when the snow falls, yes?

So damn aesthetically pleasing.

Oh my GAAAAWD, she looks so precious! ;^;

I just wanna squidge her up and love her! ;^; ;^; <3

Pretty: "Eh... snow?"

No, it's cocaine, falling from the clouds! Of course it's F***ing snow, damnit! D8<

Cruella 2: "Can I make a coat from this powdery substance?"

Unless you want an Emperor's new clothes scenario later on, I say no.

Good grief, I just want to 'boop' that nose and pat her on the head, such a darn cutie :3

Forget the girls, let's just watch those guys flail around and kick snow!

I just enjoy these types of shots, because obscurity and focus! :D

PRESEEEENTS!!!

Also, hot damn, look at that booty!

... Wait, how old are these guys again? >o>

Feckin' BEAUTS! How are you not on every damn magazine cover ever!? You're beautiful, baby!

She kind of completes me, you know? Like, for now... but until then: PRECIOUS BABY!!! :D <3

Cruella 2: "Ooooh, a penny! Om nom nom...~"

The penny thing never gets old with me.

Cutie Button: "What ever could it be...?"

Cutie Button: "ERMAGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERD, FLOOFEH DERG!!!"

Cutie Button: "YASSSSSS, FLOOFEH DERG!!!!!!"
Woofers: "Hyelp me!"

Vanilla Ice: "Rising Sun to Bald Eagle, Rising Sun to Bald Eagle, the Dorito has claimed Presidency. I repeat, the Dorito has claimed Presidency. Over."

Cruella 2 is v. pretty, she really is. I kinda want her jawline and lips owo

Cutie Button; " I FARKING LUUURVE THE FLOOFEH!"

Vanilla Ice: "She hasn't noticed yet... closer... closer, then the dog will be mine..."

Looks like a pranks about to go down XD

WINDMILL!

But honestly, what in the hell are the guys doing? XD

So. Damn. GORGEOUS! I really cannot get over her beauty, she looks so traditional and natural <3

Adorable. Floofeh and the Beauts.

I think that, secretly, Cutie Button is a derp deep down. She may show herself off as gorgeous and cheeky, but I bet she's a a dork IRL XD

We legit see nothing of these guys unless it's their one solo, or they're staring out the windows XD I feel for them, we need more mn in this XX-Chromosome fest xD

Good gawd, look at Vanilla Ice go! You be a gangster, you denim wearing bro, you.

... I don't know what the feck I am saying, sometimes XD

Vanilla Ice: "Yo yo, home dawg!"

No. Stahp XD

... BEAUTIFUL!

I won't ever get enough of her, or the Cutie Button.

Vanilla Ice: "AND IT'S THE PELVIC THRUUUUUUST!"

*boops the nose*

WAIT, they know Santa!?

Vanilla Ice, wtf you doing? Waiting for another member to join?

I do love how Vanilla Ice is trying so hard to look cool, here, but he only manages to look like a bit of an idiot XD

Those fuckin' windmill moves and how the guys do them, though XD

feckin' PRECIOUS, ALRIGHT!?

God damn, she's a bundle of wonder and joy, Merry feckin' Christmas, this PV and her presence is my gift this year XD

The cuteness of these scenes, though. Adorbs. Such happiness. So damn lovely.

That dog does not look delighted, Cutie Button XD Let it go, free the floofeh!

Cutie Button: "Fuq you, he's mine, he stays 5ever."

Cutie Button: "Confetti, Bitcheeeeeeeeeeeeees!"

Cutie's child-like happiness makes me equally happy ; A; BABY! <3

Santa really does not know what the feck to do in this situation, does he? XD

Cutie Buttons face is so derpy here, though xD

Santa-san: "Ho ho, look at dat ass!"

Cutie Button: "SANTAAAAAAAA!"

Santa-san: "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

Okay, stop calling all the girls ho's, Santa. That's mean! D8<

Oh gawd, her smile is as radiant as she is! Save me from this perfection!

... Wait, don't. Don't save me. Let me bask in all her shining glory! <3

Awww, picture perfect!

... And then Cutie Button went full on Dork ;) Had to happen at some point, didn't it?

Good gawd, it's blurry. Oh, well... PINE TREES! 8D

The silence suddenly breaks, and deep within the night sky, a tinkling bell rings out.

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I'm still a little new to the group that is lol, so I don't know any names at all yet, though I have been told that the I have been calling a Cutie Button is Hibiki. That's a pretty name! I also know one is called Honoka, but the rest, I have no clue, so until I learn their names properly... apologies. It won't be another Shinee scenario, for sure, but hopefully I like them enough to eventually learn all their names. (Which shouldn't be hard, given there are like, five of them in total).

Honestly though, when I first saw this music video, I was surprised. I wasn't really aware that this group would do something like a Christmas video, nor did I think that they would go for a song as basic as this one. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun song, I like it a great deal and sing it a lot, but it is basic. From the one song I have heard from lol (spank!!, of all things), I thought that they were a cool group, for sure. So to see this, yes, I was taken aback, but I was delighted by it, too. It's a nice video and a decent song - what isn't there to enjoy here?

Now, despite what its name might suggest xmas kiss does not, in fact, contain any form of kissing whatsoever, but it does include a lot of cute scenes. A simple piece, xmas kiss pretty much follows the premise of people watching the snow fall down from the sky and smiling upon realising that, yes, winter is here. There is also a cameo from Santa Claus, and some nice little gift giving sequences that result in the new possession of a fluffy pup, and some happy members who adore it so much. There is not a lot to this video at all, but it is still quite a fun watch, especially if you're interested in some nice camera angles and depth of field in your cinematography. That, or you enjoy seeing a variety of expressions on a member; there's a good chunk of that present, too, something that Shinee's Winter Wonderland lacked.

I do love the look of this video - though at times, it feels a bit too blue, but I get that it sets a colder tone - and I actually really love the costumes they chose for the female members, here. Though I question Hibiki's attire the most (is that lingerie masquerading as an outfit!?), I think that the clothes are fitting for each member. Likewise, I like the choice of white suits for the male members in the group, and the red shoes that Blue Hair wears. Funnily enough, despite looking quite like the Shinee outfits from the PV prior, I don't get that 90's vibe from them. I guess the red shoes and their modern hair styles kind of give them an updated look.

To whoever shot and directed this PV, I applaud you. It's really well done, and hardly ever looks flat. There are some interest angles used, and some nice choices made in terms of filming through branches or between pine trees. I love the idea of obstruction, so by using scenes where we look through another object to see the the main attraction, I felt very intrigued and invested. I do like the use of focus here, too, though it can be used a tad too much. I mean, it's used in almost every scene, and though I personally enjoy it, it could just as easily get annoying.

I mean, there's a scene with the member who has symmetrical hair where, at one point, the scene just never focuses on her, and that is really distracting and annoying. Either, they never re-shot it and just threw the scene into the PV, or they forgot to add in the proper seen that shows her in full, focused glory. Who knows?

Again, I like the use of depth of field here, but it is a lot in one PV. A sporadic use would have been better, rather than for every other scene, or something.

I would say some of the things that could also make this video better would be if, maybe, some of the scenes felt a little warmer. I know that being outside, a cooler filter is a good choice, however even in one or two of the interior shots, it feels cold and dark, especially in the solo sequence with the blonde male member. In a way, this choice of keeping it dark and cold only makes the scene feel suffocating and closed in, so a warmer tone might have been a more appropriate choice. In general, though, I do think that the cool tone fits quite well, but only when the members are outside.

This is a good PV. It's entertaining enough, and will definitely bring out some of your Christmas cheer. It has the sound, feel and look of a Christmas music video, and Santa's appearance definitely solidifies that 'Christmas' feeling for me as a viewer. It's nice to see him cameo here, and it's also nice to see some performers in Santa themed outfits! This is what I have been waiting for, and finally, my wish for Santa clad Idols has been delivered, even if it wasn't the cute Santa outfit I had hoped for.

Though it lacks a Christmas Kiss under the mistletoe like I had hoped, it still brought me happiness and all those warm, fuzzy Christmas feels. Did it do the same for you?

On this silent night, let's stay awake until we finally hear those sleigh bells ring, and wait until the reindeer hooves touch the roof of our house. Then, before Santa comes to deliver the presents, let's quickly fall asleep!

Until next time everyone, please take care, love your Idols, and listen out for those sleigh bells!

Much Love,
Chiima☆