This is a great time of year to indulge in some fun, family friendly, holiday audio. I mentioned in an earlier blog that I fell in love with audiobooks, because of my passion for The Theater of the Mind. Long before the first books-on-tape, there was a legion of fans of the golden age of radio who were copying and circulating spoken word performances from the medium’s heyday. The internet has made these wonderful recordings available to everyone, with an extensive collection of them FREE. If you enjoy audiobooks, then we encourage you to check out these holiday-themed productions. They will play on numerous devices, and some can even be downloaded to take on the road.

hqdefaultPlease note that these productions are a product of their times. Some jokes are corny, a few remarks might be sexist, but I can tell you in the end the messages of goodwill toward man, and a celebration of family and friends are the central themes. It was a time of depression and world war, and everyone hoped that each season would be a better one.

The list below are some of my picks for those first-timers into the world of (OTR) Old Time Radio. The selection is found at: https://archive.org/details/500OTRChristmasShows and contains over 500 holiday-themed selections. Happy Holiday Listening!

Show #                 Show Title                                                           Year       Type

8          An Old-Fashioned Christmas                                        1936   Comedy

14        A Christmas Carol                                                            1938   Drama

21        Christmas Shopping                                                        1939   Comedy

30        Mailing Christmas Packages                                        1940   Comedy

46        Fibber Cuts His Own Tree                                             1941   Comedy 

102     Back For Christmas                                                         1943   Suspense 

185     The Night Before Christmas                                         1945   Detective

226     Christmas Present                                                           1946   Adventure

239     Christmas Caroling at Home                                        1946   Comedy

245     Man Who Murdered Santa Claus                                1946   Detective

321     Christmas Bonuses                                                          1948   Comedy

332     Broken Christmas                                                           1948    Comedy

348     The Christmas Present Switch                                    1949   Comedy

359     The Magic Christmas Tree                                           1949   Comedy

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