Eh. . . so what. Yeah, it’s not a ‘house’ strictly speaking, but why was it such a big deal to Chuck?
Pretty much it – it spoils the lyric of the song. That’s it. That’s the joke. Maybe something that weighed heavily on Charles M. Shultz in particular – that these old songs just aren’t topical at all.
Fun fact – when I was a kid, I had no idea what a condominium was. No clue. At all. And the dictionary was no help. The concept was foreign to me, and unrecognizable to my experience. What – you “buy” and apartment? No no no, people you rent an apartment, you buy a house. I began to understand “going condo” in the early 1980’s – when One Day at a Time was “going condo” and it was a new, uncommon term to the character of Schneider. I was like, what, they turn something that was built as an apartment, into a condo? Isn’t that cheating? Apartments aren’t as nice as condos.
That’s the whole point of the humor of Wee Folks aka Peanuts aka Charlie Brown. How they’re 8 years old, but use big words. Condo isn’t a big world for children now.
You generally can’t ride a sleigh to a Condo. Probably no pond for skating, either. It might have a fireplace.
What do you mean not topical? I live just up the street from Grandmother’s house. It’s Greek Revival; not really my taste.
Yeah, never seen any sleighs there.
Neither are condos normally found “over the river and through the woods.” Nor are they either warm, cozy, or inviting. They are vile, ugly, sterile constructs of steel, concrete, and glass that pollute our already overbuilt, overpopulated urban environments.
When I finally become a drooling vegetable in a wheelchair, the last place to which I want to be consigned is a condo on the 20th floor of a high-rise inhabited by other geezers waiting to die. Yeccch! :mad:
They’re also smaller than houses, and so less likely to have room for guests to come over.
If you wanted space, you should’ve bought a condomaxium.
And don’t have a yard for the kids to play in.
:smack: ouch :smack:
Well, yeah, you can, but the condo association is going to have a rule that says you can’t park it there.
It was my mother’s favorite line in the entire history of Christmas specials. It totally cracked her up. For her entire life.
As a much older adult, I’m hearing it in Jerry Seinfeld’s voice, “But my grandmother lives in a condominium! What is the deal!?” When I first heard it as a kid, I had a vague idea that a condominium was something like an apartment–but even then I didn’t see why it should have mattered so much.
It is a funny line. Poor Charlie Brown. 
I assumed that Condos have small efficiency kitchens. Great for poaching an egg and making toast for breakfast.
Might not be very good for preparing a Thanksgiving feast for a big crowd.
I like the exchange between Bob Newhart and Johnny Carson when The Bob Newhart Show was making its debut, in 1972 or so, about the same time as A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Johnny: So you are a psychologist who lives in an apartment in Chicago?
Bob (to Johnny): Yeah, it originally was going to be we were living in a condominium but the standards people thought that that sounded something sex-related.
Johnny, Bob, and Audience: much laughter
When old people moved out of the homes where they raised their children to smaller homes, be they apartments, cottages, condominiums, or duplexes in retirement communities, it was usually the signal that they were done being the go-to place for the family holiday get-togethers, and it was the next generation’s turn. That’s how I understood the line when I heard in in the special. My grandmother had NOT moved to a smaller place, and rattled around a big house by herself for years, just so that she could still host big holiday dinners. When she did finally move, she chose a place with a full kitchen, and a big living room, and got fold-out couches, so she could still play hostess. That role was going to be dragged from her kicking and screaming.
And when my grandmother eventually had to move in with one of my aunts (who actually has an even bigger kitchen, and who’s taken over the family-event-hosting duties since Gramma died), whenever anyone came to visit, she always wanted to go home (i.e., to her home) with them.
But Charlie Brown’s grandmother was hosting the family get-together. Going to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving dinner was always the plan. Nothing was supposed to happen at Charlie Brown’s house, and wouldn’t have had Peppermint Patty not invited herself over.
I think the joke is simply the contrast between the song mentioning “Grandmother’s house,” and the reality that they were going to “Grandmother’s condominium.”
Also, at the very end, Snoopy has prepared a turkey and real Thanksgiving goodies for him and Woodstock. Earlier, for the kids, he had made toast and pretzels.
I think it’s pretty much this. The juxtaposition of fitting a modern, urban experience into an old-timey, country setting.
That said, my condo was warm, cozy, and inviting, and was even across the street from a small patch of woods (before it was developed into duplexes:().
You joke, but the word dates back to at least 1973, and has even been trademarked. When I was in high school in suburban Cleveland in the 1970’s, local developer Bob Schmitt advertised “Condomaxium” properties for sale.