# David Sedaris - "Santaland Diaries" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-sedaris-santaland-diaries/607199 "2011-12-23T17:32:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2022, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-sedaris-santaland-diaries/607199/21 "2022-12-23T23:13:21Z")
I’m a moderate fan of Sideris. I particularly enjoyed his first few books. Don’t f\*\*\* with The Rooster. Though I do like the Christmas stories, I prefer the ones about learning French; or his father stealing grapes, buying cheap lunch meat and spoiled milk, and storing random food in suitcases. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-sedaris-santaland-diaries/607199/22 "2022-12-29T20:59:10Z")
For those who just can’t get enough of Sedaris’s Billie Holiday impersonation: https://www.youtube.com/embed/f3YbH2U9dgA?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PL-T8A9qy5vj58PsvzbEmpmZkq0AxvEi5U ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-sedaris-santaland-diaries/607199/23 "2022-12-29T21:53:34Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Though I do like the Christmas stories, I prefer the ones about learning French; or his father stealing grapes, buying cheap lunch meat and spoiled milk, and storing random food in suitcases. I remember liking some of the stories from Me Talk Pretty One Day but I found The Santaland Diaries (on This America Life) to be painfully unfunny. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-sedaris-santaland-diaries/607199/24 "2025-12-19T04:31:37Z")
Bumped for your enjoyment, with a working link of the entire bit: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJj00-YR3IM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJj00-YR3IM) ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-sedaris-santaland-diaries/607199/25 "2025-12-20T22:14:18Z")
Thanks. I like Sedaris a lot, though _Santaland Diaries_ isn’t among my favorites of his, I have very little use for _This American Life_, beyond Sedaris anyway, go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-sedaris-santaland-diaries/607199/26 "2025-12-21T04:50:40Z")
I just love the piece, especially his impersonation of Billie Holiday singing “Away in a Manger” from her (nonexistent) Christmas album, at the 28:03 mark. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-sedaris-santaland-diaries/607199/27 "2025-12-26T21:45:50Z")
That’s me! I put that on YT years ago under a different alias (which was my Dad’s “Indian” name in the _Y Indian Guides_). “Lady Dave” was my own idea. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-sedaris-santaland-diaries/607199/28 "2025-12-26T23:00:49Z")
Y Indian Guides…that brings back memories. My mom worked at our local Y, and I picked up T-shirts from their “tribe” – Happy Turtle Nation – that I wore for years. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-sedaris-santaland-diaries/607199/29 "2025-12-27T00:24:04Z")
“Toltec” tribe in my case. My Indian name was “Tomahawk,” a brilliantly witty pun on my first name. Certainly better than Ward B\_\_\_'s name: “Running Bear,” which he clearly hadn’t thought through when adopting it. A tribe of ten year old boys gave him a lot of grief for it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-sedaris-santaland-diaries/607199.md?page=1)