The Birthday Cookie

Published: November 2, 2003

There wasn’t a Sesame Street calendar this year, and I don’t think there’s going to be one next year. Which is a real shame, cause Sesame Street calendars are the only way to keep track of the really important holidays.

Like Pretend You’re A Bus Driver Day (Feb 7), or Make an Angry Face Day (June 18), or Measure Your Mother Day (Jan 11), or Count The Days in October Day (Oct 1). These holidays were listed year after year in Sesame calendars, creating new traditions that I personally followed to the letter.

Sesame calendars also reminded you about the Sesame characters’ birthdays, which was helpful. The birthdays must have been determined back in the 70’s — because even in 1990’s calendars, you would still see birthdays for Sherlock Hemlock (Apr 17), The Amazing Mumford (June 7), Little Bird (Dec 17), and Sam the Robot (May 23).

What all of this is leading up to is that there are two Sesame holidays that I still celebrate to this day. One is Look for Things Beginning with H Day (Mar 6). That happened to be the day of my first lunch date with my boyfriend, back when I was in college — and I remember it well, because a friend walked up to me in the middle of the date and said, “HI, Danny! HOW are you? HAPPY Things Beginning with H Day!” and then I had to explain to this guy I was on a first date with that I had a Sesame Street calendar in my dorm room. And we’re still together, so that’s memorable for me.

The other holiday that still has a place in my heart is November 2nd, which is Cookie Monster’s birthday. I love Cookie Monster, and I’ve always welcomed the chance to honor him. Plus, it’s a nice event that helps me get over my post-Halloween letdown.

So, in honor of this great and much-loved monster on his birthday, I present to you a celebratory Cookie Monster sketch.

This sketch is from the 1970’s, and features Frank Oz as Cookie Monster, and Jerry Nelson as the Baker.

Baker

[ hums to himself: ] If I knew you were comin’, I’d have baked a cake…

[ Cookie Monster enters. ]

Cookie

Dum de dum dum dum… Hi!

Baker

Oh, good morning, sir!

Cookie

Uh… this the bakery?

Baker

Yes, it certainly is!

Cookie

You the baker?

Baker

That I am.

Cookie

You the man I want to see!

Baker

Good! How may I help you, sir?

Cookie

Well, I want you bake special cookie, for birthday!

Baker

Oh, sir… we do a beautiful job with birthday cookies.

Cookie

Oh, good. Good.

Baker

Yes. May I make a few suggestions.

Cookie

Why not? You the baker.

Baker

All right… use your imagination if you will, sir…

Cookie

Okay.

Baker

… And imagine a very, very large cookie.

[ As Cookie concentrates, a vision of a large cookie appears over his head. ]

Cookie

Mmmm… imagining large cookie… Oh! Oh, look at that, I imagined cookie! Mmmm!

Baker

Right! But I’m not finished!

Cookie

No?

Baker

No, that’s not all!

Cookie

Oh, boy!

Baker

I thought we’d make this cookie, uh, vanilla, with chocolate stripes.

Cookie

Oh, I imagine that. I like the way you talk, baker! Imagine… imagine a large cookie… vanilla cookie with chocolate stripes.

Baker

Right, but that’s not all!

Cookie

Oh! Look at that.

Baker

That’s not all!

Cookie

Not all?

Baker

I’m not finished, no, no.

Cookie

Oh.

Baker

After that — now use your imagination again —

Cookie

Okay. Okay.

Baker

After that, we’re gonna put, uh, we’ll add pink and green rosebud frosting around the edges.

Cookie

Mmmm! Large cookie… vanilla cookie with chocolate stripes… pink and green frosting… Mmmm! Oh, boy! I see it!

Baker

But that’s not all!

Cookie

NO?

Baker

No, we haven’t finished with it yet.

Cookie

Oh, boy!

Baker

Use your imagination again —

Cookie

Okay.

Baker

And now we’re going to add candles all over it.

Cookie

Oh boy.

Baker

Candles all over.

Cookie

Large cookie… vanilla cookie with chocolate stripes… pink and green frosting… with candles! Oh, I see it! It looks so GOOD! Oh! Ohhh! I can’t STAND it! Gotta eat cookie NOW!