Bob and Doug McKenzie and The Twelve Days of Christmas
Bob and Doug McKenzie are a pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted “Great White North”, a sketch which was introduced on SCTV for the show’s third season when it moved to CBC Television in 1980. Bob is played by Rick Moranis and Doug is played by Dave Thomas. The duo became a pop culture phenomenon in both the United States and Canada. Their album, The Great White North, went platinum in sales, won a Grammy nomination and broke the top ten on Billboard’s Top LPs and Tapes list in March, 1982. On this album, they also sing their own improvised version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
Bob: Okay, good day, this is our Christmas part of the album, and you can play this at your Christmas parties, uh, or to yourself on Christmas Eve, if there’s nothing else to do.
Doug: Good day, eh? In case you thought, like, I wasn’t on this part!
Bob: Oh, I guarantee ya, you’d be on. ] Okay, so, good day, this is the Christmas part, and, we’re gonna tell you what to get, uh, your true love for Christmas.
Doug: Look out the window!
Bob: Where?! Whadda ya doing?
Doug: Snow, hosehead.
Bob: Wha? Oh, it’s the Great White North, and it’s snowing, cause it’s Christmas time. Hey, hoser!
Doug: What?
Bob: Here’s a quiz. Quiz for Doug.
Doug: Okay, I have my thinking touque on.
Bob: Yeah, right. What are the twelve days of Christmas? Cause, figure it out, right. Christmas is when?
Doug: Uh, the 25th.
Doug and Bob McKenzie and the 12 Days of ChristmasSanta drinking a beer
Bob: Right, and what’s the 24th, Christmas Eve, right? So, that’s two. And then, what’s after that?
Doug: Um… Uh, Wrestling Day.
Bob: No. Get out.
Doug: Boxing Day, yeah, yeah.
Bob: That’s three. Then what’s after that? Nothing.
Doug: New Year’s.
Bob: Four. And what’s…
Doug: New Year’s Eve.
Bob: Five. Where do you get twelve?
Doug: Uh… There’s two Saturdays and Sundays in there, that’s four. That’s nine. And, three other days, which I believe are the mystery days. (Music starts.)
Bob: Okay now. This is our Christmas song, in case you don’t know what to get somebody for Christmas.
Doug: There’s lots of ideas in here, so, listen, and don’t get stuck.
Bob: Okay.
Doug: By the way, that’s me on the organ.
Bob: Aw, geez.
Doug: You start.
Bob: Okay. On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: a beer.
Doug: On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: two turtlenecks,
Bob: And a beer. (Okay…) On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: three French toast,
Doug: Two turtlenecks,
Bob: And a beer. (Okay…)
Doug: There should be more there, eh?
Bob: Where? On the… go.
Doug: Fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: four pounds of backbacon,
Bob: Three French toast,
Doug: Two turtlenecks,
Bob: And a beer.
Doug: In a tree. See, you need more.
Bob: Fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: five golden touques!
Doug: Four pounds of backbacon,
Bob: Three French toast,
Doug: Two turtlenecks,
Bob: And a beer, what was it?
Together: In a tree!
Bob: Okay, on the sixth… go.
Doug: Of Christmas, my true love gave to me: six packs of two-four,
Bob & BG Singers: Five golden touques!
Doug: Four pounds of backbacon,
Bob: Three French toast,
Doug: Two turtlenecks,
Bob: And a beer,
Together: In a tree!
Bob: Okay.
Doug: Okay.
Bob: On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: seven packs of smokes,
Doug: (Nice gift…) Oh, six packs of two-four! (BG Singers also sing “nice gift”.)
Bob & BG Singers: Five golden touques!
Doug: Four pounds of backbacon,
Bob: Three French toast,
Doug: Two turtlenecks,
Bob: And a beer, Together: In a tree!
Bob: Right, I keep forgetting.
Doug: Phew! This should just be the two days of Christmas, it’s too hard for us!
Bob: Um…
Doug: Go, hoser.
Bob: Oh.
Together: Eigth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
Doug: Eight comic books,
Together w/BG singers (but unsynchronized): Seven packs of smokes, six packs of two-four,
(Bob and Doug quit singing.)
BG Singers: Five golden touques! Four pounds of backbacon, three French toast, two turtlenecks,
All: And a beer,
Doug: On my tree!
Bob: Yeah. That beer’s empty. Okay. Day,
BG Singers: Twelve!
Bob: Uh, tweleve.
Doug: Good day, and welcome to day twelve.
BG Singers: Five golden touques!
All: Four pounds of backbacon, three French toast, two turtlenecks, and a beer, in a tree!
Bob: Beauty, eh?
Doug: Where’d you learn to do that?
Bob: Uh, albums.
Doug: Boy. So, like, that’s our song, Merry Christmas…
Bob: Merry Christmas!
Doug: And good day!
Bob: Good day, everybody. Happy New Year, too. Sheesh. Okay, you know what you left out?
Doug: What?
Bob: Donuts – I told you to get me donuts! Either on the ninth day or the tenth day, or the eleventh day, I wanted donuts!
Doug: Okay, the song’s over.
Bob: But I want…
Doug: Merry Christmas, everybody!
Bob: Or on the twelfth day, you coulda got me a dozen donuts.
Doug: So, go out to the stores, and get some presents.
Bob: You coulda gone down to, like, the good donut shop, where if you buy a dozen, you get another one
free, and then thirteen for the thirteen days of Christmas.
Doug: Well, next Christmas, I’ll get me a chainsaw…
Bob: Take off!
Doug: Boy, that song was a beauty. It moved me…
Bob: Yeah, I think it ranks up there with Stairway to Heaven…
Doug: Wha-? (and the music fades)
The History of Doug and Bob McKenzie: Canada’s Cult Comedy Icons
Doug and Bob McKenzie, the iconic Canadian brothers clad in toques, flannel shirts, and fueled by back bacon and beer, rose to fame in the early 1980s as one of the most beloved comedy duos in North America. Played by Rick Moranis (Bob) and Dave Thomas (Doug), the characters debuted on the sketch comedy show SCTV (Second City Television) as a humorous response to a Canadian content requirement imposed by the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).
Originally intended as filler content, the “Great White North” segments quickly became fan favorites. With their exaggerated Canadian accents, laid-back attitudes, and absurd takes on life “up north,” Doug and Bob poked fun at Canadian stereotypes while endearing themselves to audiences across both Canada and the United States.
The characters became so popular that they eventually spun off into multiple ventures. In 1981, the album The Great White North was released, featuring sketches and music from the duo. It went platinum in Canada and earned a Grammy nomination. The following year, they starred in their own feature film, Strange Brew (1983), a cult classic that parodied Shakespeare’s Hamlet through a Canadian beer-fueled lens. The movie became a pop culture phenomenon and is still cherished by comedy fans today.
Doug and Bob McKenzie left an enduring legacy, helping to shape the image of Canadian humor and influencing generations of comedians. Their catchphrases like “Take off, eh!” and “You hoser!” became part of the comedic lexicon, and their exaggerated portrayal of Canadian culture became both a parody and a point of national pride.
Even decades later, Doug and Bob remain symbols of classic sketch comedy, representing a moment in time when two hosers with a case of beer could capture the hearts—and laughs—of a continent.
For Brewing fun facts, trivia, movies and more, Click Here.