It's Christmas Eve, which means which means it's time for holiday cheer, merriment and 24 straight hours of A Christmas Story. TBS will air the holiday classic on a loop beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern today and continuing through 8 p.m. Christmas Day. This year marks the marathon's 18th anniversary.

[caption id="attachment_4927" align="aligncenter" width="640"]

"You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!"[/caption]

The film is based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of Jean Shepherd. I was introduced to Jean Shepherd's work in a college sociology class. It was easily the best required reading of any class that I took at Vanderbilt.

24 Hours of A Christmas Story is one of the most popular holiday programming events on cable television. All three airings of the movie on Christmas Eve draw bigger ratings in the 18-49 demographic than anything else on cable. Last year, the 8:00 pm Christmas Eve showing was the most watched with 5.2 million total viewers.

Turner Entertainment has sought to capitalize on the film's popularity with various merchandising, which it protects with federal trademark registrations. Thanks to these efforts, you can now have your very own leg lamp that is protected by a federal trademark registration.

[caption id="attachment_4929" align="aligncenter" width="640"]

U.S. Registration No. 3,364,542[/caption]

Or perhaps you would prefer a leg lamp ornament?

[caption id="attachment_4931" align="aligncenter" width="640"]

U.S. Registration No. 3,367,925[/caption]

You can also pay homage to A Christmas Story with this t-shirt.

[caption id="attachment_4933" align="aligncenter" width="640"]

U.S. Registration No. 3,742,748[/caption]

No word yet on whether Turner Entertainment plans to launch A Christmas Story-themed Chinese food. Maybe it is waiting for duck to catch on as a Christmas tradition.

The lawyers at Trademarkology provide trademark registration services backed by the experience and service of one of the nation's oldest law firms. Click here to begin the process of protecting your brand name with a federally registered trademark.