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It's Official!

Now that Thanksgiving is over and Cyber Monday has passed (I got some GREAT deals! Yay!), the Christmas season is officially upon us. In my house that means cookie baking, candy making and tree decorating. But as important as all of those things are to our enjoyment of the holidays, there are a few other things we simply must do before Santa scoots his fat ass down the chimney. I'm talking Christmas movies.We love them. We watch the same ones religiously year after year and it just wouldn't be Christmas without them.

I thought I would share my five favorite "must see" seasonal movies:

5.  Christmas Vacation - Classic Chevy Chase and my personal favorite of all the Vacation movies.

4. The Homecoming - This is my "when I was your age" movie even though I never lived on a farm or a mountain, never had six brothers and sisters, never walked to school and was never that poor.  I'm older than the kids, so I figure I'm entitled to claim it.

3. A Christmas Carol - Although this movie has been made and remade a dozen times, my favorite is the 1951 version with Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge.

2. It's A Wonderful Life - This is the one you want on in the background when you're wrapping presents.

1. A Christmas Story - Ralphie is like part of the family and we all cried when Darren McGavin died back in 2006.

This was tough for me because I could have easily made a list of twenty that we watch almost every year, but I decided to go with these. You know that feeling you get on the way to the airport when you're leaving for vacation, that "what am I forgetting" feeling? Well, these are the five movies that give me that inkling of panic if I don't watch them before the stroke of midnight on Christmas night.

Of course we are always on the lookout for new Christmas movie ideas, so I would love to hear which movies your family enjoys during the holidays so I can add them to my list. Well, come on, I know you all have an opinion...

P.S. NaNo was a bust for me but congrats to all of you that have won or will by the end of the day. I did get quite a bit written on my current MS, more than I would have without the NaNo support, so I thank all of my cheerleaders for that.

11 comments:

Su said...

I'm with you on The Homecoming. Actually, I could watch nothing but the Waltons for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy. :)

I don't know which Christmas Carol you're talking about, but my favourite is the musical version that includes "I Hate People", and "Thank You Very Much."

PT Dilloway said...

So "The Homecoming" was a Waltons movie? I don't really remember that one. Mostly I find "It's a Wonderful Life" depressing and I really don't have a favorite "Christmas Carol" version. I'm even getting tired of "A Christmas Story" thanks to TBS/TNT running it for 24 hours every year. They've really sucked the fun out of that one.

My favorites are probably "Christmas Story," "Christmas Vacation," and "Bad Santa." Can I count "Die Hard?" It takes place during a Christmas party.

Golden Eagle said...

I don't watch many Christmas movies . . . except for the Muppet version of A Christmas Carol. :)

Lisa Potts said...

Su, yep, I used to watch the Waltons all the time.

RM, yes you can count Die Hard. I consider any movie that takes place during the holiday to be a Christmas movie. Gremlins was like that. (Side note: the mom in Gremlins was watching It's A Wonderful Life right before she was attacked in the kitchen.)

Golden, I LOVE the muppet version too!

Mary Mary said...

I watch just about all of those (Christmas Vacation is my fav!) except for The Homecoming. For some weird reason, I have a soft spot for cheesy romantic Christmas movies, like the ones you find on the Hallmark channel or Lifetime. I know, it's awful, but I love them anyways!

Lola Sharp said...

My favorite Christmas movies are (in order of love):

Love Actually
It's a Wonderful Life
Elf
Christmas Vacation

and loads of others...but we ALWAYS watch these. :)

Lisa Potts said...

Mary, did you catch November Christmas last week?

Lola, I've never seen Love Actually, but so many people have recommended it, I think I'll check it out.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

#5 is my must-see, along with Home Alone, both of which I willingly watch year round.

Lisa Potts said...

Karen, I may be flogged for admitting it, but I've never seen Home Alone all the way through. I will put it on my list this year though. Thanks!

Amie Kaufman said...

In our day, it was definitely different! We had to walk to school. In the snow. With no shoes. Uphill both ways!

Actually, I did know a girl who had to walk uphill both ways to school. Up from her house to school, then up from school to her mum's office.

I love Christmas traditions. I feel like watching It's A Wonderful Life now. In fact, I think I will!

Kathi Oram Peterson said...

Love all those movies. I'd add The Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant and Lorette Young. Oh, and White Christmas. But I like old movies.

Is that your Christmas tree? It's beautiful.

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