A Few of My Favorite Things

I know I was going to post about romance writing this week, but the fact is, I've been wrapped up in Christmas so entirely that I can't seem to think outside the (gift) box.  So this week I'm talking about one of my favorite Christmas activities: watching movies.

Here's a list of the top five movies I watch every year, and why I love them.

5. Holiday Inn

There is something about Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire fighting over Marjorie Reynolds throughout various holiday parties that makes this movie one of my all-time favorites, never mind that it's in black and white.  Of course, this is also the first movie (out of three!) to feature Bing singing White Christmas, which bumps it up considerably on my list.  Now if only I could whistle like he does...

 



4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

 

How can anyone resist the underdog that ends up saving Christmas?  This one was my favorite when I was little, and now that I have little ones of my own, it's climbed back up to the top five.  Although the sheer number of times my kids have watched this movie in the past week should have cured me of my nostalgic affection, I can't help myself.  It keeps my kids quiet for almost an hour, and any movie that can do that is okay in my book.

3. The Muppet Christmas Carol

When I was a teenager, my parents used to take us to the community theater every year to see one of Charles Dickens most enduring tales on stage, and although I wouldn't trade that time with my family for anything, I have to say, The Muppets' production of A Christmas Carol will always be my favorite.  It may have something to do with the fact that, again, it keeps my children glued to their seats, but I suspect that's only half the reason.  Michael Caine is, in my opinion, the most lovable Scrooge to grace the silver screen.  (No offence to my mom and her favorite Scrooge, Reginald Owen!)

 

2. The Sound of Music

This may not be the first movie that comes to mind when you hear the words "Christmas movie" but it is one of my "can't miss" movies every year.  What else can I say, Julie Andrews is a rock star.  The songs are really what MAKE this movie, but without the fantastic actors, and the writers (can't forget about them) to flesh it out, it would just be a fun soundtrack.

 

1. White Christmas

 

I laugh like a kid when Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye hike up their pants and perform "Sisters."  And I cringe every time Emma, played by Mary Wickes, opens her big mouth to Rosemary Clooney's character, gossiping about things she only half heard and DIDN'T understand over the phone.  Still, it all works out in the end.  Best of all, it makes my dad tear up every time the general inspects his troops.  Gotta love a family tear-jerker.

 

There is one more movie that didn't make the list, not because I don't love it, but because it got attached to the wrong December celebration.  A Christmas Story probably belongs in the number one spot, but it misses because it has become a birthday tradition in my family.  (This isn't a shameless plug, I swear.)  My birthday happens to be Christmas Eve, and until I hit seventh grade, I couldn't image having a more awful birthday (except maybe Christmas.) 

 

Then I met what soon became my best friend, who shared the same birthday.  She understood about the "two in one" presents and the "Oh, sorry honey, I didn't have birthday wrapping paper" conundrum.  Not to mention the lack of parties.  So we decided to turn our birthday into a movie marathon.  I'm not sure which one of us picked A Christmas Story--I think it just sort of worked out that way.  There's not a lot to choose from come December 24, so we caved to the holiday pressure and embraced a Christmas Eve birthday.  Thus, A Christmas Story birthday marathon was born, and endures to this very day. (Or rather, tomorrow.)

 

 

 

What are your favorite holiday movies, and why do you love them?