Ahhh...Sunday! It was a very lazy day today. No one, but Matt, got out of their pjs today. I did manage to peel the pjs off the girls in order to get them in the bath just to put back on a fresh pair.
Matt was on call and the girls were watching TV in the bedroom, so I decided to take advantage of the day and truly appreciate my new TV. I love having cable, or rather, a satellite dish. We didn't have anything but network TV for about 7 years. Last night, I watched a great movie, "Charlie Wilson's War". I really enjoyed it. Being only about 8 when the Russian/Afghanistan War happened. I wasn't really into current affairs unless they dealt with Scott Baio, so I wasn't really informed on what went on.
Today, I watched the movie "This Christmas". I ended up only being able to catch parts of it twice. I get the gist of it but I am anxiously awaiting 9pm so I can watch the whole thing. So far, I could be new favorite Christmas movie, or at least one of them. I love the idea of a big family. But only at Christmas and only the idea. I don't want anymore children, but I guess I would have liked more brothers and sisters. I only have one sister and she lives in Florida (Have I mentioned that before?) She has a very hard time coming here for Christmas. Her in laws are demanding and she's a wimp. I try my hardest to guilt her into coming here, but it's no use. I know if I had at least one more sibling, we could gang up on her and brow beat her until she submits.
So, I have to live vicariously through the people in this movie. Just like I live vicariously through these other favorite Christmas movies.
White Christmas - I would LOVE to spend Christmas at a lodge in Vermont, snow or no snow
The Preacher's Wife - I love that they have so many community activities. They have church, they ice skate, they make baskets for the poor. I suppose I don't have to live vicariously, I could and will do all of these things. And there's the whole title, but I'll tell you about that on Saturday Flashback. Not to mention GORGEOUS Denzel as a Guardian Angel!!
You've got Mail - Not technically a Christmas movie, but there are wonderful scenes of New York and I love her little shop.
I'm sure there are a lot more, but I can't think of them now.
What are your favorite Christmas movies and why?
11 comments:
A Christmas Story, about the boy trying to convince his parents to get him the Red Ryder BB Gun (you'll shoot your eye out, kid).
Hands down, It's a Wonderful Life. I cry every single time. And I love Jimmy Stewart. I even cried when he died in real life. What a great guy! Even my kids like this one, though it's in black and white.
Cartoon: How the Grinch Stole Christmas beats the Charlie Brown Christmas, but just barely. Remember when we had to wait for the nights when these "specials" would be on primetime TV? No videos, no DVDs, no satelites. Crazy, huh?
I agree with Heather, in that It's a Wonderful Life is one of the very best Christmas movies, and should be watched by everyone. I never saw it until I was an adult, and boy was I missing out as a kid.
I also love: Scrooge starring Albert Finney, released in 1970; The Year Without A Santa Claus; Miracle on 34th Street (both original and remade versions).
I also enjoy watching the variations of A Christmas Carol that air, there's one with Vanessa Williams, another with Susan Lucci.
There are several other various movies that I love to watch, one about a husband who tries to prevent his wife from dying on Christmas Day; another about a lady who's a pickpocket, falls in love with a security guard over Christmas; There's one about a lady who kidnaps a stranger to take home to convince her family he's her boyfriend/fiance, then they fall in love for real.
I could go on, but I don't want to bore you, lol.
Oh yeah, and the original cartoon version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, not the remake with Jim Carrey.
Ok, back to the Bears game.
Miracle on 34th..the new one with Mara Wilson as the little girl, Preachers Wife , A Christmas Carol, and It's A Wonderful Life in the line of movies.
Animated ones...hands down favorite (and one that's rarely listed anywhere)Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey. It's never shown on tv anymore, which is a shame....so the only way I can see it is on VHS.
There is one other that is a must see at Christmas time and it's a showing of the Nutcraker ballet with Mikhail Baryshnikov dancing in the lead role. This one always played on Christmas Eve night and we'd watch it before we went to bed.
Here's my list.
Classics:
It's A Wonderful Life
Miricle On 34th Street
White Christmas
Christmas In Connecticut (1942 version)
A Christmas Carol (1951) starring Alastair Sim
Holiday Inn (w/Bing Crosby & Fred Astair)
The Bishops Wife (1947 starring Cary Grant)
Animated:
EVERYTHING that Bankin & Bass made. (You just can't beat those great stop-motion classics!!!)
Others:
The MUPPET Chistmas Carol
Gremlins
Scrooged (w/Bill Murray)
Home Alone
The Santa Clause
ELF
The 2 I CAN'T miss every year:
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
A Christmas Story
And a newer movie:
Joyeux Noel (This moving Oscar-nominated drama tells the TRUE STORY of German, French and Scottish troops in WWI who called a ceasefire for Christmas Eve.)
And that's all I gotta say about that! :)
My favourite Christmas movies are:
Santa Claus - The Movie
One Magic Christmas
Miracle On 34th Street
Prancer
I do also love most of the other Christmas movies (including the short animated ones) but those are my all time favourites.
On the serious side we love Miracle on 34th Street at our house, and for a laugh we enjoy Bad Santa with Billy Bob Thornton (of course) as Santa. This one puts my husband on the floor with laughter.
Heather beat me to it. A Christmas Story, it's the best. How the Grinch Stole Christmas, both versions are great.
I like Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
Sounds like we have a TV junkie, enjoying her new 42" flat screen TV in her pj's. That is a good Sunday.
I think ChicagoLady's list is pretty much mine - the pickpocket movie is "On the 2nd Day of Christmas" and I've seen that a couple times.
Charlie Brown Christmas... did you know Charles Schultz had to battle the network to allow him to have Linus recite from the Bible? I think this is the most powerful scene in the animation.
Oh.. and while it might not be a strictly Christmas movie - I enjoyed seeing "The Trouble with Angels" (1966) I suspect you might too.
I have never seen "White Christmas" - I know...I know... I'm going to do it this year!!!
ELF is one of my favorites now... I crack up EVERY TIME watching that stupid movie.... Buddy the Elf - what's your favorite color?
And I cant get through the year without "A Christmas Story" when it runs in the marathon...
It's A Wonderful Life win's hands down. I never saw it until my husband and I started dating. I knew he was the man for me when he cried right along with me throughout that movie :-) My kids aren't at the age where they appreciate it - yet.
Also - it's a muppets Christmas show - Emitt Otter's Jug Band Christmas (or something like that) - loved it as a kid and can't find it on DVD anywhere. It's only 30 years old!!
Love this blog!!
Juli
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