Cinematic Experiences

I feel like you could say I love Christmas for all the right reasons.  First of all, it commemorates the moment when my Savior came into this world....pretty sure that's a great reason to celebrate.  Actually that is really all I need to celebrate, but I like the extra dynamics involved with this wonderful holiday.  I love Christmas foods....egg nog...hot chocolate....Christmas brunch....candy from my stocking...cheese balls....do I really need to continue?  You get the idea!  I also think there is nothing more romantic in the whole world than sitting inside watching snow fall as you are curled up by the fire.  Sadly, romance is not in the picture, so I'll just do the above activity with my elderly cat, who greatly appreciates that I have no one to spend Christmas with!  :)  And I love spending time with my family and friends.  I have had a doozy of a Christmas already with lots and lots of love.  However, aside from all of the above important things, my good old fashioned Christmas stand-by are the movies.  As we speak, I'm laying in bed watching Home Alone...thank you cable TV for feeding my movie addiction!

I want to really lay out for you the five movies that steal my heart this time of year...

1) Muppet Christmas Carol
Dancing and singing muppets in a classic tale of Christmas?  Yes please!  I grew up with this one...its wonderful.  I'm realizing more and more just how popular this movie is as I encounter people raving about this constantly.  I went caroling with some of my fabulous friends from work and their housemates this last weekend, and I came across a song with the title "Good King Winceslas", which immediately brought fear to my heart.  A carol that I didn't know.....bad news.  I'm already a bad singer, we don't need to add confusion about timing and lyrics in with the mixture.  Then one of my caroling co-horts decided to sample the track for me, and I soon realized that it's a Muppet Christmas Carol classic....the caroling bunny rabbit sings it.

Thank you Muppet Christmas Carol for saving my caroling experience!

Also what does Tiny Tim have?!  Pneumonia?!   Polio?!

2) Santa Clause
Let me preface this with the fact that I have a raging crush on Tim Allen.  That aside, you really can't beat this movie.  It has everything....action....heart....elves.  I have to watch this one alone or with my family though, because I know every word and can barely help myself from saying it all out loud.  I hate it when people do that, and this movie turns me into one of them. 

3) Love Actually
There literally is not a better example of a perfect Christmas movie.  One of my best friends Erin and I watch this movie as often as possible...even during the summertime.  But it's even better at Christmas.  It follows a number of love related relationships that are all interwoven in various ways.  Some chick flicks leave you a little empty at the end, especially if you are super challenged in the dating department.  This one just makes me excited for the future...brings a smile to my face every time.

4) It's A Wonderful Life
This is my Dad's favorite, and honestly for a lot of years I never paid any attention to it.  We have owned it for years and I watched it all the way through for the first time just a few years ago.  I'm usually a little picky with movies, and being the movie snob that I am, I tend to avoid older movies.  If it is black and white, I usually steer clear.  However, I can safely say that I have been missing out for the last 20 years of my life by not seeing this one.  It's powerful and it's a great reminder to cherish life as it comes to you.  Its rarely easy, but its always worth it.

5) Christmas Vacation
I actually have friends that think this movie is stupid.  I question their sense of humor.  Physical comedy at its best.  Chevy Chase, my hat is tipped to you.

There you have it.  Top 5 Christmas Flicks.  Straight from the movie guru herself. 

Merry Christmas!  Love you all!

Dani