12 Days of Christmas – Day #10 – My Favorite Holiday Movies
Hello friends and Merry Christmas…welcome back!
Hello everyone I hope you’re doing well today, taking the time to spend with friends and family, and enjoying some festivities. It’s official, Christmas is almost here, which for us means all the hard work is done, and we just get to relax and enjoy the holiday.
We have been watching a good amount of movies this season. From the classics to (somewhat) newer movies, it’s another great way to slow down and be present in the moment.
My Favorite Holiday Movies
Christmas movies (for me) don’t always have to reflect the perfect little town, all decorated, and a love triangle thrown in. If it happens during Christmas, or it’s a family drama, with some silliness thrown in, it’s perfect. Here are a few of my favs.
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Chrismas in Connecticut (1945)While recovering in a hospital, war hero Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) grows familiar with the “Diary of a Housewife” column written by Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck). Jeff’s nurse arranges with Elizabeth’s publisher, Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet), for Jeff to spend the holiday at Elizabeth’s bucolic Connecticut farm with her husband and child. But the column is a sham, so Yardley hastens to arrange a publicity ploy by setting up a single, nondomestic Elizabeth on a country farm. (IMBD) |
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Krampus (2015)While the holiday season represents the most magical time of year, ancient European folklore warns of Krampus, a horned beast who punishes naughty children at Christmastime. When dysfunctional family squabbling causes young Max (Emjay Anthony) to lose his festive spirit, it unleashes the wrath of the fearsome demon. As Krampus lays siege to the Engel home, mom (Toni Collette), pop (Adam Scott), sister (Stefania LaVie Owen), and brother must band together to save one another from a monstrous fate. (IMBD) |
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National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), and children, as he tries to make sure everything is in line, including the tree and house decorations. However, things go awry quickly. His hick cousin, Eddie (Randy Quaid), and his family show up unplanned and start living in their camper on the Griswold property. Even worse, Clark’s employers renege on the holiday bonus he needs. (IMBD) |
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Die Hard (1988)New York City policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis) is visiting his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and two daughters on Christmas Eve. He joins her at a holiday party in the headquarters of the Japanese-owned business she works for. But the festivities are interrupted by a group of terrorists who take over the exclusive high-rise, and everyone in it. Very soon McClane realizes that there’s no one to save the hostages — but him. (IMBD) |
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The Shop Around the Corner (1940)Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) are employees at Matuschek and Company, a general store in Budapest. Klara and Alfred are constantly at odds with each other, butting heads and disagreeing on almost everything. Both are enamored of their respective pen pals, who serve as welcome distractions in their lives. Little do they know, they are each the other’s pen pal and, despite outward differences, have unwittingly fallen in love through their letters. (IMBD) |
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Black Christmas (1974)As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess (Olivia Hussey) and the often inebriated Barb (Margot Kidder), begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb’s friend Claire (Lynne Griffin) goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is. (IMBD) |
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Almost Christmas (1988)Walter Meyer (Danny Glover) is a retired mechanic who lost the love of his life one year earlier. Now that the holiday season is here, he invites daughters Rachel (Gabrielle Union) and Cheryl (Kimberly Elise) and sons Christian (Romany Malco) and Evan (Jessie T. Usher) to his house for a traditional celebration. Poor Walter soon realizes that if his bickering children and the rest of the family can spend five days together under the same roof, it will truly be a Christmas miracle. (IMBD) |
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There are also some great mentions
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Holiday Affair (1949)
A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
A Christmas Story (1983)
Home Alone (1990)
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
The Family Stone (2005)…(and countless others)
Well friends I’ll end this post here. Thanks so much for visiting, and Happy Holidays.
