Everyone has a favorite Christmas movie, because in truth, nobody really hates Christmas. There is too much joy, and love, and… Goodness to have negative feelings about this holiday. There are so many wonderful things about this time of year, and besides the commercials and presents and coming of Jesus (if you’re Christian) there are the movies that you wait 340-ish days to watch every year.
When I was young, I loved watching ones like How the Grinch Stole Christmas was one I loved. The scene at the end where his heart grows three sizes, and all the Whos grab hands and sing? I wish I could’ve lived that. I used to sing that song all the time… The issue was getting me to stop! Any of the movies about Santa and his reindeer with the puppets for animation were big hits with me as well. Santa Claus is Coming to Town has always been a favorite in my household, and my friends and I used to enjoy making fun of the silliness involved with A Year Without Santa Clause as Mother Nature’s sons went at each other’s throats. For some reason we found it utterly hilarious. Looking back on it, those scenes really were amusing. A newer, but not really new, Christmas movie is The Polar Express where Tom Hanks plays literally every character. Some parts are for the more mature first grader, but the songs are really what makes it all worth it. My favorite from that movie is “When Christmas comes to Town”, sung on the back of the train by the two sweetest kids in the whole movie.
Miracle on 34th Street broke my heart when I first saw it. The little girl believed, so the jury did too? That is real Christmas magic because let me tell you this: New Yorkers can be tough cookies to crack ;). The first time I saw It’s a Wonderful Life, I was really really confused. I was probably too young to understand that it wasn’t just another Christmas movie about how lovely and joyous Christmas is. It’s a Wonderful Life is fantastic because sit has some real sustenance, some actual life application. It’s not just about Christmas, but what it means to have Christmas spirit and the lives you touch with it. And if that’s too gooey and emotional for any of my readers, it’s about…. Beating all the Potters who think it’s okay to try and beat up the little guy. That’s a worthy cause, right?
A Christmas Carol has always had an enormous effect on my life. My dad first read the book to me when I was maybe six or seven. He’d read it to me every night of December, and I’d stay up till far past my bed time to hear it. I can’t say that the young version of Kacey thought very much of the book, but it grew on me. Why? Because Charles Dickens is a genius, and everyone can learn a lesson from A Christmas Carol. Just think: If we spent every moment thinking of the “bah humbug” and all the virtuous things Christmas can mean, then we’re all screwed. Or maybe scrooged… Besides, Ebenezer is an awful name. That’s the kind of name you end up if you hate Christmas, guys.
I’ve never been a big fan of the more recent Christmas movies like Elf or The Santa Clause. I think the 20th Century really understood Christmas; they were simpler times. There are two newer movies that I did enjoy: Love Actually and The Holiday. Because if you don’t love romantic, Christmas-y love stories you’re just kidding yourself, and Cameron Diaz is to die for. Both movies are impossibly cheesy, but make my heart melt as I watch them by the fire drinking hot chocolate. They’re just Christmas at it’s sappiest moment. If you’re anything like me, you sorta live for those moments; the pure ones that make your heart swell and your eyes tear.
But, my favorite Christmas movie of all time is White Christmas for a plethora of reasons. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rose Mary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen are classic movie stars gifted to us by the gods. They’re too talented for their own good. The time and setting are perfect. Right after the end of the war, when everything is bright, big and booming. But in a tiny, run-down inn up in Vermont with no snow? It’s one for the books. I used to sing the songs with my sibling, “Sisters” was my favorite. The romance is timeless, nothing compares to it. It will always occupy a part of my heart.
I hope all of you have enjoyed your magical holiday seasons, and that your new year will bring happiness… And may all your Christmases be bright 🙂
© Kacey Writes
Writings of Kacey 