My friend, Karin Beery, shares her favorite holiday movies and yummy recipes…
I love the holiday season. It’s not just Christmas—it’s the love, anticipation, grace, and thankfulness that fills our house every November, December, and January. I start decorating the first weekend of November, and I have to pace myself when it comes to wrapping presents, donating gifts, and baking (and baking and baking) so I don’t do it all in one week.
While I’m doing all of those things, I always have a Christmas movie playing in the background.
Though I enjoy Hallmark holiday movies, I can’t watch them while I work—it’s too easy to get sucked into the plot and stop working! Instead, I have my Must-Watch List of traditional and nontraditional movies. They’re perfect for the season without being too distracting (because I’ve seen each one a dozen times!).
Christmas movies became a staple in my life when I was single because I often felt lonely in my apartment by myself. Even though I’m married now, we’re a childless couple. We spend Thanksgiving or Christmas with my family, but the other holiday is spent at home with each other. I love my husband, but our small family lacks the craziness I grew up with having two sisters with less than four years between all of us. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but now I crave the familiar coziness of it all.
Though I’d rather be with family, these holiday movies set the mood, and because I’ve seen them so many times, it makes it feel like the house is full of friends. I can’t wait to watch them again this year!
Here’s my list of Must-Watch holiday flicks.
Traditional:
- White Christmas
- The Santa Clause (1, 2, and 3)
- The Holiday
- Elf
- Holiday Inn
- The Man Who Invented Christmas
Nontraditional:
- Little Women (1994)
- Die Hard (1 & 2)
- While You Were Sleeping
I’ll also usually watch Home Alone and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but those are really for my husband, not so much for me.
What about you—are you a fan of Christmas movies? Which is your favorite?
(Movies aren’t the only tradition at our house—click here for the easy-to-make recipes for my husband’s two favorite holiday treats!)
Author of hopeful fiction with a healthy dose of romance, Karin Beery also owns Write Now Editing, helping authors turn good manuscripts into great books. She lives in northern Michigan with her husband and pets. They drink too much (decaf) coffee, put up their Christmas tree the first weekend in November, and do their best to live every day for the Lord.
Some places where you can connect:
My two favorites are A Christmas Carol with Alistair Simm and The Nutcracker movie with sets and costumes by Maurice Sendak.
I’ll have to check those out, Paula and JPC. 🎄🎁🎉
I haven’t seen The Nutcracker–I’ll have to look for it!
I like the Sherlock Holmes Christmas episode “The Blue Carbuncle” which was filmed in the 1980’s. I also like the movie “Fitzwilly” with Dick Van Dyke and Barbara Feldon.
Oooo … those are both new to me. Thanks!