Blogmas #21: The Hateful Puzzle, also Holiday Movies
Today is a lazy day. I haven’t done a single thing. Well, that’s a lie. I’ve done some work on the family Christmas puzzle that we bought two years ago, but have never finished. We give up around New Years and it goes back in the box. This one is particularly awful because it isn’t even festive themed. It’s just a lobster dinner. We can’t get a new hateful Christmas puzzle until this immensely frustrating one is done. I’ve been working on it for three days, and still have not finished. All of the lobsters look the same, and there is so much indistinguishable white background. Sigh. We have to finish it this year.
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| Mother working on the hateful puzzle. |
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| What the hateful should look like. |
The hateful puzzle got me to thinking. There are a lot of Christmas traditions that my family observes. My favourite of which is settling in on Christmas Day after the presents are opened and the third or fourth cup of coffee has been made to watch some festive movie. Here are my personal favourites in holiday movies.
The Santa Clause (1994)
I hate Tim Allan. Hate might seem like a strong word, but I can count the number of movies he has been in that I have liked on one hand. This just happens to be one of them. It’s the essential Christmas movie. It’s one of the first movies I can remember from when I was very small, and I don’t think Christmas is complete without it.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
If you’re going for this one, definitely check out the original if you haven’t already. In my opinion it’s considerably better than the remake. It’s Santa in a court case. It’s great, and has a proper happy ending.
Home Alone (1990)
You can probably find this running on just about any channel as the holidays roll in. I liked this so much that I used to have the Super Nintendo game. I was one cool kid. Plus it’s a combination of everyone’s best/worst childhood dreams. You get your big awesome house all to yourself, but then there’s a break-in. Shenanigans ensue.
Elf (2003)
I feel like this one doesn’t need much explanation. You get to see Will Ferrell being the most hilarious he has ever been, and you can’t do much better than that.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
In my Christmas tag, I mentioned that this was my favourite Christmas movie. It really is. It’s just so good. It’s sad, but so great. You’re really missing out. George Bailey wishes that he had never been born, so his guardian angel Clarence shows him what the world would be like if he didn’t exist. It’s a Frank Capra classic that will really melt your heart.
Nativity! (2009)
The newest movie on my list, this one is more of a hilarious time than a heart-warming time. It’s about Paul Maddens, a crappy primary school teacher, who is in charge of the school’s nativity play. His teaching assistant Mr. Poppy is a buffoon and the production ends up getting bigger and bigger. It’s kind of musical, and the kids in it are really great.
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)
This wonderful thing. Oh goodness. Between Burl Ives and the delightful stop motion puppets, this is one that I cannot miss every year.
A Christmas Story (1983)
Everyone’s favourite campy movie. It’s ridiculous, and that’s why it’s so great. No parent really decks their kid out in a pink bunny suit, or buys a garish leg lamp, but this family does, and it’s great. Also, this kid asked for a gun for Christmas. What could go wrong?
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
There are a thousand different versions of A Christmas Carol, but this one is my favourite by a landslide. You take a classic story, and then you add Kermit the Frog and everything gets better.
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
I’m not a big fan of the remake, but the original is pretty excellent. Plus, because the whole thing rhymes, but the fifteenth run through, you know the whole thing by heart.
In today’s advent calendar, I received a Coralista Ultra Plush Lip Gloss.
So far, the lip glosses I’ve gotten have not really impressed me, and this one isn’t much different. It matches the Coralista blush that I received on the first day, but it isn’t particularly pigmented or moisturising. I am not enticed to purchase more of these, or the full sized glosses.
What’s your favourite holiday movie?