Christmasy Thingies

So here's the thing: I am stuck at work today and tomorrow with absolutely NOTHING to do until my flight tomorrow night. I've been trying to make the most of it, but apart from being overly tired and headachy (oooh, I hope that's not a touch of the flu I feel...), there are just not enough nypost word searches or mahjongg games to keep my mind from wandering. I have no idea what this Christmas will bring or how I'm going to feel when I finally get back to the freezing Midwest (though I hear that it's going to be fairly nice when I'm there - in the 30s. Nice!), so in an attempt to keep my mind from falling off the edge, here are some of my favorite Christmas movies! Let's start with the oldies.


Miracle on 34th Street. I've never seen it. I know. But the Lady swears by it. And Natalie Wood sure looks adorable... I'm sure that it will be on Turner Classic Movies at least once, so I'll try to catch it. Unless Lady has it on DVD, which is quite the possibility.

It's a Wonderful Life. I get it. Life sucks, but here's what it would have been like without you. Life is grand, I want it! Bells ring, angels get wings, and Donna Reed is delicious. Really though, I haven't seen this in a while either, so a fresh viewing might help to melt my cold, cold heart. I do love Jimmy Stewart, after all.

"The best way to spread Christmas Cheer, is singing loud for all to hear."

I remember getting an email from K-10 or Woelker when news of Elf hit. All the email included was Will Ferrell's name and the movie poster of his legs, and I was laughing like an idiot. I saw it in the theater pretty much as soon as it came out, and I bought it the day it was released on DVD. We even had an Elf party last December! I can easily see this becoming a holiday classic, especially since it will age well.

I don't think that I've ever known anyone who dislikes A Charlie Brown Christmas. It makes me cry every time. I think that I love it for how it makes me feel, really. I find myself relating with Charlie Brown every year - I just can't get into Christmas and I feel down. Linus's recitation of the scripture reminds me of why I should care. Every time. Every year.



While I would never be able to choose which movie I like better, Vacation or Christmas Vacation, the Christmas version is just amazing. Chevy Chase and Randy Quaid, oh hilarity. "Every time Catherine would turn on the microwave, I'd piss my pants and forget who I was for about half an hour."



I've watched Home Alone three times in the past four days. I know. I love it, and I really can't tell you why. It's easily one of my favorite comfort movies, and I've been known to pop it in the VCR (yes, it's on tape, not DVD) in the middle of August when I need a good laugh. I don't necessarily love the painful moments, but when Kevin places the tarantula on Marv's face and he screams like a little girl, I double over laughing. Oh, and Catherine O'Hara is amazing.


It doesn't matter that it's on for twenty-four hours straight - I just wish it would be shown at some other time during the year. I really need to own it! I love A Christmas Story, and I'll watch it over and over again. I'll catch the last twenty minutes (fa ra ra ra ra) and the first twenty minutes of the next. It's rare to watch it all of the way through, really. It spawned some of the funniest lines in Christmas movie history (at least in my mind):

"Only one thing in the world could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window."

and

"Be sure to drink your Ovaltine. Ovaltine? A crummy commercial? Son of a bitch!"

and how about

"Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian."

Simply amazing. Merry Christmas!