Christmas Movies

Another great way to get into Christmas is by watching lots of Christmas movies.  I feel like I've gotten a decent start on this so far, both on my own accord and with the help of those around me.  So, I figured I'd talk a little bit about some of my favorite Christmas movies.  Some of these I have watched already this year and some I haven't gotten to yet.  Also, these are listed in no particular order of preference.  I'm not even sure I could list them in order if I wanted to.  I've also included clips for some of them.

Mr. Krueger's Christmas

Okay, I know, this is an extraordinarily cheesy and, at times, weird movie, but I love it.  For anyone who may not be familiar with this movie, it's a short film produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints back in 1980 and stars Jimmy Stewart and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Basically it's the story of Willy Krueger, a lonely widower who has various Christmas related dreams and fantasies throughout the film.  So, why do I love it?  The manger scene.  This is a scene where Mr. Krueger imagines what it would be like to be in the stable when Christ was born and expresses his faith and feelings for Christ.  This is one of the most touching scenes I've seen in any Christmas movie and does about the best job of any of reminding me what Christmas is really about.  The rest of the movie really is quite cheesy, but this one scene makes up for all of the cheesy awkwardness.  The scene has more punch to it if you've seen the rest of the movie and gotten to know Mr. Krueger's character better, but it's great on its own as well, so I highly recommend you watch it below.

Elf

This is just a fun movie, and that's all there is to it.  I watched this with some friends in the ward the other night.  It had been a couple of years since the last time that I actually sat down and watched it all the way through.  I think that before I had maybe watched it a little too much and had gotten a little burned out on it.  But after coming back to it this year I was reminded of just how hilarious this movie is and how it makes you want to be a kid and have that same innocent excitement all over again.

Christmas Vacation

I've watched this one a couple of times already this year.  I'm pretty sure this one has played in my parent's house pretty much every Christmas since it came out on VHS.  I can't really say anything about it being a touching and uplifting movie filled with the Christmas spirit, but it is pretty darn funny.  Here's a classic scene from it.

A Christmas Story

Who doesn't love the story of Ralphie and his quest to get a "Red Ryder B.B. gun with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time"?

Joyeux Noel

This is an amazing movie.  It's not exactly a cheery movie, but it is amazing and it will forever be a part of my must-watch Christmas movie list.  It tells the story of the Christmas Truce that occurred in the trenches along the Western Front in 1914 during World War I.  It takes elements from stories of various occurrences of the truce and combines them into one convenient location.  I can't really put into words the effect that it has on me.  I'm getting emotional just trying to figure out what to write, so I'm just going to tell you to go and find a copy of this movie and watch it.  If you're not sure about it, watch the trailer below and then go and find a copy of the movie and watch it.



The Muppet Christmas Carol
This is by far my favorite version of Charles Dicken's classic A Christmas Carol.  Okay, so, maybe it's one of the only versions I have watched, and maybe I have never read the book, but that doesn't mean it can't be my favorite.  This is another movie that I hadn't seen in a long time, but I was able to watch it Sunday night and I still enjoyed every minute of it.  I mean, it's a classic Christmas story with a great message combined with the lovable lightheartedness of the Muppets!  How could this movie not hold a special place in your heart?  Below I've included one of my favorite songs from the movie.

More on Christmas

I bought and put out our apartment's first indoor Christmas decoration yesterday (I have to specify indoor because one of my roommates put a wreath on our front door the other day, thus claiming overall first decoration status).  I went and bought a nice poinsettia to display in our living room.

Isn't it lovely?

I'm pretty sure that I've always liked poinsettias.  There's usually been at least one in my house around Christmas while I was growing up.  When I was younger, I liked to pinch the ends of the leaves and see the white liquid inside squish out and form a little bead on the leaf.  I'm sure this wasn't good for the plant.  I'm not sure if my mom knew I was doing this to her poinsettias, but I doubt she was too happy about it if she did.  Sorry, Mom.

Like I said, there was usually at least one poinsettia around the house at Christmas, but in the last few years my mom has started covering the house in poinsettias.  I don't know the official count, but there must be a good 20 to 30 poinsettias decorating the house each year now and I think it looks wonderful.  In fact, it's when she started decorating with so many poinsettias that I realized just how much I liked them.  So, when my roommates and I started discussing decorations this year, I was set on making sure there was a poinsettia in our apartment.  Fortunately, I didn't have to twist any arms to get this approved.

Yesterday also marked another little bit of Christmas celebration for me.  I opened my first carton of eggnog of the year.  I love eggnog.  I can't even think how to put to words how much I love eggnog.  And I prefer to drink it straight up.  Growing up we would always dilute it with milk.  I'm not sure if this was because my parents preferred it thinned out a little (apparently a lot of people think it is too thick straight out of the carton), or if they were trying to stretch out each carton, but this is how we drank it.  Well, at some point in my life I discovered the ultimately superior experience that is undiluted eggnog and that is now where my alliances lie.  So, as Christmas approaches, this is one of those special treats that I anxiously await each year.

Marge: Homer, didn't you get any milk? All I see is eggnog.

Homer: 'Tis the season, Marge! We only get 30 sweet, noggy days.  Then the government takes it away again.

I discovered a few years ago that certain eggnog producers had started selling Halloween eggnog.  I was not okay with this.  Eggnog is a Christmas drink and should remain a Christmas drink.  Anyway, upon this discovery I decided that I would not support pre-December eggnog sales.  Well, this rule later turned into pre-December eggnog consumption because I will now buy eggnog before December, but I won't open it until December 1st.  So, as yesterday was December 1st, I opened my carton of eggnog and had a nice thick glass of it with lunch, and it was delicious.

I should mention that I did participation in some eggnog consumption in November that I am not proud of.  We had eggnog and sugar cookies for refreshments after institute last week.  I was so excited when they announced what the refreshments were (I believe I even let out a pleasantly surprised "oooo!"), but then I realized that it wasn't December yet and I was torn.  I mean, there's my resolve against pre-December eggnog, but this was FREE eggnog.  Well, I gave in had a cup of eggnog...and it was some of the worst eggnog I've ever had.  I don't know if it was a bad batch, if the brand just isn't to my liking, or if subconsciously my brain was making me not like it because it was too early in the year.  Either way, I did not enjoy it.  I guess that's what I get for deviating from my standards.