Christmas Time is Here...Lot's of Time for Holiday Films!

After my family opened their presents together, and had breakfast together, we sat around the TV to find something good to watch.  Surprisingly, we ended up watching two movies that had nothing to do with Christmas, Bend it Like Beckham, and Despicable Me.  I know that TBS has A Christmas Story on on a 24 hour rotation, and ABC Family has Christmas shows on TV, but other than those two places there were no classic Christmas films on TV.  NBC and their other counterparts had Meet the Press and other news shows.  Where is the Christmas spirit on Christmas day?  I know man networks counted down and show films prior to today, but I want to watch them today.  I sound like a bratty young child who says to his mother "I want it now."  Here is a list of films I would like to see today:

Elf (2003) Finding a modern film with the elements of a classic Christmas tale and the sarcastic wit of the modern day is tough to find.  Will Ferrell plays Buddy the Elf who was born to humans but is raised as an Elf in the North Pole.  When Buddy finds out he is a human and not an elf he makes the trek on a patch of ice to New York to meet this father, played by the Christmas grump James Caan.  This movie is hilarious and has done what most holiday movies could not do this decade.

Love Actually (2003) Ironically there were two films this decade both from 2003 that captured the holiday spirit in a different way.  Love Actually knows and understands that this holiday time captures the elements of togetherness, and how love matters above all.  Not just romantic love, but friendship.  This film makes me happy inside, and shows that there love actually, all around.

Home Alone (1990) When your parents are go on vacation around Christmas to Florida, and they leave you behind at eight, what do you do? You order pizza, watch R rated movies, and of course stop Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci from breaking into your house. Macauley Culkin became an overnight childhood star, and this film gave family a new meaning.  When you are younger you always wish to be grown up before you are ready to be.  This film is filled with some great laughs and shows that being with family at this time of year is special.


National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) There is not much you can say about this Christmas film, but that is probably one of the funniest holiday films ever!  Chevy Chase knows how to make everything go wrong as Clark Griswold.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) What is the meaning of Christmas?  Charlie Brown is feeling angst around the holidays and feels as though things have become too commercial.  This was back in 1965!  Imagine if good ole Charlie saw Christmas today.  This special is timely and my favorite animated film around this time.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Is Santa real?  Does it matter?  A man who works as Santa at Macy's goes on trial and his sanity is questioned.  The film proves that whether you believe in Santa or not should not matter.  This time of the year is about the magical moments that bring people together.

It's a Wonderful Life (1946) What more can I say about this film?  This old film is Christmas, and until NBC (foolishly) replaced the showing of this after the Thanksgiving Parade with the Westminster Dog Show, this was the film that kicked of the holiday season for years.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Kwanzaa to all!!

Travels with Kevin Part 4: I'll Be Home for Christmas

Well tonight was Christmas Eve, and I celebrated with family and friends at my grandmothers house.  There is something to be said for this time of the year.  Many people will complain or state that this is a depressing time of the year because they have no one to celebrate with.  I have to say as I get older it is nice to celebrate with my mom, dad, and sister.  It is also nice to celebrate with my cousins as we all get older and I get to see them have their own families.  In fact my cousin Amy is pregnant with her first child and her sister Caitlin is getting married in July.

While at my grandmothers I there was holiday music on in the background, and football early in the day.  As football ended and the music started to fade into the background I noticed that It's a Wonderful Life was on TV.  While many people obsess over A Christmas Story (which I hate), I love the Jimmy Stewart classic.

I love watching It's a Wonderful Life, while it can be a depressing story the end message of the film captures one of the most wonderful qualities of this time of year, generosity of spirit.  People come together and share their lives even if everything is not great.  Throughout the the last act of this film George Bailey sees that he had such an impact on everyone he interacted with.  Even in the worst times we still have to realize that our life matters, and that even the smallest actions matter.

Being home for the holidays provides an opportunity to spend time with family.  I live in Boston and my family lives in Albany, NY.  I only get home a few times a year, and during this time even I become gloriously jaded with the holiday spirit.  I put aside the things I hate about being in Albany and just enjoy spending time with my family.  While being home I often remember some of the bad things, but at this time of the year, I sit back and realize just wonderful life can be.