Top 5: Christmas Movies/Specials

Tis the season for sappy movies and heart-warming tales of Christmas miracles.  Here’s a little viewers’ guide for you this CHRISTMAS SEASON.

5. A Christmas TV movie usually showing on Friday and Saturday.  The recipe: A single girl with a big city job who is too busy for Christmas.  She is forced to either a. go home for the holidays and either hooks up with her childhood flame or buy herself a “fiance” for the Christmas holidays (and of course they fall in love for realsies) or b. She meets an orphaned child and has to take care of him or her over the holiday, she also falls in love with her neighbor or a security guard and keeps the kid forever or c. She doesn’t believe in Santa Claus and either is related to him and has to take on the family business or she falls in love with the guy who is the new Santa Claus.  Usually ends with someone on Santa’s sleigh.  These movies can be found on such channels as ABC Family, Hallmark, or Lifetime.  Best if it stars with some has-been celebrity from 10 years ago, such as Melissa Joan Hart or Crystal Bernard.  Extra points if it involves Mario Lopez in hand cuffs.

4. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas–cartoon version.  Boris Karloff’s voice is perfect for the Christmas special.  Skip the Jim Carrey version and stick with the cartoon and the book or your heart will grow two sizes too small.  How can you resist Cindy Lou Who’s pleading eyes?  Don’t be put-off the Grinch’s outfit of a Santa Suit with no pants.

3.  Its a Wonderful Life.  I love Jimmy Stewart and this is THE MOVIE for him.  I love that it is an epic tale.  It tells of when he was a kid, as a teenager and then a man.  You see all the shaping events of his life.  My favorite is the school dance where the pool opens up and they all fall in.  The following scene when he and Mary walk home all wet and he tries to lasso the moon, that is Christmas Goodness.   For a great alternative watch the Saturday Night Live spoof when Dana Carvey as Jimmy Stewart goes after evil Mr. Potter and they kick him out of his wheelchair–that’s a classic, too.

2.  A Charlie Brown Christmas.  This is definately one you need to see once in awhile.  You get more meaning out of it everytime you see it.  My favorite scene is when all the characters are dancing at play practice.  I have developed my own “Charlie Brown Dance” from it. The music is wonderful and whimsical and the scene when Linus tells the Christmas Story is the reason for the Season.

1. Miracle on 34th Street.  This is my All-Time favorite holiday movie.  The first time I saw it I was shocked by some very controversial subjects that it addresses: divorce, drunkeness, and an accusation of pedophilia. All this in a movie from 1947!  But the overall story is what gets you.  You have Santa in New York City taking over the Macy’s parade.  He then realizes that a little girl and her mother don’t believe in him.  The two actually don’t believe in anything.  Well, he fixes that.  You’ve got great scenes, like Santa speaking Dutch to little orphaned girl–gets me teary every time and Santa chewing bubble gum.  The ending with the dramatic court scene and when poor little Natalie Wood doesn’t think she got her Christmas wish, well, you need to see it for yourself.  Don’t be fooled by imitators.

Watch the movie while you are lazy at work here: http://www.hulu.com/miracle-on-34th-street

Did I forget your favorite?