Happy Holidays, and welcome back to the blog!
QUOTE
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everybody believed in everybody?”― A Season for Miracles
Hello friends, and happy holidays! 🎄❄️☃️🎁🦌
It’s a brisk 30 degrees on my side of the globe, but we’re fully decorated, caffeinated, and leaning into the holiday excitement. As the season gets busier (and colder), don’t forget to get plenty of rest, wear a hat, and stay hydrated—even during these chilly months.
They’re perfect for a cozy movie night or all-day Christmas entertainment—especially if you have family visiting who don’t watch football. These films are pure nostalgia for me, and it wouldn’t feel like Christmas without watching at least two from today’s list. What movie truly reminds you of Christmas? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear your favorites. 🎄🎬
Great Holiday Movies!
My short list of eight is a mix of classic Christmas movies, spanning everything from drama to horror to comedy. I also can’t leave out my favorite animated Christmas specials—A Charlie Brown Christmas (you can’t tell me that dance scene isn’t hilarious), Hey, Arnold! Arnold’s Christmas and the classic stop-motion films I grew up with, like The Year Without a Santa Claus, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, and Rudolph’s Shiny New Year.
I don’t know why I love them so much—but I don’t question it. They simply bring me joy.
Click on the links for trailers and more about the movies.
Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
While recovering in a hospital, war hero Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) grows familiar with the Diary of a Housewife column written by Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck). Jeff’s nurse arranges with Elizabeth’s publisher, Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet), for Jeff to spend the holiday at Elizabeth’s bucolic Connecticut farm with her husband and child. But the column is a sham, so Yardley hastens to arrange a publicity ploy by setting up single, nondomestic Elizabeth on a country farm. [Trailer]
Krampus (2015)
While the holiday season represents the most magical time of year, ancient European folklore warns of Krampus, a horned beast who punishes naughty children at Christmastime. When dysfunctional family squabbling causes young Max (Emjay Anthony) to lose his festive spirit, it unleashes the wrath of the fearsome demon. As Krampus lays siege to the Engel home, mom (Toni Collette), pop (Adam Scott), sister (Stefania LaVie Owen) and brother must band together to save one another from a monstrous fate.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), and children, as he tries to make sure everything is in line, including the tree and house decorations. However, things go awry quickly. His hick cousin, Eddie (Randy Quaid), and his family show up unplanned and start living in their camper on the Griswold property. Even worse, Clark’s employers renege on the holiday bonus he needs.
The Holdovers (2023)
From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, THE HOLDOVERS follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).
Happiest Season (2020)
This romantic comedy is about longtime lesbian couple Abby (Kristen Stewart) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis), who made plans to go home to the latter’s family for the Christmas holidays. Aside from spending the yuletide season with Harper’s conservative parents, Abby is also planning to spring a marriage proposal on Harper. Trouble begins, though, when she discovers that Harper hasn’t come out as a lesbian yet to her family, leaving them clueless as to who Abby really is in her life. Co-written and directed by Clea DuVall. Co-starring Dan Levy, Victor Garber, and Mary Steenburgen.
Almost Christmas (2016)
Walter Meyer (Danny Glover) is a retired mechanic who lost the love of his life one year earlier. Now that the holiday season is here, he invites his daughters, Rachel (Gabrielle Union) and Cheryl (Kimberly Elise), and his sons, Christian (Romany Malco) and Evan (Jessie T. Usher), to his house for a traditional celebration. Poor Walter soon realizes that if his bickering children and the rest of the family can spend five days together under the same roof, it will truly be a Christmas miracle.
[Movie Source/Trailers Rotten Tomatoes]
Looking for some fun printables. Check out my Winter Holiday page here!
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The holidays are a time of reflection for me—a chance to gain perspective on the year coming and find purpose for the one ahead. I’m deeply thankful for everything in my orbit, along with some much-needed time off.
So here’s my holiday wish: feet up, hot cocoa in hand, a book resting on my lap… and, of course, world peace. 😉 LOL
— Peace,
Wyetha (aka Evergreen-Frostypants) 🎄✨