Find Joy. Seek Truth. Be Kind.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Holiday movies and traditions

This is the start of the holiday season for us. It gets crazy and busy until January when it will all suddenly seem to stop and I'll come up for air and celebrate with a Pajama Day spent knitting and vegging out.

This morning we celebrated Dia de los Muertos at church. Tonight was pumpkin carving night at church. Tomorrow is Halloween. Tue is election day and starts the official Thanksgiving season. FLL season ends for us mid November (unless we go to state, which, thank goodness, is unlikely. How bad is it that I'm grateful for that?) Then it's only a weekend until Thanksgiving week, and Christmas is a month after that... Good Grief! I need time to slow down.

A good friend has a family tradition I'd like to adopt. She takes the month of December off as far as homeschooling goes and does baking and crafts all month. She has a pile of Christmas movies the family goes through, and piles of Christmas and winter books to read. Oooh! Doesn't that sound nice?

So now I'm starting a list. Tonight we came up with a few movies, but I'd love your suggestions for movies, videos, books, or anything else that pops into your mind when thinking of Holiday Traditions.

Our half started list:

The Nightmare Before Christmas ( a twofer!)
The Hogfather
Christmas Story
Miracle on 34th Street
It's a Wonderful Like
Holiday Inn
White Christmas
Home Alone (? haven't seen this in a long time - is it appropriate for my youngers?)

What video version of "A Christmas Carol" is best? For audio, last year we enjoyed a recording with Patrick Stewart reading/acting.

and books... I don't even know where to start (after Luke 2 1-20, which my grandfather read to us every Christmas Eve.) Well there is "Snowflake Bently". ...


What are your favorites and why?

7 comments:

Deanna said...

I really love 'The Gift of the Magi" by O Henry. Great short story for the real meaning of love and giving. Have you read it?

Obery family said...

We love 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever'!

http://nwkidchaser.weebly.com/3/post/2009/12/best-christmas-pageant-ever.html

April said...

Thanks Deanna, yes my mother always read us that story.

I thought the couple was stupid. They should have talked about it first, and he should not have sold a family heirloom. Hair can grow.

But then, I'm probably just not romantic enough to appreciate melodrama! :-D

April said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Deanna said...

O April! You make me laugh! :)

They are totally stupid, but I am a romantic soul...

Shawn Walter said...

My all time favorite for Christmas is The Grinch (the cartoon and book, NOT the movie.) And we always watch The Year without a Santa Claus, the one with the heat miser.

I realized the other day that The Nightmare Before Christmas can make me happy no matter what. It had been a rough day, I had to go to work, and still, I was smiling and humming the songs.

Are your kids ready for Christmas Vacation? That movie has no redeeming qualities other than it makes me laugh.

I love The Gift of the Magi too, Deanna. Such a story of ultimate giving. Yes, I always think about how they could have talked to each other, but still, they were willing to give up what they loved most for the other.

April said...

Obery family, thanks for the recommendation! "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" is a new favorite, and we're looking forward to reading more in the series. :-)

Shawn, I'm adding The Grinch to our Netflix queue. (We've already got the book) I just don't know if ds7 will tolerate the tension...

Deanna, I have "The Gift of the Magi" on the list to read this season, and I will try not to prejudice them against it. ;-)