Christmas Favourites (What to Watch) - CULTURETAP

Before I begin my post, I'd like to extend my sincerest well wishes and prayers to everyone during this final month of the year. Whatever you celebrate (or don't celebrate!) during the month of December, I hope it is happy and blessed, and I hope you have a wonderful New Year. I know we're all eager to get 2020 over with, and this includes myself, but I firmly believe dog days are almost over. I also would like to point out that if you do not celebrate Christmas, I put up an unrelated post earlier this week for you to enjoy instead of this one. Everyone is welcome here! So, with my season's greetings over with, on with the list.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are less than a week away until Christmas! This is one of my favourite times of year personally - although I am a sucker for most holidays. I hope you've all had a chance to relax and celebrate the holidays in any way you can. I know things are definitely looking different this year, but I firmly believe that by allowing ourselves to slow down and rest, celebrating traditions where we can, and surrounding ourselves with love in all different ways, this Christmas will not be completely a waste. After all, no Christmas is. So, without further adieu, here are some of the ways I've been celebrating the season through festive movies and television. You can find links to watch all of these movies and shows by clicking on the photo associated with each respective title. Let's get into it, shall we?

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

While I try to keep seasonal lists about things that people might not immediately think of to watch, this is one that I certainly could not resist. As I mentioned in my Halloween post, Peanuts is sacred in my household, and growing up in a Christian family, A Charlie Brown Christmas is certainly the best of the best in that regard. I don't think I really need to tell you why it's so great, nor what it's about, but I will in my own words for the sake of consistency: it's essentially about all the Peanuts characters putting on a Christmas play, and most of the kids are sort of missing the point of it, making it all about commercialism and their own personal "wants", when it's really supposed to reflect the "true meaning of Christmas", i.e., the Biblical history of the holiday, as well as general togetherness and kindness. A Charlie Brown Christmas isn't just great for the moral lesson involved (which is a harder thing to universally love due to the plurality of religious beliefs nowadays), it's also great because you essentially get to sit down and watch a group of cartoon kids and a goofy dog screw around for 30 minutes. It's good old childhood fun, but with a wholesome message behind it, and that's why I love it so much.

A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)

Speaking of lesser-known classics, we have a television special from one of my personal favourite franchises of all time. I tend to find that A Muppet Family Christmas is unfortunately often playing second fiddle to The Muppet Christmas Carol when it comes to modern cultural notability, and that really is a shame since this one is such a great watch as well. A Muppet Family Christmas features a more relaxing plotline than the latter film; the entire Muppet crew decides to spend Christmas at Fozzie's mom's house and the usual chaos ensues. In addition, the show features appearances from Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock characters. Watching this one in the year 2020, I really expected to come out of it more upset than jolly, as a major component of it has to do with what a joy it is to gather for Christmas, which is obviously hard to do IRL right now. However, I found that it more made me appreciate how much I am blessed with this year than what I can't experience. I still have people that love me dearly, a roof over my head, my health, and many other privileges that I certainly take for granted. A Muppet Family Christmas reminds me of all these things. Like A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Muppet Family Christmas is a television special, making it shorter than a feature film, so I'd therefore especially recommend this one to families with small children (or just those with short attention spans!). Also - it's free to watch on YouTube. What's not to love?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

Another classic that I simply could not resist. I could repeat the paragraph about the Peanuts special, get rid of the parts about religion and non-commercialism and replace them with a message of acceptance and love, and it would still reflect my feelings towards Rudolph. The Claymation Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

is simply a classic. Because of that, it's hard to pinpoint why it's so unique or special to those unfamiliar with it; it's great not just for the story itself, but also simply because it has been around for all these Christmases in the past, and despite the uncertain world we live in right now, it will always be there in the future. The animation is adorable, the music is a lot of fun, and again, it carries that age old message of not judging a book by its cover and understanding that even those who we do not understand hold their own special value. And, again, TV movies are great for kids due to their length, but Mom and Dad will definitely be watching this one too.

Love, Actually (2003)

Unlike all the other picks on my list, I actually only saw this movie for the first time this year at the request of my boyfriend (whom I hope will forgive me for outing his love for this film to the world - sorry, Josh). I went in expecting not to like it, but I was surprised to find I was wrong. For the hopeless romantic during the Christmas holidays, there is Love, Actually. The best way I can describe this movie is a fairytale for adults. That might make it sound bad, and although I will concede that this movie is in no way narratively perfect, I still uphold that this film entertainingly and heartwarmingly presents its several intersecting stories that feature all types of love: easy love, difficult love, unrequited love, familial love...all against the backdrop of the Christmas holidays in the early 2000's. What I appreciated most about it is that while it stuck to some clichés, it didn't pressure itself to make sure every single story had a super sunshiny ending and actually left me guessing as to what would happen for most of the subplots. Cheesy as Love, Actually is, I actually really enjoyed it, and if you're looking for a good escapism movie with a stellar cast to watch this year, I'd go for this one. Just make sure the kids are in bed first.

Honourable Mentions

Here are a few that I either didn't have room to talk about or aren't my absolute favourites. However, they're still worth checking out if you have the time!

Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)

A cute little Disney anthology movie that I used to watch when I was younger. It's all about Mickey and the gang, and even includes some lesser seen characters such as Scrooge McDuck and Huey, Dewey and Louie. I haven't actually seen the first one, but this second one is certainly near and dear to my heart. Great for Disney fans young and old and available on Disney+!

Merry Happy Whatever (2019)

A Netflix series about a young woman who brings her boyfriend home to meet her eccentric family for the first time, which includes her strong-willed, patriarch father. Not the most original plot, but the cast and writing is charming and hilarious. It also stars some Disney alumni: Bridget Mendler (of Good Luck Charlie), Ashley Tisdale (of High School Musical) and Dennis Quaid (of The Parent Trap).