I read the other day that there a something like eighty four Christmas movies available for the season when we get a bit sentimental and return year after year to our favorite flicks. I am one of those people who doesn’t feel like I have sufficiently enjoyed the season without repeating traditions that hark back to my youth, including watching movies that I have seen almost as many times as I am old. Christmas is a glorious time of year for me regardless of any trials that I may be enduring and my favorite movies are part of my traditions.

I have to admit that I have attempt to view Hallmark Christmas movies but I lost interest rather quickly. The stories were so predictable and the acting was so subpar that I was unable to keep my attention focused on the screen. Somehow I never quite understood the fascination that some of my friends have with the B level features. Nonetheless I am of the mind that each person should have a good time enjoying whatever brings them joy.

A friend and I once wrote a screenplay for a Hallmark Christmas movie in less than an hour. It featured a fallen, handsome and embittered ski instructor from Austria and a beautiful young woman visiting with her friends on a Christmas break. I won’t reveal the rest of the tale but if you’ve ever watched a featured film on Hallmark you will probably instantly figure out what will happen to these two seemingly opposite characters. 

Hallmark is associated closely with Christmas including its annual assortment of cute little ornaments. I first invested in one that featured Steamboat Willie whistling away. It was quite adorable and worked by attaching a wire to a string of tiny lights. It was truly one of our all time favorite ornaments until the artificial tree that we had been using fell and apart after years of use. When we purchased a new one the fitting for the ornament did not match the fitting on the lights so Steamboat Willie has been silent ever sense. When we place him on the tree we hum his tune for him but somehow it just does not feel the same.

Along the way I began purchasing Hallmark ornaments with sounds that nostalgically reminded of beloved movies, characters and toys from the past. Sadly most of them only lasted for a time and then became mute like Steamboat Willie. While they were still cute but lost much of their magic when they began to fall apart. This year I decided to skip buying anymore because I had become wise to the reality that having them in tip top condition was fleeting. I even relegated them to an upstairs tree because they seemed to be needlessly crowding my great room tree that is filled with memories of friends and family. The Hallmark cuties still bring a smile to my face but they also remind me of the vagaries of life. Nothing lasts forever, nothing ever does as they say in a song from another movie that I really enjoy. The Hallmark trinkets are a reminder to me that I should cherish people not things, and somehow that leads me to the movies that are most impactful to me.

I still get a warm and sentimental feeling from watching every presentation of A Christmas Carol that has ever been produced. I find The Muppets Christmas Carol to be the most charming of them all and maybe even the closest to capturing Charles Dickens’ timeless story. Now that I have visited his one time home in London and walked along the streets in Camden where Bob Cratchit may have roamed I have an even better sense of the moral that Dickens’ wanted us to take away from his story.

Christmas is a time when we deck the halls and come together as people. Hopefully while doing so we remember the forgotten souls who are not as fortunate as we are. We think of Jesus being born in uncomfortable circumstances and know that somewhere in the world there is another child being born in equally uncomfortable surroundings. If we truly understand the message of Christmas we will know that the giving should extend to those who need it most. The Somali child in Minnesota is as beloved by God as the son or daughter of a billionaire. All the glitter and gold is but a passing amusement in our lives if there is not love for everyone behind it. This is the kind of story that I want to watch, a tale in which we humans rise above our stinginess and isolation to embrace everyone around the world regardless of how different they may seem to be from ourselves. 

I love Christmastime and the joy it has always brought to me. I remember the magical moments I enjoyed as a child when my brothers and I hung tinsel on the tree. I have a fond memory of my father reading The Gift of the Magi to me and asking me if I understood the theme of selfless love encapsulated in the tale. I think of Mrs. McKenna singing carols at church and the creche on the altar depicting the birth of Jesus. I remember making gifts for the sick and elderly as a young girl and visiting a nursing home where some of the residents cried at the sight of us. I smile as I recall the raucous gatherings at my grandma’s house and the baking of cookies with my mother each year. My life has been mostly good so I know what is most important for living a wonderful life. 

All of the trappings of Christmas are symbolic reminders of how each of us should behave toward one other. Above all they tell us to smile and be generous with each other. We are only here for a short time. Each Christmas season is a gift for us to enjoy and share. If those movies or baubles help us love more then they have done their job. This is the time to not just believe but also to act. It is love that actually moves the world in the right direction. God bless us everyone!