My Weblog: Making the Holidays Special

by Toni L.P. Kelner

Most years, the first bit of Christmas gear we Kelners bring down from the attic isn't a box of ornaments or a bag of wrapping paper--it's the box of Christmas tapes and DVDs. Ove the years, we've amassed a collection of nearly forty videos.

We've got classic movies like Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, and White Christmas. We've got newer movies like Elf and the Santa Clause. We've got all the specials I used to plan my TV viewing around in December: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. We've got half a dozen versions of A Christmas Carol, including the Patrick Stewart one-man show, the Blackadder pastiche, the Muppet version, and Mickey Mouse's take. We've got oddities like A Ham-Ham Christmas (part of the Hamtaro craze a few years back) and A Colbert Christmas-the Greatest Gift of All (which includes Willie Nelson as a shepherd in a manger scene and Steven Colbert's duet with a bear).

Lest you think we are dyed in the wool, I assure you that each year we add to our collection. This year, we've already bought A Phineas and Ferb Christmas and on Christmas night, we'll be watching Doctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.

Of course, we don't actually sit down and watch every one of these videos every year. If we did, there'd be no time for shopping or wrapping presents. But there are some that are firmly entrenched as part of our holiday traditions. These are the ones we make time for.

The Year Without a Santa Claus -- Each year Steve and I argue over the relative merits of the Snow Miser and the Heat Miser. Clearly the Heat Miser is superior.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town -- We love the way it explains all the Christmas traditions, even if those explanations aren't exactly historically accurate.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer -- Hey, who doesn't like the story of an underdog, or deer, who goes down in history? And Yukon Cornelius is just a charmer. (Donner, on the other hand, has issues...)

Olive the Other Reindeer -- One of the sweetest stories ever to be told about a delusional pooch, a larcenous penguin, and a pet flea.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas -- It's just a joy from beginning to end.

A Pinky and the Brain Christmas -- I swear to you, I tear up every time Brain gives up his chance to take over the world to wish everybody the best Christmas ever.

A Charlie Brown Christmas -- Other than The Little Drummer Boy, which has the only claymation murders I'm aware of, it's one of the few Christmas specials to actually mention Christianity. They get props for that, and the awesome dance scene. (Hands up if you've ever been in a crowd of people recreating the choreography of these guys?)

White Christmas -- It's an overblown Hollywood musical extravagenza, with the kind of logic that only makes sense during in Hollywood musical extravagenzas, but the actors give it their all, the music and dancing are wonderful, and the world is so beautiful. I choke up at the end of this one, too.

In looking over this list of those of specials that are particularly special to Steve, the girls, and me, I'm trying to figure out why we picked this crew. Obviously, there's nostalgia involved--the shows we watched as children are still meaningful. We like humor and music, and we don't mind a whopping big dose of sentimentality at this time of year. We're willing to add characters to the mythology of Christmas, and now decorate with Rudoph toys and Miser Brothers figures. We're happy with strictly Christian stories from Linus and with the Grinch's non-denominational warmth. We like live action, claymation, and plain old cartoons. We are willing to believe in Santa, angels, talking lab mice, and a flying dog. And above all, we like happy endings at Christmas.

So what movies and specials do you watch to make your holidays special? Whatever they are, make time to watch them and smile! I want your holiday to have as happy an ending as the sappiest of our specials.

Comments

It's a Wonderful Life, Toni, and Blackadder. For a minute, I thought you wrote Patrick Stewart did a one-man show of a Blackadder Christmas...I would totally watch that! Merry, merry to the Kelners!

Posted by: Dana | December 19, 2011 at 08:56 AM