Christmas movies.

Sonja has discovered "The Polar Express".  I bought the DVD last year and played it for her, but she was too young to sit for a whole movie and I don't think it was bright and colourful enough to really hold her attention.  So it had been sitting amongst all the other DVDs on our bookshelf for over a year when she pointed to it last week and asked if she could watch it.  I had never seen it either, so I said yes, thinking she may get bored and then I could just turn it off.  

As soon as the movie started, Sonja asked me what was going on and I told her the train was taking little girls and boys to see Santa Claus at the North Pole.  She was hooked.  She asked me question after question throughout the rest of the film, mostly about Santa.  The lead character is a little boy wearing a blue bathrobe and she asked me over and over "What's Blue Boy doing?"  He befriends a little girl wearing a pink nightie and she of course became "Pink Girl".  Of course, my heart rests with little Billie, the boy who lives on the other side of the tracks and who says "Christmas just doesn't work out for me."  

We have watched the movie at least three times in the last few days and I've really enjoyed it as well.  Well, with one exception.  I don't need to see Steven Tyler in a kid's movie, even if he his animated as an elf.  For those who haven't seen the film, after Santa takes off with his reindeer to deliver presents across the world, the elves have a big party and all of a sudden, there's "Elf Steven Tyler" singing some Christmasy song while riding a super-tall unicycle.  What a disappointment; at least it's only for a few seconds.  And the super-tall unicycle was pretty cool.  I need to put this out there, so there aren't any misunderstandings:  I can't stand Steven Tyler.  Can't stand to look at him, can't stand to hear him.  But that's only me; lots of folks think he's great.  Hope we can still be friends.


My all-time favourite Christmas movie is definitely "A Christmas Story".  I recently bought it on DVD, but I had it on VHS for years.  I would play it year round, even in the middle of summer.  It just always makes me laugh.  Every single character, from Ralphie and his brother Randy, to Ralphie's Mom and the Old Man, to the department store Santa and his cranky elves are just perfectly depicted.  I was so sad when I heard Darren McGavin (who played the Old Man) passed away.  No one else could have yelled at the Bumpuses hound dogs or swore at a furnace with such hilarious conviction.   

"Some men are Baptists, others Catholics; my father
was an Oldsmobile man."

"What do you want for Christmas, little boy?"

"Over the years I got to be quite a connoisseur of soap. My personal
preference was for Lux, but I found Palmolive had a nice, piquant
after-dinner flavor - heady, but with just a touch of mellow
 smoothness. Life Buoy, on the other hand... YECCHH!"

Of course, I love the classic Christmas movie fare: "It's a Wonderful Life", "A Christmas Carol" (the black-and-white version with Alistair Sim) and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".  My newer favourite is "The Family Stone".  You can call it a chick-flick if you need to, but I love it.


But getting back to Sonja and "The Polar Express".  Sometimes I like to just sit and watch her as she watches the movie, particularly the scene with Santa, or when something magical is happening.  Her face lights up, she is rapt.  Last night she was watching and I brought out her new advent calendar.  I paused the DVD, explained what an advent calendar is, let her open the little cardboard flap and handed her the tiny chocolate.  She ate it while the movie played and I just watched her for a moment as she snuggled into the couch, sucking on her chocolate, watching her new favourite movie.  Her eyes were wide, watching Santa's elves put the huge star on top of their Christmas tree.  I had to gather her up and kiss her all over.  Her wonder and anticipation for Christmas is truly infectious and I think I'm as excited as she is.  OK, maybe a little more so...

Jett wants a candy cane.  Christmas 2008.