I admit it. I have never seen "It's a Wonderful Life." Sure it is the quintessential Christmas movie full of morals, great messages and Christmas Cheer. But I haven't seen more than 4 minutes of it in my life. Just the part about the angel getting its wings and the part where the guy (Gary?) runs down the street and yells Merry Christmas to the movie theatre. Am I missing out? I guess it was never really a part of holiday traditions at my house. Nor was "White Christmas." Nor was "A Christmas Story." Somehow I have managed to see both of those. My friend Cha grew up on "White Christmas" so we watched that at her house one year. I found it lovely, but not really something I would do on a yearly basis. I think "A Christmas Story" is hilarious, but I don't know if I have ever sat down and watched it from start to finish. I think, in total, I have seen it about 42 times, but mostly in 5-20 minute segments spread over the course of my life.
I also am saddended by the overexposure of the following Childhood Christmas Favorites: Rudolph, Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Remember when those were "specials" and it was this magical night when they were on and you would watch and be filled with joy? When we were kids we would say that CBS stood for "Charlie Brown Specials" so that we could remember which channels to tune in to. And the funny thing is that I don't really remember ever knowing for sure when these shows we be on, nor do I remember my parents telling us. It was like it entered the collective consciousness of The Children of the world and we just knew. But now those shows are on DVD, and their soundtracks are playing at Barnes and Noble and you can buy Rudolph action figures and it all just seems so cheap and tawdry.
So what Christmas shows will my kids have fond memories of? Are there ones we are missing and should be tuning into? Heaven knows the Tivo is hurting for quality programming to take us through to the New Year. So I beseech you, gentle readers, what should we Tivo for Christmas time viewing? And am I missing out because I have never see "It's a Wonderful Life?" My Christmas spirit is in your capable hands.
2 comments:
As the second Becky, I must say that YOU ARE MISSING OUT because you haven't seen IAWL. Jimmy Stewart is the man. And it's GEORGE BAILEY. Gary? Honestly. It's one of my favorite movies. Granted, it's old school, so be patient with it. But so great!
Josh,
Ken, here. We just watched It's a Wonderful Life on Saturday night. I had seen it once in college, but couldn't remember it well. I enjoyed it. I forgot how very many witty moments there are. When George steals Mary away from her date and says to her date's face, "Oh, why don't you stop annoying people?!" That's funny. I have had the very same emotions over the Christmas Specials this year. I can remember the adrenaline thumping through me, and the magic in the air as the opening credits of any of those specials would start rolling. And now they are on demand, at any moment, and playing regularly at the Craig House all through the season. My kids watched "Elf" last year exactly 7,362 times. This year, they were enchanted by the original "Home Alone." (They will NEVER see the sequels.) If you are looking for some other, lesser-known gems that your kids might like, mine also enjoy "A Wish For Wings That Work" (starring Bloom County's Opus), Disney's "Mickey's Christmas Carol," and Disney's "Small One." Be careful with "Small One." Roxanna, my 3 year old, would bawl uncontrollably at least three times in each viewing (I don't know where she gets it), but would sing the song incessently and insist on watching it over and over. "Just because I cry doesn't mean I don't like it." They also enjoy "The Berenstein Bears' Christmas Tree."
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