Advent: Christmas Shows

What television shows or movies must you watch to make the holidays feel complete?

When I was a child, I had to watch all those claymation/stop-animation/whatever-you-call-it Rudolphs and Santa tv shows, plus the Grinch and Frosty. (These seem very scary to me now and we haven't watched them with the kids.)

Then there was "Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas," my all-time favorite holiday show. There are cute furry puppets, lovely songs, a sweet story. And I can just fast forward through the appearances of the River Bottom Band. If the kids were older, we'd be heading to the live stage show of it that's at the Goodspeed Opera House this year. Hopefully they'll do that again. Until then, I have it on DVD.

There was also Little Women, particularly the Wynona Ryder version, that always says "Christmas" to me. Maybe it's all the wonderful scenic shots of Concord in the snow or the dance that Jo and Meg go to or Christmas in the background of several of the scenes.

And for awhile, I enjoyed It's a Wonderful Life, but haven't sat through that recently (should, though--Mama didn't know what the sound of a bell signifies!)

Now, I love Love Actually, with my favorites Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman and that great "All I Want for Christmas" song--it's not the happiest of movies but I like the ensemble cast--Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley--what's not to like?

Mama loves the Peanuts and so there is "Charlie Brown's Christmas," which always makes me feel sad for Christmas trees. It's why we always have a fake one!

Of course, my sister is a devotee of "The Christmas Story," which is hilarious and commands at least one viewing (or a whole disjointed day-long marathon on TBS).

As for tv, we don't watch much anymore, but I would turn on the gingerbread competitions on Food Network or any of their holiday cooking shows. And Mama is now a big fan of "Olive the Other Reindeer."

I wonder what my kids will insist on watching every year? For now, it's the Christmas episodes of "Caillou," "Little Bear," "Dora," "Diego," "Wonder Pets," and the like. But will they add Emmett or Snoopy? Let's hope so.