My three favourite Christmas films

It's difficult to narrow it down to three. But, with the Celebrity Jungle finale airing in less than an hour and Sainsbury's 'Melt in the Middle, Smoked Haddock, Leek & Cheddar Fishcakes' roasting in the oven, I am blessed by the incentivising power of a tight deadline.

Here they are in no particular order.

Muppet Christmas Carol

This is the best Scrooge film of them all, and I like to think Dickens would agree. As long as you fast forward through the part where Belle and young adult Ebenezer sing to each other in the park, this movie never disappoints. I sing the opening tune ("There goes Mr. Humbug, there goes Mr. Grim...") all year 'round.



Meet Me in St. Louis

People might not consider this a 'Christmas' movie per se, but I definitely do. It features all of the seasons, but Christmas is where the film reaches its climax, and it's when Judy Garland famously sings 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' in the—SOB—most emotional scene ever.

Part of what makes this movie so good is that the stars are H-O-T-T. Not just Judy, but her older sister (Rose) and her love interest (John Truett, the boy next door). They're all stunning, elegant and charming. Also, it's a comedy! The humour holds up to this day.



Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

My mom rented this from Blockbuster one December of yore and we all begrudgingly agreed to watch it. No offence to Nadinski, but the cover looked shite. Old fashioned. Boring. Lame.

Well, it was actually FANTASTIC. As an outspoken 'It's a Wonderful Life' hater, I was thrilled to finally have a black and white Christmas flick to hang my Santa hat on.

The plot: basically, a Martha Stewart/Blake Lively type woman who writes a weekly homemaking column in the newspaper heads to Connecticut to host Christmas dinner for some war hero guy. It's a big PR thing, but the problem is: she can't actually cook! She's a complete phoney who writes all her columns from a city centre apartment. When she attempts to convince the hunky veteran that she's a married housewife who can roast a perfect turkey, hilarity ensures.

The trailer doesn't do it justice (and its pretty sexist), but here it is anyway:

 

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Runners up:

• White Christmas
• A Christmas Story
• Elf
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
• Home Alone
• Miracle on 34th Street (both versions)

Pulled Andy's Santa onesie out of mothballs today and boy is it cosy.
I might have to retract what I said about onesies two posts ago. 

Frohe fast Weihnachten,

Margaret

P.S. When Googling 'Christmas in Connecticut', I also came across a 1992 re-make of the film, directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. It looks like a real stinker. Don't watch that version by accident.