Tag Archives: Christmas

Chick Chat: Christmas Movies

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year – the time when we get to watch ALL of the best Christmas movies. The only problem? Deciding which ones to sit down with. There are so many good holiday flicks out there, so to help you narrow your list down, we’ve pulled together some of our very favorites. When we decided to do this post, I told Kyle and Meridith that there was no way I could pick just ONE favorite holiday movie. I mean, who can, honestly? I’m wagering no one. I did, however, force myself to limit my selection to three favorites. It was super hard, y’all! Someone fetch me some eggnog!

Numero Uno for me is and will always be A Christmas Story. I remember the first time I watched it in 1985 when I was in fourth grade. It was a cold Christmas, and although I don’t remember what I asked Santa for that year, I will never forget watching it for the first time. I sat next to my deaf grandmother, and her full body belly laughs when Randy shows mom how piggies eat were contagious. Being deaf, grandma couldn’t understand what was being said (we didn’t have a closed caption machine, it was an actual machine you hooked up to the TV back then), but boy she thought that kid sticking his face in mashed potatoes was the funniest thing ever. My grandma had the best laugh, and I think it was because she was deaf. When you can’t hear yourself to be self-conscious, you let it rip full gusto! It was infectious. This movie is such a staple in my family that we have a tradition of watching it while we decorate our tree. I even have my very own leg lamp.

Number two for me is an old movie, Heidi staring Shirley Temple. It’s colorized so it has a special charm about it that can’t be duplicated. It started my forever unfulfilled wish to travel solely by horse drawn sleigh throughout December. My mother loves this movie and we watched it often growing up. Most folks won’t think of it as a Christmas movie, but Christmas is sprinkled throughout the film with the film’s climax taking place on Christmas Eve. The story is a bit rough, involving kidnapping and child abuse, but it’s a Shirley Temple movie, so you know things aren’t THAT bad and there’s of course a happy ending. It’s hard to find, but look, someone uploaded the entire movie here on Youtube. Yay!

Lastly is my very favorite version of the Dicken’s Classic, Scrooge. Why is this one my favorite? I’m a bit of a sucker for Golden Age musicals, and although this was made in 1970, it has great songs, lush costumes and sets, and superb acting from Albert Finney as Ebenezer. It’s a wonderful traditional telling of the classic holiday story. It also has one of my favorite songs in musicals ever, one that reminds me of the humor of Gaston andLes Poisson, called Thank You Very Much. It’s a sad day when all of London comes out to say “thanks for dying, jerk!” Ebenezer deserves it, though. It’s also a hard one to find. Youtube to the rescue again!

ELF

You guys, any movie that has a NARWAL in it gets an automatic A+ from me.

Elf is one of those current classic movies that just makes me laugh and laugh. My entire immediate family can apply so many great quotes from this movie to every moment in our lives. “YOU DID IT! CONGRATULATIONS! World’s best cup of coffee!” for example, is great any time of year, not just during the holidays.

Plus, blonde Zoey Deschanel singing “It’s Cold Outside” gets me every time.

The Polar Express

I love this one because my kids loved this one when they were younger. We used to watch it over, and over, and over.

Sure, the book is better because the book is always better, but I love the songs in the animated movie like Hot Chocolate and When Christmas Comes to Town. Honestly, it just reminds me of when my boys were little. They’re not super little anymore but they still enjoy watching this one with me, so I can pretend.

Love Actually

I’m sure someone else is going to mention this one but I can’t not say it. Because, to me, it is perfect.

Okay, since I’m the one putting this post together, I had to put myself last, because I didn’t want to repeat a movie that was already mentioned! Meridith and Jenn both talked about a few of my faves, but because I have a lot of favorite Christmas movies, I have plenty more to choose from.

Home Alone
This movie typifies early 90’s everything. From the John Williams soundtrack to John Candy to Macaulay Caulkin, Home Alone is a classic. Far better than its sequels, the first story of “Kevin mouths off, gets sent to the attic and accidentally gets left behind” is implausible in all the best ways. The highly adept 8-year-old buying fabric softener and milk is questionable at best, but the running away from the scary neighbor and accidentally stealing a toothbrush in the process is totally believable. The Wet Bandits are delightfully dimwitted and the booby-trapped house is every kid’s dream. It almost goes without saying that Home Alone was second on my list of Christmas movies watched this year.
The Santa Clause
Another 90’s Christmas classic that far exceeded its sequels (seriously, don’t bother watching them). I will never not love the premise of the clause that ropes Tim Allen’s Scott Calvin into becoming St. Nick after the latter falls off a roof and disappears. Allen – at the peak of his ‘Home Improvement’ fame – is fantastically funny. But what I really love about this movie is the emphasis it places on the idea that “seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing” – even grown-ups, for whom Santa is just an idea, can believe in the spirit of the season. The juxtaposition of real life with magic is well thought out and this particular imagining of the North Pole may be my favorite of all time. Two thumbs all the way up.
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Twenty-five years ago, the best version of the Dickens classic was brought to life by some of the greatest actors of all time and Michael Caine. Complete with singing and dancing rats, Gonzo as Charles Dickens and Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit. It’s hard not to like the Muppets – except for that abomination of a song (if you know the one to which I am referring, points to you). I think I watched this movie on repeat for most of my childhood Christmases, a tradition that continues to this day. I haven’t yet watched this year, but because I’m 99% sure that Clay hasn’t seen it, I’ll be remedying that soon. After all, there’s only a few more sleeps til Christmas!
Christmas Vacation
“Why is the carpet all wet, Todd?”
“I don’t KNOW, Margo.”
“Merry Christmas. Shitter’s full.”
“HALLELUJAH, HOLY SHIT.”
That’s all I have to say about this one. Thank you, National Lampoon, for gifting us the Griswolds.
What are your favorite Christmas movies? Do you have any family traditions that involve watching the 24-hour ‘A Christmas Story’ marathon? 

Recipe Box: Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

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Bake. All. The. Cookies.

We all know I love to bake. I’ve been baking all summer, working on finding the perfect recipe for my wedding cake. I instituted #FridayBaking at my office, and often bake Pinterest finds in our office kitchen. So, it should be no surprise that between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I end up baking A LOT of cookies.

This probably has something to do with the nostalgia that baking Christmas cookies carries. As a kid, I can remember enjoying many a cookie-baking day with my mom and my sisters, yelling “OVEN’S OPEN” any time we had to put a new batch in or take a done batch out. Frosting cookies with my Girl Scout Troop. I’ll be home for Christmas this year for the first time in five years, and my mom is already planning what cookies we’re going to make. I can’t wait.

ANYWAYS. When we were invited to a friend’s Thanksgiving dinner, I offered to make a side (Brussels Sprouts with Bacon), but I also decided that I would contribute a dessert. Typically at this time of year, I stick to some family favorites: peanut butter blossoms, candy cane cookies, pecan balls. But, I wanted to try something a little different.

Some Pinterest searching later, and I stumbled upon a recipe for gingerbread cookies from If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen. My interest was piqued. I love gingerbread, but somehow, it doesn’t make it’s way into my regular holiday cookie rotation. As I threw these cookies together, all of the spices and smells got me super stoked for more cookie baking and Christmasing with my family.

Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients

  • 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, but still cool, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 3/4 cup molasses
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

  1. With an electric mixer (either hand or stand) stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and add the butter pieces. Mix at medium-low speed until the mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, about 1 1/2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and, with the mixer running, gradually add the molasses and milk. Mix until the dough is evenly moistened, about 20 seconds. Increase the speed to medium and mix until thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds.
  2. Scrape the dough onto a work surface; divide it in half. Working with one portion at a time, shape the dough into two round disks. Cover them in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, 20 to 30 minutes. Alternatively, refrigerate the dough 2 hours or overnight.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  4. Take the cookie dough out of the fridge and begin rolling the dough into balls, about 2-inches in diameter. Be careful not to overwork the dough as it will lose its chill and get too warm. Roll each dough ball in the granulated sugar until coated. Transfer ball to confectioners’ sugar and roll again until coated evenly. Place the coated dough balls 1-inch apart from each other on the prepared baking sheet.
  5. Bake the cookies until set in the centers, 10 to 12 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool the cookies on the sheets 2 minutes, then remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

What are some of your favorite Christmas cookie recipes?

Holiday PRO Compression giveaway!

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procompressionchristmas1

Just days before Christmas is the perfect time for a PRO Compression giveaway!

As you know, I’m a PC ambassador and love to run and recover in my PRO Compression marathon socks. Since I love this product which also happens to be American-made, I thought sharing a few pairs was the perfect way to say thank you to all of you, our wonderful readers and friends.

Full disclosure: I bought these socks as part of a PC grab bag sale last week, so I had no control over the selected colors of socks. They are size S/M and the socks you see in the photos will be the socks you receive. This giveaway is 100% funded by me and me alone.

rafflecopterproco

Click the pic to enter!

 There will be TWO winners, one for each pair of socks. This giveaway is limited to U.S. residents. It is not sponsored by PRO Compression, so no, we cannot trade these socks for another prize. Retail value for each prize is $50.

The Joy Hangover

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Here’s me being honest: this time of year is a little depressing for me. I’m not sure why. Is it the Christmas decorations still hung up despite the fact that presents have been long-opened and people are crowding into airports, on their way back home after some quality cozy (or maybe crazy) time with extended family? There’s all of this anticipation, this celebration and glitter and family and presents and gratefulness and sometimes a lot of alcohol, and then it’s just done. I mean, yes, it happens every year and it’s wonderful every year, but I think this is what a joy hangover feels like.

Bye, Christmas trees, you are no longer needed.

Bye, Christmas trees, you are no longer needed. (source)

And then, of course, there’s New Year’s. Let me just be honest (I’m making a habit of it) and say that nostalgia is my kryptonite. If I read a book where nostalgia is involved, or watch a movie where nostalgia is involved, or think about my own instances of nostalgia, I’m a goner. So a holiday where the entire point is to think about what the last year has brought you, how you’re leaving it behind, and planning for future greener pastures? Dunzo. I can’t listen to Auld Lang Syne without getting extremely weepy.

Maybe that’s why I’m feeling a little melancholy right now, on top of my joy hangover. The week that stretches between Christmas and New Year’s sometimes feels like a bated breath, or a pause in my life’s movie. Where I’m still living, of course (because, hello, 2-year-olds wait for no man) but at the same time stuck between the year I just lived and the year I’m about to dive headlong into.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what 2015 will bring me, with this weird mix of optimistic expectation and trepidation. 2014 was filled with a lot of new things: new job, new friends, and new places visited, which was a particularly big milestone for me. I never, ever thought I’d get to see Paris, because that required a 12-hour flight over the freakin’ ocean, and no thanks. Except…actually, yes please. It was amazing. Eye-opening. Weirdly liberating, to cast off a preconceived notion about myself (no, Jess, you could never travel internationally. You couldn’t handle it, etc. and so forth).

Yep, I was totally here. At the Eiffel Tower.

Actually in Paris.

I am ACTUALLY. IN. PARIS in this picture.

In this week of suspension and with this tentative new bravery, with all of this change still looming in my rear view mirror, I wonder what 2015 will bring me. Good things, I hope. Probably some flip-side-of-the-coin things, because that’s life, after all.

So, as much as I hate goodbyes – man, I really hate goodbyes – I’m saying it to 2014: You were great, 2014. Nice knowing you. See you never again, unless time travel becomes a thing. And when January 1st comes, I’ll wake up in this new year, press the play button, and go.

How was your holiday season? Big plans for New Year’s? Do you get the Christmas week ennui too? Talk to me in the comments! 

Happy Boxing Day!

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In various countries all over this beautiful blue planet today, people are queuing up to sort out those last little holiday trifles.  In Europe, stores open early and banks are closed in recognition of this day of goodwill.  In ye olde tymes, Boxing Day was a day to give gifts to those in need or in service positions.  It has since become a shopping day, akin to the US Black Friday, where shoppers can score sweet deals on some sweet merch.

Here in the States, Boxing Day takes on a whole different meaning.  I’m spending the day cleaning up Lego boxes and Amazon boxes and clothing boxes torn apart by eager little hands.  I’m packing up red and green boxes with ornaments and decorations to be stored until next year while demolishing little gold boxes of chocolate.  I’m reboxing items that need to go back to the store; duplicate presents from liked minded friends who know us so well.  And I can’t help but think it a chore.  Grumble all the way.

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And this is what won’t fit in the recycling bin.

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Two sets of wireless headphones. They know me so well.

The sheer enormity of what needs to be done to get my house, and my health, back in order is daunting.  All I want to do is drink wine and binge watch National Lampoon movies.   I love Christmas.  I’ve watched Love Actually four times this week.  I’ve indulged in sugar cookies and macaroni and cheese and fine alcoholic beverages.  I’ve enjoyed out of town friends and family immensely and laughed until my belly ached.  But today I’m suffering from a holiday hangover.  I haven’t been to the gym in a week, I need a sugar detox and quite frankly, I’ve been buzzed since Monday.  And it’s not even over yet!  I still have to make it through New Years.

I’ve been supposedly involved in this Holiday Health Challenge at my gym.  And I’ve completely let my team down because I have fallen off the wagon in a big way.  I’ve been so good at monitoring myself throughout this year.  I’ve felt healthy and strong and proud of my accomplishments.  In one short week, I’ve given in to this sluggish, lazy, gluttonous routine that I know I need to leave behind but I just can’t find the energy to start.

How, my fitness family, do you avoid the three signs of the apocalypse: sugar, bread, and alcohol?  I am perfectly fine with indulging on this special occasion, but now that it’s winding down, my biggest obstacle is figuring out how to stop.  I have a half-marathon in two weeks!   “Just get back on track”, they say.  Easier said than done, Pinterest.

I need some out of the box ways to get motivated.  How do you recover from the holidays?  Share with me your wisdom, internet world!

All I want for Christmas

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Editor’s Note: This is not another holiday gift guide. Or is it?

I used to love holiday shopping, heading out amidst the bustling crowds to find the perfect gift for a loved one.

I loved the challenge of the hunt, finding great deals while humming Christmas carols and wrapping each perfect prize in stunning packaging.

My joy on Christmas morning wasn’t about tearing open my own packages under the tree. I loved watching others open their gifts, to witness the joy on a loved one’s face when they unwrapped “the perfect gift.”

santaMe, J and Santa on Christmas Eve a few years back

Somewhere along the way, something changed. Don’t get me wrong, I still love to surprise my friends and family with gifts, particularly when they least expect it. Honestly, it’s such a great joy. But rather than buy my husband another kitchen gadget he doesn’t need, or get my father another book he won’t actually read (but will tell me he did), I’d rather spend time with my loved ones.

I’d rather travel to see them, or better yet, plan to travel somewhere together.

My sister and I stopped exchanging shortly after she moved to Australia. We gift each other when we get together, every few years. I still regularly buy food treats for my parents, as they no longer swap holiday gifts with each other.

I often find random prizes for Meri, and send them along a short time later. (Guess why? Shhh! I can’t keep a secret!) But for the past two Christmas seasons, Meri and I have given each other race entries — specifically entries to a destination race we then run together. In 2012, we headed to Florida for runDisney’s Princess Half Marathon, Meri’s first. And this year, we went to California, where we ran runDisney’s Tinkerbell Half Marathon. (Do we see a trend here?)

Last year, my hubs called a holiday gift-giving truce with his family a few weeks before Christmas. At first I was upset, as I’d already finished shopping for half of the family. Then, I realized, it wasn’t a bad idea.

We had started to focus too much on the gifts we open rather than the people we are blessed enough to have in our lives. In many cases, we were just exchanging gift cards, since we’d gotten busy or were at a loss of what to buy.

treeWhat do we put under the tree?

And often, we weren’t making time in our busy schedules to spend time together. So it all changed for 2013.

We’re not exchanging in my home. We don’t need more stuff. We’re going to enjoy each other, travel and experience life, together.

20131207-215953.jpgEnjoying the season at Rochester, NY’s holiday season kickoff last weekend

Do you love to shop at the holidays? What’s your gift-giving strategy?