A-jinglin', a-carolin', and gettin' with the Christmas feelin', yo

Tis the season... almost. I don't really count Christmas season as starting until after Thanksgiving, but I've been pre-planning so that this year, while I don't have a lot of money to spare, I can't help but be thinking about the holiday. I think we all know that once you get to be an adult and start to have to pay for all the trappings, make the dinner and be nice to family members you wish would go away forever, it's not all warm fuzzies.

So, Hollywood comes to the rescue! I went through my collection and wrote down all the movies that give me the cheap Christmas thrill, and wanted to share them in spite of the fact that I know not all my choices would be standard fare for the Average American Family. But none of you are that, are you? Noooooo. So the titles and the why of them:

• Auntie Mame -- Because we need a little Christmas!
• Bell Book and Candle -- Takes place around the holiday and is a really off-beat take on it.
• The Bishop's Wife -- Somehow the presence of Loretta Young always makes it feel like Christmas.
• A Charlie Brown Christmas -- The only thing that could make this better is if it'd had the original Coke commercials in it.
• A Christmas Story -- Simply the most brilliant Christmas comedy ever.
• The Cheaters -- Too few people know this film. They used to show it on a local station on Christmas Eve, but then it fell off the radar. Last year TCM showed it for the first time, and I'm hoping that gets to be a tradition over there.
• Comfort and Joy -- Offbeat little film about a war over ice cream. Stars the wonderful Bill Patterson.
• The Dead -- Set on 12th Night, but I'll use any excuse to watch what is one of my favorite films.
• Desk Set -- November through early January. Much wit, craziness and good cheer. Warm and wonderful.
• Die Hard -- Don't YOU celebrate Christmas with 'splosions?
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas -- The original cartoon. Do NOT speak to me about Jim Carrey's version.
• Fanny and Alexander -- The first hour or so is one long Christmas party, and no matter how dark it all becomes afterwards, that sets the tone.
• Holiday -- My favorite Hepburn/Grant pairing.
• Holiday Animated Classics -- This was a special release from a local furniture company. Hardrock, Coco and Joe is the draw here but the disc also contains Suzy Snowflake.
• The Lion in Winter -- Movies about dysfunctional families coming together at Christmas are always great.
• Little Women -- Yes, I know there's only one Christmas scene, but c'mon! Little Women for heaven's sake!! Any version, really.
• The Man Who Came to Dinner -- Frickin' hilarious film starring Monty Wooley as the irascible Sheridan Whiteside.
• Meet Me in St. Louis -- Again, only one part is about Christmas, but if you can listen to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" without weeping like a baby, you can strike it off the list because you're probably not human anyway.
• Miracle on 34th St. -- Again, the original only.
• She Loves Me -- Any musical that has a number like "12 Days 'til Christmas" is a Christmas musical Period.
• The Shop Around the Corner -- The play that She Loves me was based on. The Stewart/Sullavan pairing is irresistible, too.
• The Snowman -- Lovely, wistful animated short.
• We're No Angels -- No seriously, nothing says Christmas like convicts on Devil's Island, plotting murder. Original only!!

Yet another update

I have written 33,252 of 50,000 words. I am now 66.5% done! no frills wordmeter