Christmas Happenings- A Holiday Meme, Week Three

'Christmas Happenings' is a meme designed to let you readers in on what makes Christmas special to me. It will be a weekly installment here on the blog until Christmas comes to town! (Which is in five days if you didn't know!)


I'll be making the theme of this years 'Holiday Happenings' a visual one and will be showcasing the holiday specials that share the season with me year after year. You never know, maybe you'll remember a few!

Christmas Happenings meme -- Week Three(ish)

You've seen clips from my favorite Christmas special and the corniest Christmas special. Now it's time for a twist in the format-- Holiday movies. I'm sure you have holiday themed movies you watch every year and (surprise surprise) I have some to! Here are a few movies that I think you need to check out this year!


White Christmas (1954)
Premise: Army buddies and popular song and dance men Wallace and Davis try to save their old generals Vermont inn when the lack of snow causes money to become a big problem. Along the way, their lives get entangled with the Haynes Sisters. What follows is filled with fun, laughs, and tons of great song and dance numbers!

My Thoughts: If you haven't seen White Christmas, go rent it right now. Seriously. It's a classic.


Holiday Inn (1942)
Premise: Crooner Jim Hardy is ready to give up show business and settle down in the country. When his fiancée expectingly leaves him for dance partner Ted Hanover, plans change. Convinced he can make it on his own in the country, he continues on. When country life turns into a nightmare, Jim has a smashing idea-- to open an Inn that is only open for business on holidays. He hires Linda Mason, up and coming dancer/singer, and from there, hijinks, music, and dancing ensue. Holiday Inn is filled with fantastic holiday themed songs, fantastic sets, some sweet dancing with fire crackers, and tons of fun.

My Thoughts: I love this movie. I believe I saw it for the first time seven or eight years ago and from then was hooked. The songs are fantastic and very catchy. And the fire cracker dance number that Fred Astaire does? Fan-Tas-Tic! It's so well done. If anything YT that number.. Or maybe I'll embed it for you. :-)





Since this was made in 1942, be warned that is has a black face number celebrating Lincolns birthday. My own personal opinion of it is that there is no harm done in this number because it was made in a time where people still remembered or had performed in vaudeville and black face was something you saw in those days. 


Miracle on 34th Street (1947/1994) 
Premise: Susan doesn't believe in Santa. But when a man who looks the part comes to work at her mothers dept. store, she begins to wonder...

My Thoughts:  I think we've all seen this movie, so I felt I could keep this premise short and sweet! Both versions are wonderful. I like how each version has a different ending.  It keeps it the same, yet fresh.  And both Santa's are completely believable-- heck, if I saw them I'd probably believe they were Santa, too!


Jingle All The Way (1996) 
Premise: A harried father decides to dream the impossible dream, to get that year's hot toy for his son just before Christmas Day. (Taken from IMDB)

My Thoughts: This is actually a really cute holiday movie. It's a bit corny, yes, but who can't related to wanting to find a hard to find item during the holidays. *cough*Monster High*cough* It's worth taking a look at. Plus, the Gov. of California has always been an entertaining actor to watch.


I'll Be Home For Christmas (1998) 
Premise: A college student experiences difficulty in getting home for Christmas after being hazed by his friends. While struggling to get home in time for Christmas, he learns quite a bit about himself and the true meaning of the holiday. (Taken from IMDB)

My Thoughts: Yes, this movie stars JTT (have I just dated myself calling him JTT and not Jonathan Taylor Thomas?). And yes, it also has Seventh Heaven star Jessica Biel. But it also has a fun script and is an entertaining holiday movie. It's something you might want to check out if you haven't!


There you go-- Five Christmas movie I watch at home during the holidays.  Do you like any of these?  What are you favorite Holiday movies?

Holiday Movies 2010 (Adaptations)

Christmas is quickly approaching and with Christmas comes a great selection of big box office movies. During my youth, it was a common habit to go to a movie on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Why? Because usually there are some majorly hyped movies coming out around that time. What do we have to look forward this holidays season in terms of books turned movies?

*NOTE: This layout cuts off the right side of YT clips.  Click the clip to watch directly from YT if you have trouble!*

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollow: Part 1 from Warner Bros./Release Date: November 19th
We all know this is going to make a ton of money for months to come after it's November release. It's Harry Potter, for goodness sake. This movie will mark the beginning of the end for our favorite teen trio and it's probably just in time, too.

To be honest, I'm looking more forward to Part 2 (release date: July 2011) than this first part, because I happen to have found the second half of 'Deathly Hollow' far more interesting than the first part. That being said, I wasn't a huge fan of the 'Order of the Phoenix' in book form and enjoyed the movie quite a bit... :-)



'Tangled' from Walt Disney Studios/Release date: November 24th
Based on the story of Repunzel, 'Tangled' looks to be a winner and will surely find an audience come Thanksgiving! The Brothers Grimm version of this iconic tale (published in 1812) was originally based on a 1698 story entitled, "Persinette". Goes to show that fairy tales are never really forgotten.



The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader from Walden Media/Release Date: December 10th
Originally published in 1952, 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader' is finally getting the silver screen treatment. The cast has returned to bring the third Chronicles of Narnia book to life. Hopefully Walden has learned from their mistakes on the almost disastrous 'Prince Caspian'.



What movies are you going to see this holiday season?

Before the Movie... Try the Book!

Before you see 'Cirque Du Freak: The Vampires Assistant' in the theater, try this book! Below is a quick review of this great series.

Title: Cirque Du Freak
Author: Darren Shan
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Young Readers, YA, Supernatural, Vampire
Perfect for: reluctant readers and vampire fans alike

If you had to choose to become a half vampire to save your best friends life, would you? Darren, a normal grade schooler, is faced with that question in author Darren Shan's book 'Cirque Du Freak'. The first in a series of 12, this book follows Darren as he gives up everything to save a friend by becoming a vampires assistant. Trails and tribulations ensue as he slowly learns the ways of his new half vampire life.

'Cirque Du Freak' is great for reluctant readers, especially boys. It has a good mixture of action, angst, vampire fun, and most importantly, is an excellent start to an excellent series. Enjoy this read!