Christmas & it's time to watch movies

First snowfall on the canal

It's snowing. Again. It's all perfectly Christmas-y, all white like a dusting of icing sugar and looking like a greeting card. But it's snowed so much and the nation is pretty unprepared: roads and sidewalks aren't clear and it just takes so long to get anywhere. A middle of the night hospital trip with Calum (he's fine, just mild croup - all very exciting), turned into a hike across the Links, because we couldn't dig the car out and taxi service here in the ice and snow. 

With Peter sick (Calum's better. Thank G*d) all I want to do is curl up and watch movies. 

So when the Guardian posted this http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/dec/15/peter-bradshaw-favourite-christmas-movies on their website, I started making a list of my own Christmas movies. I'm not a huge Christmas person, the sentimentality and religious stuff drive me up the wall. As for the movies - well, the obvious ones like It's a Wonderful Life, don't really work for me. Sometimes it's not a Christmas movie per se but just something that I always seem to see over the holiday season. A friend used to associate 007 movies with Christmas because that's what her family used to watch. I feel the same about The Sound of Music. 

My Christmas Movie List, in no particular order: 

Christmas Crafts with Sarah and Calum

• Lethal Weapon - a pre-wage wad Mel Gibson is great in this action movie with fantastic Christmas music. Great to watch while writing Christmas cards.   
• Home for the Holidays - not really a Christmas movie (it's set at Thanksgiving) but it's about the holiday season. Just a great movie, directed by Jody Foster and starring a tweaky Robert Downey Jr. 
• Die Hard (both the first and second movies) - more great movies to watch while writing Xmas cards. The baddies are so over the top they completely make up for any family sentimentality at the end. 
• Trading Places - watched it ages ago and remember liking it. But the Guardian was so positive about it, I rewatched it and realized how great it is. I wanna watch it every Xmas.
• Love, Actually - over the top? Yes! As I described it to Peter: a little like eating too much creme brulee. Sweet and yummy leaving one with a sugar high but happy and satisfied. Not something you'd want everyday but once a year is great.

That's my list - anything you think I should add?