Every year I post about some of my favorite Christmas media. Since I refuse to discuss Christmas till after Thanksgiving, it is now finally time to post for this year.
It’s Christmas. Make of it what you will. Maybe it’s a high holy day for you. Maybe it’s really about Santa and the swag under the tree. Maybe it’s just something to be survived. Go for it.
I’m really a kind of old fashioned Christmas boy. Christmas Eve service at church. All our Christmas Eve and Christmas morning traditions. One present Christmas Eve and all the rest Christmas morning. All the decorations and the traditional stuff. I will rejoice in the arrival of the Messiah and the miracle of it all. That’s what it is for me.
In the meantime let’s focus on what we can agree on. Movies and TV specials have become an important part of getting ready for the season. I’m going to enjoy my favorite Christmas specials. I own a copy of just about all of them:
WKRP in Cincinnati Christmas episode – a great show about radio and a great riff on Dickens. This covers so many bases for me personally. At the same time it’s a pretty solid interpretation of the Boz. Sadly, it is still only available on VHS.
A Charlie Brown Christmas – If I only could have only one this is it. It’s amazing how well it holds up after all these decades. Yes, there are issues with how the children act in this story, but that’s fairly true to life. In the end, the spirit of Christmas wins.
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer – love it. Yukon Cornelius and stop action animation. Another one with less than perfect behavior. And again, one where the spirit of Christmas wins in the end.
The Homecoming – Christmas with the Waltons. A truly classic Christmas story. Over the years I have come to love this story of Christmas more and more. It is about love, not presents. It’s about optimism rather than pessimism. I think I will hold this one especially dear this year.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas – animated original only, don’t bring that other one ’round here. The classic tale of love winning out at Christmas time. Never understood the idea of the “live action” version.
Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) – The Alistair Sims version or the Mr. Magoo version both classics. Patrick Stewart’s version is also very acceptable.
White Christmas – yeah, only nominally a true Christmas story but I love it.
A Wish for Wings that Work – OK my natural weirdness bubbles up on this one. This is the Bloom County animated special. It’s very hard to find but my most excellent brother got it for me.
Miracle on 34th Street – the original only thank you very much.
Came across a really cool way to mix things up with your videos as well. Wrap them all and then draw one at random each night. Whatever is drawn is that night’s Christmas viewing. Pretty cool idea.
We also use the “fireplace” video each Christmas morning. That’s very much a part of our tradition. It’s the only video on that morning’s schedule.
Finally, there is the music. I’m pretty traditional there. Lots of “Hark, the Herald Angel Sings” stuff. The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Charlie Brown soundtrack gets quite a work out. Over the years we’ve collected a dozen or so discs of mostly insturmental Chritmas music. I have a variety of the popular and rock and roll stuff but it just doesn’t quite fly for us. So nothing real exciting here.
Do you have a favorite piece of Christmas media? Share it in the comments!
In the meantime, whatever this time of year means to you, may it be a joyous one!
Stories Are My Life 
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