Things To Do For Two

This is date number four of the 12 Dates of Christmas. Watching Christmas movies is one of our favorite holiday traditions. There’s nothing better than settling in on a cold winter night and watching a movie that reminds you of all the good times that come with Christmas. This year we decided to watch Elf. Though it wasn’t an easy decision to make, the night turned out just fine in the end.

SHE SAID:

Every year since we’ve been married we’ve had the tradition of adding a new Christmas movie (or two) to our collection. I’m sure we’ll eventually run out of good ones, but so far in our collection we have Home Alone, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Holiday and the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie.

This year was a bit of a battle of the sexes as I wanted to buy The Santa Clause and Brad wanted to purchase Elf. Since I weaseled my way into getting The Holiday last year, I graciously agreed to his choice.

Elf is one of those movies that I originally hated and now like more and more every time I watch it. I’m not sure where my initial hatred stemmed from, but I think it had something to do with having no prior Will Ferrell appreciation. Brad, on the other hand, has loved Elf since day one, when Zooey Deschanel first appeared to him on screen and changed his life forever.

Elf is actually a pretty funny movie and I’ll watch it any day over A Christmas Carol. That movie is a glorified Christmas horror film that will NEVER make it’s way into my collection…unless maybe if it’s the Muppet’s version.

One movie that I have been trying to get my hands on is a cartoon that aired on CBC back in the 80’s called Bluetoes: The Christmas Elf. I know you can get it on YouTube, but if anyone out there knows of where you can buy it on DVD please let me know!

Our movie date started out pretty well, but ended as many of our mid-week movie dates do – me asleep within the first half hour. I made the mistake of lying down and not eating to keep my brain awake and turned into a limp, unconscious figure. Clearly, I was not a very good date. Learn from my mistakes.

HE SAID:

One of the traditions that my family started during the last few years I lived at home was to watch a Christmas movie on Christmas Eve just before we went to bed. We didn’t just watch any Christmas movie, no no. We watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I love that movie. Sure, I don’t laugh as hard as the first time I saw it, but it still gets me every time.

Susan and I don’t have a specific day that we like to watch Christmas movies on, but instead our tradition is just to buy and watch a new Christmas movie until we run out of ones we’re interested in. I won the battle this year and got Elf. I would imagine this is a love it or hate it kind of movie. I think Will Ferrell’s silliness is perfect in this movie as he plays a human who was raised as an elf. Of course the best part of the movie is Zooey Deschanel, who lights up the screen (and my heart) with every scene she is in.

Anyway, I love watching Christmas movies. For me it’s one of the best ways to get into the Christmas spirit. I remember as a kid being incredibly excited when we would catch a Christmas special on TV.

I think some of my favorite Christmas specials are ones that I can’t find anymore, except on YouTube. Last night I came across the Sesame Street Christmas Eve special. I used to have the audio of it on cassette when I was a kid and I remember listening to it when I went to bed. I also remember enjoying Raggedy Ann & Andy Great Santa Caper, A Muppet Family Christmas, and Babar and Father Christmas.

Watching a Christmas movie is a great date idea. There’s no better way to bring two people together than through a classic movie you both enjoy. It might be a good idea to have a festive treat to eat and to make sure it’s not too late at night if you’re like us and tend to fall asleep easily.

Since our collection includes two copies of Home Alone on DVD, we thought it would be fun to give one copy away to you. Here’s how to win:

The Prize: 1 copy of Home Alone on DVD

How to Enter: Leave a comment on this post about your favorite Christmas movie. Make sure to include your email address so that we can contact you if you win.

Fine Print: Contest closes Friday, December 11th at 2pm ADT (that’s tomorrow, so be quick!) and is open to Canadian and U.S. readers. If you are chosen as a winner we will message you to find out your shipping address. You then have 72 hours to respond to our message.

Winner: We have a winner! The winner of the Home Alone DVD is Cali. I’ll be contacting you shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered.