Front Porch: Readers share favorite holiday films
I’m a Christmas purist. No tree, décor, tunes or movies until the day after Thanksgiving.
However, the takedown lasts a bit longer.
We need the space for our New Year’s Day party, so the tree comes down first. Next, I pack away the Christmas CDs. Gradually, I tuck the nativity, angel choirs, garlands, candles and linens into their red plastic bins. That’s where I put the holiday movies, too.
But this year, thanks to my readers, I’m going to watch Christmas movies through January – maybe even February.
Readers reminded me of beloved films I’d forgotten about or didn’t realize were holiday movies, and they introduced me to some I’ve never seen.
Before we get to the movies, one note I received was in regard to my long-ago column about school winter concerts and it offered validation on my controversial stance.
J. Scott Miller’s father, a clarinetist, taught music education at WSU and served as the president of the Washington State Music Educators Association.
“He required all four of his children to learn at least one instrument,” Miller wrote. “But he never attended our school concerts. He simply could not stand listening to students murder even the mediocre music our school bands and orchestras played.”
However, his dad made an exception when Miller’s eldest son played the trumpet in an All-City Music Concert at the Arena.
“Of course, it was impossible to distinguish any single player’s performance from the hundreds of others, but he put on his game face and complimented our son on his performance,” Miller recalled. “He then told my wife and me, politely, that he would never attend another.”
Vindication, even if delayed, is still sweet.
Back to movies.
Vickie Hertz wrote that she and her husband, Steve, recently enjoyed the comedy “Fred Claus,” starring Vince Vaughn as St. Nick’s troublemaking older brother. But “The Snowman” is the California transplants’ favorite.
In 1970, Steve got an offer to play baseball for Gonzaga University. When they exited the plane via an outdoor ramp that January, they stepped into winter.
“The feather-light snow falling from a black winter night sky was mesmerizing. What a perfect place to come to, to go to school and play baseball. I’m not kidding, it was magical,” Vickie wrote.
That’s why “The Snowman,” a wordless, animated story about a boy who builds a snowman on Christmas Eve that magically comes to life at midnight, remains at the top of their holiday film rotation.
Ann Carey always watches “Love Actually,” (a quintessential millennial-era ensemble romance), “The Holiday,” and “Serendipity.”
“Serendipity,” a 2001 rom-com starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, is one of my favorite films, and I own it; however, I had completely forgotten that the movie begins and ends at Christmas. I can’t wait to watch it again!
I haven’t seen “The Holiday” (2006), which features two women from different parts of the world who exchange homes for two weeks during the Christmas season to escape their heartbreaks. I’m adding it to my watchlist.
This year, Carey snuck in “Sleepless in Seattle,” which begins on Christmas Eve, and the more New Year-related “When Harry Met Sally …,” as an homage to actor/director Rob Reiner.
In addition to mentioning some classic staples, Caryn Alley included “The Christmas Chronicles,” with Kurt Russell, which our family loved.
She also added “While You Were Sleeping,” which I’d forgotten is set during the holidays, and a new one to me, “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” It’s a Hallmark movie, and we don’t have the Hallmark channel, so let me know if I’m missing out.
Jennifer Davis mentioned the action-comedy “Red One,” which we streamed at home, and she reminded me of the wonderful 1947 Cary Grant movie “The Bishop’s Wife.” I’m on the lookout to add that to our collection.
At her suggestion, I’m also on the hunt for another 1947 rom-com, “It Happened on 5th Avenue.”
Scott Thompson thought he was streaming a war drama when he came across “Joyeux Noël” from 2005. Like the award-winning musical “All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914,” the film tells the moving story of the spontaneous ceasefires that occurred between Scottish, French, and German troops in the trenches of World War I, who left their weapons behind for one night to share stories, drinks, and carols.
“The real life drama shows how the power of Christ’s birth can transcend human endeavors – if only for an eve,” Thompson wrote.
Of course, I’m going to watch it, and I’m not going to wait until next Christmas.
The darkness and cold of a Northwest winter can be wearisome. Watching hope-filled Christmas movies seems like a lovely way to dispel the gloom.
I guess I’m not a Christmas purist after all.
Cindy Hval can be reached at dchval@juno.com. Hval is the author of “War Bonds: Love Stories from the Greatest Generation” (Casemate Publishers, 2015) available at Auntie’s Bookstore and bookstores nationwide.