With the Christmas holidays upon us , we are all looking forward to some time to relax. To aid in this here are a couple of my top Christmas watches!
The Holiday
Are you on the hunt for a Christmas movie that doesn’t have an unhealthy idea of what love is (yes, I’m looking at you Love Actually)?
If so the 2006 Romcom, The Holiday may be just what you are looking for.
In this film Iris Simkins, a columnist in London, and Amanda Woods, a film trailer producer in LA, swap homes for two weeks to escape their messy breakups. Although they try to leave their love lives behind, they don’t quite manage to. It’s a wonderful, light-hearted film, with minimal stakes and a happy ending for all involved. There are plenty of laughs and moments of tension that round out the overall romantic plotline throughout the film.
This film is a Christmas classic for me, with great love stories and a perfect cast.
Call the Midwife Christmas Special
Every year for as long as I remember, after the presents have been opened and turkey eaten, my family has settled in for the Call the Midwife Christmas special, which starts the new season. Although details are currently slim on what happens, we do know this year has a double feature rather than a single episode. From current reports, a trip to Hong Kong seems to be in the books for some of the characters, and some more localized trouble in Poplar, where the series is set.
It’s a brilliant show, and whether you choose to go back and binge the whole series and its previous Christmas specials in preparation, or just stick it on in the background, its the perfect way to end Christmas day and always finds a way to tug at my heart strings.
The Knight before Christmas
A medieval English knight is transported to modern day America, where he meets a high school science teacher, and the two fall in love (after she hits him with her car). With the queen of Christmas romcoms Vanessa Hudgens acting as the classic “I don’t believe in love” female love interest, you know it’s going to hit every cringy Christmas trope. There isn’t much more to say about this film, it has a simple hallmark style plot and no particular twists, but its still fun to watch especially if you want to shut your brain off for a little bit.
Is it kind of stupid and full of plot holes, yes, is it still great fun, most definitely!
The Muppet Christmas Carol
This adaptation of the novella of the same name by Charles Dickens, is my top Christmas movie (I’ve already watched it twice this year!).
The story follows Ebenezer Scrooge, a mean, cold lender with a love for money, but a hatred of Christmas. After being visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and yet to come, his outlook on life, and more importantly in this case, Christmas is changed for good. This Muppet adaptation sticks incredibly closely to its source material, only making the odd change to the story overall like removing some of the scarier parts of the original novel, and the supporting cast being Muppets (which was probably obvious!). I cannot recommend this movie enough.
This is by no means an exclusive list of my favourite Christmas films, and I could probably go on for weeks about these movies, but I hope these recommendations can help fill the time away from lectures and bring some Christmas cheer.
