Christmas Movies with Shaun - episode 140
It’s Christmas time. Why not invite Shaun to a conversation about something we both like. Christmas movies. We randomly found a list of the top 20 of all time and went from there. Some on the list were obvious, It’s a Wonderful Life, Love Actually, A Muppet Christmas Carol, and other more recent ones didn’t make the cut like, The Family Stone and The Holiday. There were the earlier ones which I look on fondly, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Not so much for Shaun. His nostalgia is for when he was growing up. Makes sense. It’s like a Venn diagram. His, mine, and the ones we both like in the middle like Daddy’s Home 2.
Then there is the newest contender, Spirited. It’s a musical with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds. My bar for this was so low it was on the ground. Not sure why, no offense to either actor. Maybe it was it being yet another Christmas Carol adaptation. Turns out it was better than I expected and I really did enjoy it. Shaun hasn’t seen it yet but he’s added it to the list of the ones he wants to watch. And I said I’d check out the sequel to A Christmas Story. Who knows, I may add another to my annual viewing list.
Every time I see a movie I am carried away, especially at Christmas. It brings its own special joy.
— RCN
Sharing Christmas Joy
Thoughts from Christmas Movies with Shaun
✨ We had our two grandgirls over for a sleepover. I was really looking forward to spending time with them. The five-year old is at the perfect age to share a Christmas movie or two and I couldn’t wait. After viewing our local Christmas parade, Ron and I were all too happy to have some quiet time. I figured A Charlie Brown Christmas would fit the bill and I was not disappointed.
✨ I think it holds the test of time. I found myself immediately giggling at the Peanuts Gang ice skating. Anticipating the dance scene, it finally came and I laughed with joy over all the different dance moves. Linus breaking into his monologue about the true meaning of Christmas is the pinnacle of the piece. The sound effects are priceless. The music is classic. While I’m still sensitive after all these years to the way the kids treat Charlie Brown, I love that they rally around him at the end. Point made. Kindness matters. Everyone deserves it. Oh, and you may be wondering if the five-year old enjoyed it. Yes, I’m happy to report she did, quite a lot. Even the one-year old sat still and watched the second half with us.
✨ Later in the evening we wrapped a bunch of presents. The five-year old grabbed a few things from around our house to wrap so she could give us something on Christmas. Pretty resourceful I’d say. I didn’t see the things she grabbed but I imagine we will discover soon enough what’s missing. I think Ron is getting a Christmas book. Finally it was time for bed. I did the French lesson for the day on Duolingo. She enjoyed watching and listening. Next I went to the YouVersion Bible app to hear the verse of the day. As we lay together snuggled, which thankfully the five-year-old insists upon, she asked me, Why do you love Jesus so much? I paused a moment and said, Well, I guess it’s because he loves us so much. I hope I handled that question with integrity and simplicity.
✨ I get to have my own belief-system and you get to have yours. I want to honor your own journey in the same way I want you to honor mine. And watching these two girls grow up (along with their cousin, our one grandboy), I will be their cheerleader, someone who wants to encourage them along their own way. It’s what we get to do as loved ones. I’m grateful during this Christmas season for each one of them. And lastly, the five-year old announced that we should all live together, the whole family, (thirteen to be exact) and wouldn’t that be fun. Well, that is something to think about.
It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree that matters. It’s who’s around it.
— Charlie Brown
Side note: this “farm” dress was made by her great-grandmother Gigi for her granddaughter or this one’s mother. She wore it as a young girl and now it is her daughter’s turn who thought it was special enough to wear to the Christmas parade. Pretty special.
