Essential Christmas Movies According to an Expert

The Classics

Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Barbara Stanwyck stars as a single city girl and journalist who lives in Manhattan and writes a column about the perfect home life in which she pretends she is actually a young married mother of one who lives in Connecticut. When she has to be interviewed for the holidays, she borrows a Connecticut home, a husband and a baby. Hilarity ensues and a little romance as well. This movie is laugh out loud funny (the baby comes and goes) and way ahead of its time (as are most Barbara Stanwyck movies...cross-reference with The Holiday below where we are told that Stanwyck is the Hollywood star with the most gumption  in her films).

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Although it often bothers me that this is the movie that most of America knows Mr. Jimmy Stewart for (ahem...Vertigo? Rope? Rear Window?), I still enjoy watching it at least once every Christmas. The movie serves as a reminder that it really is a wonderful life (a corny yet true sentiment and a message that is universally overlooked) and the "lasso the moon" scene is one of the most adorably romantic scenes in cinematic history. 

Meet me in St. Louis (1944)

I placed this movie in my "Comfort Cinema" post and it shows up here again. There are Halloween scenes and summer scenes as well but the climactic point of the movie occurs at Christmastime. This movie is, after all, a movie about the importance of home and family. The Smith family builds a family of snow people in the backyard of their St. Louis home and it is the fact that those snow people will be left behind to melt alone when they move to their New York City apartment a few days later that causes the Smith daughters to realize the enormity of their move. Also, several of the elder Smith girls get long-awaited marriage proposals at Christmas, Judy Garland wears a gorgeous red dress and we get our happy Christmas ending wrapped up in a bow. Perhaps the best part of the Christmas scenes? Judy Garland debuted Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas  which thereafter became the classic Christmas melody we all know and love today.

Holiday Inn (1942)

Bing Crosby + Fred Astaire + Irving Berlin=Christmas

The song White Christmas was written expressly for the film and the movie is worth watching just to hear Crosby belt out those notes as smoothly as freshly fallen snow. 

White Christmas (1954)

Irving & Bing are back with White Christmas, the story of a successful song and dance team that partners with two sisters (including Rosemary Clooney) in order to save a failing Vermont inn at Christmastime with their Christmas revue. Of course, they sing White Christmas, the movie's namesake and the song introduced by the earlier Berlin/Crosby partnership, but my favorite song in the entire movie is Snow (as in "I'm gonna wash my hair, my face, my hands with snow!"). 

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

The original Miracle on 34th Street has without a doubt stood the test of time. Natalie Wood plays the little girl and the parade is the actual Macy's parade (instead of the Cole's parade that appears in the later film). The film won several Academy Awards including Best Original Story and Best Writing but just missed out on Best Picture which went to Gentleman's Agreement.

The Year without a Santa Claus (1974)

Did you ever hear of that terrible year, way back before you were born...when Santa Claus took a holiday on the night before Christmas morn...

So starts The Year without a Santa Claus, a story that is part of the Rankin/Bass stop animation family. We learn that Santa Claus is sick and fed up with the lack of Christmas spirit and he declares that he will not be delivering presents for Christmas. Two elves, Jingle & Jangle, join forces with a new reindeer and Mrs. Claus to rouse up some Christmas spirit in Southtown U.S.A. and try  save the holiday. Heat Meiser and Snow Meiser, the two sons of Mother Nature, make brief and entertaining appearances and these two original characters are some of the best created in a Christmas tale.

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970)

Another favorite of the Rankin/Bass film repertoire is this origin story of Santa Claus or Kris Kringle. The movie covers Santa's story from his early days as an orphan, to his career as an outlaw and eventually his status as legendary figure. Fred Astaire narrates. Mickey Rooney is the voice of Kris Kringle.

Contemporary Classics

Elf (2003)

The childlike naivete of thirty-year-old Buddy the elf, an individual who was born human but raised as an elf by Bob Newhart (here known as "Papa Elf") is endearing from the get go.  He eats spaghetti with maple syrup, makes paper snowflakes, throws a mean snowball and joins his love interest in a rousing rendition of "Baby it's Cold Outside" without feeling any awkwardness that he is standing just outside of her shower. Although the Christmas feel-good messages of the importance of family as priority, caring for others and Christmas spirit generally are the same as so many other Christmas tales, this movie gives those themes a fresh spin and Will Farrell is perfection as the clueless but lovable Buddy the Elf.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

 The animated version of this movie is great as well but is more suited for small children. The version starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch and Taylor Momson as a pre-eyeliner/hooker boot Cindy Lou Who (that's a description of Momson's later path...not Cindy) weaves the solid Dr. Seuss fable with a few adult jokes and some dazzling Who-ville set design. My favorite character is Martha May Whovier, mostly because every single time Christine Baranski is on screen as this character she does more than steal the show....she takes it to the top of Mount Krumpet and beyond.

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Usually I dislike remakes, but I love this version of Miracle on 34th Street. The movie itself is beautiful: the Santa suit, Susan's dresses, Dorey's crisp coats and leather gloves, and Dylan McDermott in a turtleneck. The story still resonates as well. I still tear up every time I see the scene where young Susan hands the judge a Christmas card with a dollar bill, causing the judge to realize that he can in fact rule in favor of Santa Claus (and save Christmas!).

Home Alone (1 & 2) (1990 and 1992)

 Most of my friends prefer the original to the sequel where Kevin is lost in New York City. I prefer the latter because nowhere is more beautiful than New York at Christmas and I always fondly recall the scene where his mother finds him at Rockefeller Center in front of the tree when I am walking to work at Rockefeller Center.

Little Women (1994) 

Again, this movie made my Comfort Cinema post as well. The holiday season is about moments spent with family and there is simply no better family to spend it with than the March family (except, perhaps, your OWN family but you will have to turn to home movies/real life for that one). The opening scene in the snow where the girls are caroling always puts me in the holiday spirit. 

Childhood Favorites that Transcend Childhood

Flinstone Christmas Carol

Fred plays Scrooge in the local Bedrock production and it goes to his head. As a result of his method acting he becomes a real-life Scrooge. Predictable but enjoyable...

Muppet Family Christmas

The Muppets gather with their friends from Sesame Street (and Fraggle Rock, children of the 1980s and early 1990s) and spend the holidays at Fozzie Bear's family farm. Heartwarming and the jokes are sharp enough to entertain adults as well as children (at least this adult).

Beauty & the Beast's Enchanted Christmas

A Beast in a forest of evergreen trees, a staff that can throw together an elaborate party at a moments notice, and a story about a hideous creature who turns out to have a heart of gold create the perfect foundation for a holiday tale. The story is told through flashbacks back to the first Christmas Belle and the Beast spent together. An enchanting movie for Disney fans, it elaborates on the original instead of deviating from the traditional story (ahem, Cinderella sequels).

Christmas Movies for Adults

Bad Santa

This movie does not start as your typical holiday fare (Billy Bob Thornton is in it, after all). He plays a man who poses as a mall Santa Claus during the Christmas season and then steals from the store once the season ends. An alcoholic and a generally not nice person, Billy Bob finds his heart when a little boy with a particular love for advent calendars and sandwiches takes him into his home and shows him a little unconditional love. Few movies can as effectively transition from heartless to heartwarming.

Love Actually

Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant and a few of our other favorite Brits star in this multi-story tale about finding love at Christmas time. The movie achieves the impossible in making us care about each of the storylines. You will be rooting for each of these couples in the end. Be sure to look out for January Jones in her bit part as a girl in a Midwestern bar enamored with a young British tourist and his accent.

The Holiday

I could talk endlessly about Cameron Diaz's outfits, Cameron Diaz's house, Ed Burns and Jude Law. There is also an endearing story here and a little Kate Winslet as well (although the casting of Ms. Winslet as the dowdy Iris challenges believability). If you are planning a ski vacation or simply want to feel as though you are on one, check it out for ski chalet clothing inspiration. Absent the sartorial splendor and architectural porn, The Holiday succeeds most at offering a warm holiday tale that delivers a happy ending with the unparalleled style that we have come to expect from a Nancy Myers film.

The Family Stone

A quirky and tight knit Massachusetts family (ruled by matriarch Diane Keaton and that guy from the TV show Coach) meets their son's uptight Manhattan (works in finance) girlfriend (Sarah Jessica Parker). Unexpected hijinks ensue (and unexpected is hard to come by in most holiday fare). The entire cast of characters is entertaining and you will end up wanting to spend Christmas around their dinner table or at least wanting to spend a little longer watching their antics on screen.

A Category of Its Own

Muppet Christmas Carol

Greatest Christmas movie ever...and I am not alone in my praise. Top publications often include this movie as one of the best film interpretations of the Dickens classic. Michael Caine and Kermit the Frog star as Scrooge and Bob Cratchit respectively. People who are wary that it is (a) a children's movie and (b) a too often told tale always come away from this movie confirming that I am, in fact, right in my belief that this film is utterly fantastic and the best way to inspire a little holiday spirit.
 

Happy Holidays!

Dressing the Table

How to dress the turkey is not the only ritual of adornment required for a holiday dinner. Dressing the table and setting the general ambiance is just as important to setting the holiday mood (I voice this truism at the risk of sounding Pippa-esque in my excessive simplicity).

The perfect candles, dishes, flowers, table cloth and even apron can change the mood of the entire day. Here are some Thanksgiving decor tips on how to dress your table before (or after) you dress your turkey.

Williams-Sonoma Champagne Flute

Matching Wine Glasses Available as Well

The gold rim gives these glasses a special holiday feel.

Williams-Sonoma Taper Candle Holders

My mother always places these all around the table in addition to two larger taper candles in the center of the table. She does it at Thanksgiving and Christmas (and sometimes Easter as well) and the result is that the entire table seems to glow.

Caspari Gold Taper Candles

For the larger tapers in the center, the gold adds to the overall glow. I am sure I have listed these on this blog before but the Caspari gold tapers are my favorite for fall and holiday parties.

 

Bernardaud China

This china is basically my "reach" china in life but should I ever reach those heights, it would look beautiful on a Thanksgiving table.

 

Pottery Barn Carson Plaid Tablecloth

Rustic Placecard Holders 

Instructions Below Courtesy of Martha Stewart

Tools and Materials
Floral shears
Evergreen branches (about the thickness of a pencil)
Hot-glue gun
Card stock
Calligraphy or felt-tip pen
Small evergreen sprigs

1. With floral shears, cut slim evergreen branches into 4-inch segments.Trim off any nubs.

2. Holding two segments of about the same thickness, adjust them to fit together snugly -- this might
require some twisting, turning, and further trimming.

3. Turn pair of branches over; run a line of hot glue across the pair's width, 1/4 inch from each end. Let dry.

4. Write a guest's name on a 1-by-2 1/2-inch piece of card stock.

5. Slip place card into holder; tuck a small evergreen sprig into one end.

Cranberry Topiaries as Centerpieces

Instructions Courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens

Using half toothpicks, skewer fresh cranberries to various sizes of foam balls, available at local crafts stores. Cover the foam completely with berries. Rest the balls on top of shapely glass, silver, or mercury glass candlesticks to create statuesque topiaries.

Transfer this simple gift wrapping look into a napkin ring concept

Tie a linen napkin with linen or twine and stick a sprig of evergreen inside.If you do not have the time to make the place cards, attaching a simple label to the ribbon or twine (as seen here) can serve the dual purpose of napkin ring and place card holder.

Etsy Choisette Apron

In my opinion, the best hostess apron whether in the burlap shade or the more holiday appropriate red.

Make edible holiday ornaments as party favors for your guests

You can use either a sugar cookie or gingerbrad recipe. I like these recipes from Good Housekeeping (they are the recipes my family uses every year!). Finish them off with twine to maintain the rustic holiday theme.

Sugar Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies

 Happy Thanksgiving!

I Would be Proud to Partake of Your Pecan Pie

When Harry Met Sally has numerous hilarious scenes, one of which is almost entirely improvised. The scene I am referencing is Harry awkwardly asking Sally out on a pseudo-date. He attempts to hide his awkwardness by turning the exchange into a lesson on how to speak in a funny accent that he tells her he has devised for them to speak to each other for the day. The phrase he uses to show her the staccato of the accent? "I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie". The phrase was Harry's inelegant way of asking Sally to a movie and the phrase will now also serve as my inelegant way of introducing the promised pecan pie recipe.

The Scene

The Pie 

Southern Pecan Pie

3 eggs

2/3 C. sugar

Dash salt

l Cup dark corn syrup

1/3 C. melted butter or margarine (I use butter)

******************

1 C. to 1 1/2 C. pecans

******************

1 9- inch unbaked pastry shell

Beat eggs thoroughly with sugar, salt, corn syrup, and melted butter.  Add pecans.  Mix pecans and batter.  Pour into unbaked pastry shell.

Bake in moderate oven (350) 50 minutes or till knife inserted halfway between outside and center of filling comes out clean.  Cool pie before serving.   

A Thanksgiving Appetizer

No, this post is not about appetizers but the post itself is a taste of the holiday to come (next week already!).

(Classic Hand Turkey proving my role as a traditionalist)

I love Thanksgiving but I pretty much hate Thanksgiving food. Hate is a strong word. Thanksgiving food is not my favorite part of the holiday season with a major exception in the form of my grandmother's pecan pie.

(Pecan Pie Picture from Food and Wine...I promise my grandma's pie looks even better)

I am, however, a big traditionalist and I do not want to eradicate all aspects of Thanksgiving thoroughfare (and, after all, you can walk it all off on Black Friday).

(A visual representation of Black Friday...or a soccer match...one of those)

Here are my ideas for a Thanksgiving update, keeping all of the tradition but eliminating the heavy gravy/mashed potato/I should have worn expandable pants and need to fall asleep now feeling (well, you might still feel the latter part but you will be significantly more satisfied). 

Warning: These dishes are not meant to be consumed in tandem.

Food divided by the necessary flavors:

Butternut Squash (3 ways)

Butternut Squash Lasagne 

Recipe courtesy of Giada

Eat pasta & squash & cheese and look like Giada! Ok, not really, but this Italian take on the fall favorite will be delicious even if it may not make you look delicious. I made it at my 2010 Christmas party and there was nothing left at the end of the evening.

Parmesan Roasted Butternut Squash 

Recipe Courtesy of Gourmet Magazine

The roasting aspect at least appears to make it slightly healthier and the Parmesan aspect certainly makes it infinitely tastier. 

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto with Sugared Walnuts 

Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine  

Still a side but with more layered fall flavors...

Turkey (3 ways)

Turkey Osso Bucco 

Recipe Courtesy of Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop

Allowing a change from the standard stuffed turkey, turkey osso bucco is still rich and decadent but with a simpler blend of flavors.

Turkey Chili 

Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Light

This turkey chili is incredibly light and with the addition of the lime and cilantro it is refreshing as well as comforting.

Turkey Bolognese 

Recipe Courtesy of Giada 

Full disclosure: this recipe is a personal favorite and as a bonus the ingredients are cheap and it is incredibly simple to execute (not to mention, it is DELECTABLE).

Cranberries (3 ways)

Oatmeal, Cranberry & Chocolate Chunk Cookies 

Recipe Courtesy of Giada

Cranberry sauce is my least favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal (except for MAYBE gravy). Dessert is my favorite part. Forgetting about the sauce and putting that cranberry flavor into a dessert instead? Brilliant!

Holiday Sticky Buns 

Recipe Courtesy of Ina Garten

...Or have those cranberries as a decadently sweet breakfast (after all, you have to WARM UP for dinner)  

Mixed Grain Pilaf with Cranberries and Pine nuts 

Recipe Courtesy of Williams-Sonoma

So you just HAVE to have cranberries with the main course? Put those cranberries in more of a supporting role with this simple Williams-Sonoma recipe (also check out that website's Cranberry Sorbet which I resisted putting on here since that would be 7 dessert-like things).

Stuffing 

Is pretty good---if you want to splurge in an area that is not dessert, this food should be first in the running and perhaps (definitely) deserves its very own post.

Potatoes (3 ways)

Crispy Lemon Potatoes 

Recipe courtesy of Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop

For those of you who still harbor some skepticism when it comes to GP's cooking prowess, you will be happy to know she has the official seal of approval from Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue's food writer. So cease your "she's too skinny to know anything about food" comments and try these potatoes with a refreshing citrus-y twist.

Sweet Potato Fries 

Recipe Courtesy of Giada

I don't love fries or sweet potatoes (am I allowed to admit that publicly?) but I love these sweet potato fries and I am certain you will as well! These fries were also a hit at the aforementioned holiday party. 

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter 

Recipe Courtesy of Giada

So apparently I dream of being Italian but gnocchi is a pasta made from potatoes and this version includes the holiday-apropos sweet potato AND maple and cinnamon so this dish is basically Christmas on a plate (you're welcome).

Dessert (4 ways---the most essential part of the meal clearly gets an extra shout out)

Maple Pecan Pie 

Recipe Courtesy of Ina Garten

Not as amazing as my grandmother's pie (recipe to come as soon as she e-mails it to me/figures out e-mail), but Ina Garten will most likely not have to be banished from the Hamptons in shame. This pie is an incredibly delicious alternative to Irene O'Brien's original.

Peanut Butter Cookies 

Recipe Courtesy of Betty Crocker WITH a Variation (ADD SOME KISSES...CHOCOLATE THAT IS!)

These cookies are my favorite at the holidays (they are amazing as a side to pecan pie). Just make the Betty Crocker Peanut butter cookie recipe but instead of making the fork indentations, add the kisses on top as soon as they come out of the oven. The best result occurs if you do half the cookies with milk chocolate (for other people) and half the cookies with dark chocolate (for me). Also, it is VERY important to roll the peanut butter cookie dough balls in LIGHT brown sugar before you bake them because (a) dark brown sugar will cause the cookies to be too crispy and (b) if you are going to have dessert, do not skimp on the sugar.

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Recipe Courtesy of Kraft WITH a Variation

 (ADD SOME MINT TRUFFLE HERSHEYS KISSES CHOPPED INTO LITTLE PIECES INTO THE BATTER--IT WILL TASTE LIKE A MELTED PEPPERMINT PATTY WITH EACH AND EVERY BITE--WHICH IS WHY I AM YELLING RIGHT NOW...THAT'S EXCITING!)

I think I said it all in the title except I created this variation as a gift to my little brother and that is why I am his favorite sister.

Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie

Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Light

Pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ice cream and brandy means that, yes, Christmas has come early this year.

Coming up Roses

The perfect scent is one of the most personal aspects of a person's toilette. When it comes to choosing a scent, it is important to drown out outside opinions. There are dozens of celebrity perfumes, mostly by people who do not seem like they would smell particularly lovely (I will not name names but you know who I am referring to...). There are the scents that have cult followings. Marilyn Monroe allegedly slept in nothing but Chanel No. 5. Estee Lauder's Youth Dew, Clinique's Happy and various Ralph Lauren scents all have a loyal fan base.

Babies always smell deliciously of Johnson's Baby Lotion & Baby Powder. My first perfume was Baby Soft, a powdery smelling drugstore fragrance designed for little girls. As I grew older, I experimented with popular fragrances of the moment: Davidoff Cool Water & Ralph Lauren Romance. When I was fifteen, I discovered my first scent that I identified as truly mine: Michael Kors. The scent avoided those overly floral, sweet notes that had dominated my perfume selections up to that point. My sisters liked the scent so much that they both purchased it as well. To make it more uniquely my own, I stopped at a lotion/perfume boutique in Martha's Vineyard one summer and had them mix the scent of Hanae Mori (another cult perfume) into a body lotion. The smell of the Hanae Mori diluted in the lotion mixed with the Michael Kors was divine. However, once I ran out of the lotion and was far from Martha's Vineyard, I could not seem to get the same ratio of the two scents by other means (even through the Sephora-bought actual Hanae Mori lotion).

Around the same time, I was on vacation at the Breakers in Palm Beach with my family (I always seem to have my olfactory senses heightened on vacation) and smelled something amazing in one of the stores on the grounds: Acqua di Parma Blue Mediterraneo in Mirto di Panarea. It was light, not too flowery but still so memorable that over the next few days my mind kept wandering back to that smell. I purchased it on the last day and nearly four years later I wear it still. I am not certain if the Acqua di Parma scent is "the one", the scent for me for a lifetime. Some days I cannot smell it at all but people say that is the sign of a good perfume. Nonetheless, for now, it belongs to me and when my bottle runs dry later this month I will rush out to reclaim it as my own.

Oh Sandy: How you were Almost my Grinch

There are only two things I could think of the past two days:

1. The song from the movie Grease "Oh Sandy..." that Danny Zuko sings. and
2. My Christmas Tree

In reference to number one: yes, there was a period in my life where I watched this incredibly cliched movie on repeat and made the children who lived next door dress up as Grease characters and sing along to the soundtrack with me. The Grease-obsessed phase of my childhood (I was eleven or twelve) is not something I often like to relive.

A part of my childhood I DO like to relive is my tendency to begin the celebration of Christmas in October. When I was younger (college-aged and below), I began to decorate around October 1st. As a semi-adult, I decorate around...well, now.

I put up my Christmas tree two days before Hurricane Sandy arrived and was scared the entire time that the window would be demolished and all of my ornaments would break (Nutcracker themed...with the exception of my Wizard of Oz ruby slippers ornament....2 other obsessions/remnants from childhood). Now that I can confidently report the survival of my tree AND its accoutrements, it is time to continue the Christmas decorating with the perfect holiday wreath...preferably something clean, traditional and modern to counterbalance the slight kitsch factor of having a themed tree.

Etsy Boxwood Wreath

 

Etsy Red Berry Wreath

West Elm Felt Ball Wreath

Crate & Barrel Olive Wreath

Pottery Barn Lit Boxwood Wreath

Frontgate Manzanita Branch

In Honor of Abandoned Blogs and Buildings

My last blog post was over a month ago...how tragic! I hope you have not all left this domain name forever. In the spirit of the holiday season (and in returning to an abandoned place), I am including in this post a few costume ideas inspired by some of my favorite films. I will begin with Rocky Horror Picture Show (hence, the abandoned place reference) and end somewhere a little brighter to reflect the positive things to come:

First & foremost, couples costumes I have always wanted to try:

 Brad & Janet 

Rocky Horror Picture Show

Miss Piggy & Kermit

Assorted Films

 

And if you are going solo:

 Melanie Daniels

The Birds

Eliza Doolittle

My Fair Lady 

Or with a group of friends:

Troop Beverly Hills

Troop Beverly Hills

 

 

The Tennenbaum Family

The Royal Tennenbaums