a muse + delight: Favorite Holiday Flicks

Give treats. Play tricks.

Pumpkin in everything.

Hot cider. Warm hearths.

Nick, Frosty and Charlie.

Bubbly here, bubbly there.

Sprinkle your house with red.

Drink cream. Bake men.

Wrap to your heart's content.

Create. Give thanks.

I and we. Celebrate.

Spring rejuvenates and refreshes. Anticipation seems to sprout lazily on tree limbs and crawl over lawns. Summer infectiously invigorates; light, color and mood are bright. I think, however, that my favorite time of year is the fall to winter bridge. There is more ready opportunity for celebration in October, November and December than there is in all other months combined. More people are in kind, festive moods, enjoying themselves and helping others enjoy themselves as well.

The lines above list a few of my favorite things about this "holiday bridge". I love holiday concerts, ballets and plays, but I also like to watch a Christmas movie here and there to inject a little jolly. In need of an instant holiday pick-me-up? Rent a few of these online or locally and check tv listings here:

1. White Christmas

I love, love, love technicolor movies, especially those featuring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Irving Berlin was b-r-i-l-l-i-a-n-t. Listen to one of his songs and your happy-meter reading does a little jump. The soundtrack from this movie is perfect holiday fare...

White Christmas (duh!), The Best Things Happen When You're Dancing (not a newsflash!), Sisters, Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep, Snow (snow, snow snow...), What Can You Do With a General, Love You Didn't Do Right By Me. Then there's Bing's Mele Kalikimaka, which I discovered in the last few years (believe it or not).

2. The Holiday

Watch the movie, want the cottage. And Jude's character's house. And a vacation at Cameron's character's house. And Jack's character to write you a theme song. Oh, and Sophie and Olivia, too.

3. A Charlie Brown Christmas

A timeless, childhood classic. Even now, as an adult, I drop everything and run to the tv when Charlie Brown holiday specials are playing.

4. Little Women (1994)

Perfect adaptation of the novel. Terrific cast. Gorgeous scenes.

5. Love Actually

One of the best collection of short stories on-film. Fabulous cast. Alan Rickman is amazing. The soundtrack is great too. You'll be singing along to the movie and the silent types watching with you will have to gag you.

6. Mickey's Christmas Carol

Short but so sweet. Plus, it's Mickey, the all-time king of cartoons.

7. The Santa Clause

Tim Allen is just fantastic in this movie. I love the north pole, Judy the Elf ("Thanks, but I'm seeing someone in wrapping.", "Seeing isn't believing. Believing is seeing."), and Charlie with the super pinch-able cheeks.

8-9. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & Santa Clause is Coming to Town
The misfits. Need I say more? High-tech animation can't touch this.

10. Samantha: An American Girl Holiday

An old-fashioned story. I never owned an American Girl doll, but I loved them. Although I was part tomboy, I also loved history and Victoriana, in which the scenes are pretty rich.

11. A Christmas Carol (1951)

I like black and white movies and that isn't the reason I prefer this version...

12. Home Alone 1

Macaulay was hilarious. I think every kid has shared at least one of Kevin's thoughts at one time.

13. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Natalie Wood was a huge talent at such a young age. She played a great vulnerable little skeptic.

14. Frosty the Snowman

Can you remember the lyrics? For some reason, they just don't stick with me. Frosty the snowman was a jolly, happy soul, with a... and I resort to humming.