Traditions

I know I've written a lot about Christmas thus far... but you best get over it if you're sick of Christmas posts by me, because here's another!

Lately I've been doing the things I do every year the few weeks before Christmas... watching particular movies, listening to certain albums of music, eating certain goodies and decorating. So I wanted to lay out my Christmas traditions I've developed over the years. Some are traditions I've had since I can remember... I've been doing some of them forever. Others are more recent and influenced by the people I've met since high school.

So here goes:

1. The Santa Clause

I've been watching The Santa Clause since I was around 9, or whenever it came out. I even remember seeing it in theatres with my mom and sister. Every single year since, I've watched this movie. I typically watch it with my mom when I'm in Nanaimo. This year I watched it when I was home for the first weekend in December. Last year my mom bought all three movies - I like the other two even though they're super cheesy, but I don't feel the desire to watch them every year like the first. I've always loved Tim Allen, and this movie is just so joyful and sappy and funny! It's one of my favourites Christmas traditions. I also love Bernard!

Scott Calvin discovering he's the new Santa

Good old Bernard from the first movie!

2. Raffi Christmas Album

Ok, this one makes me super lame, but I've always loved Raffi's Christmas album... as a kid, we owned it as a record. A few years later, my mom bought it for me as a CD, and I've been listening to it every year ever since. Yes, I know I'm 24. But it's awesome!

Raffi's Christmas album cover

3. A Christmas Carol

This is my mom's Christmas tradition that has also become my own. I love this movie - it's a serious version of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, where Scrooge is played by George C. Scott. It is just really well done, and has always been something we watch a couple of days before Christmas at home.

Scrooge is such a happy dude when he discovers the joys of Christmas!

The DVD cover of A Christmas Carol

4. The Muppet Christmas Carol

My Mom definitely humours my sister and I when we want to watch this every year... I'm 24, Elyssa's 29, but we watch this every year without fail. Truly, it is amazing! Michael Caine is Scrooge and Kermit the Frog plays Bob Cratchit, and Miss Pippy plays Mrs. Cratchit! Oh it's so awesome. Blake and I have also started watching A Muppet Christmas Carol together every year, as well.

A Muppet Christmas Carol

Michael Caine discovering the true meaning of Christmas!

5. Elf

Although Elf is a relatively new tradition of mine, it's certainly one that will continue to be a holiday favourite for years to come. This movie cheers me up, it makes me happy... And it has so many good quotes... I like Will Ferrell, but in a lot of his movies he's just ridiculously silly... but I just love him as Elf. The entire movie is just so adorable! In fact, I typically watch Elf more than once per Christmas season... this year I've watched it twice! In 2007 I think I may have watched it like 5 or 6 times with various people. My Mom can't stand Will Ferrell, so it's not one of the movies we watch at home every year.

The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear!

Elf DVD cover

Will Ferrell as Elf

6. A Charlie Brown Christmas & A Charlie Brown Christmas Album

This again, is a more recent holiday tradition, as I only actually watched A Charlie Brown Christmas for the first time in 2006, I think. It was actually my roommate of the time, Alison, along with having worked at Starbucks, that introduced me to the joys of both the movie and the album. I love the movie, but I must say that I prefer the album. I'm a big fan of that kind of jazz, and I listen to the music pretty much all December long every year.

The end of the movie, singing Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

Picking out the tree

Charlie Brown Christmas Album by Vince Guaraldi Trio

7. It's A Wonderful Life

Again, this is a more recent holiday tradition. I only started to appreciate this movie a couple of years ago, but since I have, I watch it with my mom every year. I don't particularly like old, black and white films, but I quite like James Stewart, and there's just something about this movie that I really like. The majority of it is so sad... poor George Bailey just can't catch a break. He wants to get out of his "crummy little town", go off traveling, go to school. His father dies, though, and he has to take over the business (a small credit and loan company), so that the evil Mr. Potter doesn't take over the company and completely ruin the whole town. The whole movie he's selfless and always does things for others, never thinking of himself. He marries and has Children but all the time resents the town, his family and his life because he just wanted out of town. Finally, his uncle thinks he's misplaced $8,000, which at that time I imagine was a huge chunk of change. His Uncle actually accidentally passes the money to the evil dude Mr. Potter, who keeps the money and then threatens to have George Bailey charged with fraud... George believes that he's worth more dead than alive because of his life insurance, and is about to kill himself when his Guardian Angel comes in to save the day. He then shows George what life would be like if he were never born... his brother would've died as a young child because George wouldn't have been there to rescue him from drowning when he fell through the ice of a lake, his wife had never married and was an old maid, and the entire town is miserable, and owned by Mr. Potter. Anyway, finally, at the end he just wants to be alive again, and goes back to his family, where his wife had found out what happened with the money, and gathered everyone from the town, everyone George Bailey had ever helped when they were in need, and they all pitched in and made up the money that he had lost. Finally at the end, a bell on the tree rings and George knows that his Guardian Angel finally got the wings he had always been wanting!

The whole movie is about Karma - When George selflessly does everything he can to help his town without asking anything in return. In the end, the town was there for him when he needed them... It without fail, makes me cry every time I watch it!

George Bailey with his family

Clarence, the Guardian Angel

Potter, the not-so-nice business man of the town.

That concludes the holiday traditions I watch and listen to... I have far more traditions in terms of things I eat and do and drink... Like, for instance, my mom always buys crackers and cheese and we nom on those on Christmas Eve or New Years Eve. We used to eat tons of really fatty foods, like Jalapeno Poppers and Mozzarella Sticks... but that ended when we all realized that they were 1) disgusting and 2) going to make us all super super fat if we didn't stop! My mom also buys chipotle dip and salsa from Delicado's with chips, we make quesadillas, or nachos... of course, I won't be able to eat many of the things I normally love because my health sadly won't allow it this year... I just hope I'll at least be able to have a normal Christmas dinner this year.

Carla and I are always in Nanaimo for Christmas, and we always used to eat a ridiculous amount of nachos and drink wine... ahh the good times! Maybe one day again, we can do that!

My mom also always used to make butter tarts, shortbread cookies and sugar cookies... but she stopped in light of again, not wanting to be super fat! But I still love shortbread cookies... and I want to make some but feel like I'm too lazy/busy to make them this year. Also it's not good for me. Ah well.

Anyway, this concludes my post on holiday traditions! I encourage all of you to write a similar post, telling us what you do every year to make Christmas special!