How I Survived Christmas and the Movies That Helped!

It's the evening of the 25th as I write this, so Christmas is not quite over, but this will be my last Christmas post of 2012.  The last couple of days haven't been great so I was expecting today to be extra depressing, but I've actually had quite a good day.

I woke up this morning and just lay there for ages listening to the rain.  It was lovely and peaceful and I can't remember the last time I was so relaxed upon waking.  I chatted to my sister Nik for a while via Blackberry messenger; she's been very sweet and made herself available while I've been in my Christmas slump (Thank you Sis - Love you!) and then around 1pm I took a nap...for several hours.  So when I woke up in the afternoon, I felt quite rested and was ready to think about food and what I was planning to do for the rest of the day.

I spoke to my parents and then made myself some lovely pasta with salmon (Merry Christmas Baby!) and knew that I was going to indulge in some of my favourite Christmas movies, but before that, I needed some Stewie Griffin.

Family Guy: Road to the North Pole

This is not exactly a movie, but it is a double length episode of one of my favourite shows.  Family Guy is the television equivalent of Marmite and I love it, and this is one of the best episodes.  After being snubbed by a mall Santa, Stewie decides to travel to the North Pole to kill Santa.  But when he gets there with Brian he finds that all is not well with the big man or his helpers.



I'm a huge fan of all things Christmas, but combine that with a 'Road to...' episode of Family Guy and what is there not to love?

Buy Family Guy - Road to the North Pole from Amazon.com Now or Watch On Amazon Instant Video

Buy Family Guy - Road to the North Pole from Amazon.co.uk Now

The Holiday

One Christmas when I was very ill, I watched this movie every day for a fortnight when they first showed it on Sky Movies. I still love it.  I can't even get specific about what I love about this film, because the truth is, I just love everything about it.  I even included it on my list of Movies For Living With ME/CFS

Back when I first watched it, I loved the fact that it was a Christmas film, but not Christmas-sy. I dreamed of being able to jet off somewhere and find a new life, a new love at that time in my life, and watching The Holiday was perfect because it allowed me to do just that with Amanda and Iris.  I love the main female characters played by Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz; their very definite strengths and weaknesses and how very funny they both are. As usual, Nancy Meyer delivers in this area. The guys are wonderful; Jude Law is so very English and Jack Black, whom I adore anyway (as you already know) is perfectly sweet and funny. Then there is the unexpected treat of Eli Wallach's character and Hans Zimmer's music. This movie is chocolate for the soul! One of the best parts is that a guy could enjoy this too as having a Y chromosome does not interfere with the entertainment factor.

Buy 'The Holiday' from Amazon.com

Buy 'The Holiday' from Amazon.co.uk

This Christmas these two got the job done, so I did not get around to watching Scrooged or Miracle on 34th Street  but I love them as well.  So I finally got into the Christmas spirit with the help of some animation and acting.