Christmas Movies: My Holiday Drug of Choice

The past few years, as soon as the calendar reads December, my husband and I have sat down and made a list of "Must Do" activities for the holidays. Spanning from the basic, like "Buy Christmas tree" to the specific, such as "Make gingerbread cookies on Wednesday." A large section of our list is comprised of Christmas movies.

Watching Christmas movies, both horribly cheesy ones like Christmas With the Kranks and Jingle All the Way and classics, like It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story, are my favorite tradition. It’s just not Christmas without all those movies.

I especially love the fantastically bad made-for-television movies found on ABC Family and The Hallmark Channel. Last year, I found a new one to love: Holiday in Handcuffs.

Love. It.

Starring Mario Lopez, of Saved by the Bell fame and Melissa Joan Hart, from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. About a lonely girl, just dumped by her boyfriend, who kidnaps a stranger and forces him to pretend he’s her boyfriend to impress her family on Christmas. He’s pissed at first, but then…I’ll bet you can guess the ending. Anyway, that movie is like a candy cane—not much nutritional value, but awesome nonetheless.

Another favorite family tradition happens on Christmas Eve, after all the extended family goes home, when my siblings and I bust out all the fabulous home movies from twenty years ago. We watch videos and laugh at wardrobe choices, misguided perms and tacky sweaters. Like, "Did your shoes serve an orthopedic function?" and "Mom! I can’t believe you dressed me in that hideous velvet skirt!"

This year, however, is going to be a bit different. This will mark my first Christmas spent out of town, at my inlaws house in Ohio. It’ll be a little sad, but great to spend time with the Cincinnati crew. And you can bet I’ll be rummaging around in the basement for any old movies!