Christmas movies (and a holiday giveaway) by Judy Penz Sheluk

I don't watch a lot of TV, I'm not particularly romantic or sentimental, and yet, every December I find myself inexplicably drawn to Christmas movies. Maybe it's because as a kid, my mom and I would always watch White Christmas. I can remember dreaming of getting married in the red cape and dress that Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney wore in the final number. Later on, in high school, I would sing the song, Sisters, with my friend Patti. We were almost certainly out of tune, but we felt like sisters.

Years later, my husband, Mike, always a trooper, started watching White Christmas with me every year (although he insists on fast forwarding through the Danny Kaye "choreography" scene, not that I blame him). The trade-off was that I shared in the Sheluk family tradition: watching It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol (the original 1951 version with Alastair Sim; no other versions count).

Since then, we've added Home Alone (the first one is a must; the one in New York usually lands on our radar). Mike's also added Die Hard to his list, though I'm not convinced it's a Christmas movie! Then again, Mike doesn't like my all-time favorite Christmas movie, Love Actually. That doesn't stop me from watching it at least once (and sometimes twice) in the season. Come on, who can resist Bill Nighy as Billy Mack? And when Emma Thompson opens that Joni Mitchell Greatest Hits CD expecting the heart-shaped locket...

My Christmas movie viewing isn't limited to these holiday "Classics." Whether it's a made-for-TV movie like Borrowed Hearts with Roma Downey, or a more recent theatrical release—The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, or Four Christmases with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, come to mind—or the "Harlequin" types with the paper-thin plots and the B/C-list actors (Boy Meets Girl,They Don't Like Each Other, They Fall in Love, Happy Ending), I find myself donning my polar fleece pajama pants (the blue ones with the black snowflakes), making a cup of hot cocoa (okay—sometimes a glass of white wine), and settling in for two-plus hours of mindless entertainment. It's all part of my holiday tradition, right along with drinking my annual glass of rum-laden, nutmeg-sprinkled eggnog and eating too many shortbread cookies. After all, January—and reality—will be here soon enough.

Do you have a favorite Christmas movie? Post a comment and let me know! 

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY: Sign up for my newsletter before December 8, noon EST for a chance to win an Audible audiobook (US residents only). Winner's choice: The Hanged Man's Noose OR Skeletons in the Attic. Here's the link.  The winner will be notified by email by December 11th. Good luck!