12 Days Until Christmas

I am not in the holiday spirit. Just call me Scrooge or The Grinch. Every time I hear a Christmas song on the radio, I immediately change the station and say "Ugh!" in disgust. I haven't started my Christmas shopping. I haven't decorated or brought out the Christmas tree. It's still sitting in the storage area, packed neatly in it's box. No, I don't do real trees. Never have, never will. I've decided that since it's getting close to D-Day (Christmas Day), I'm going to try to make the effort to be more cheerful and joyful. I figured I'd start with a blog post about my favorite Christmas movies and songs.

Christmas movies:

I watch this movie every year. It is a must see. I consider it a classic. My favorite part is when the squirrel jumps out of the newly chopped down Christmas tree and causes chaos and mayhem in the Griswold household.

I remember watching this movie for the first time in elementary school. It was right before school was out for Christmas break and we watched the movie in class. A classic holiday movie. How many kids tried to lick a flag pole after seeing this movie?

I thought this was a great take on the Charles Dicken's classic. Bill Murray was hilarious in this movie. And I love the Al Green and Annie Lennox duet "Put A Little Love in Your Heart".

This is not a traditional Christmas movie but it is hilarious! It's raunchy and Billy Bob has to be the worse mall Santa ever. I can't give any of my favorite quotes - this blog is a rated PG

Will Ferrell is Buddy the Elf. He finds out he's adopted and is looking for his real dad. This role was made for him. It's funny, heartwarming, and embraces what Christmas is all about. My favorite part is when he's introduced to the mailroom and says: It's just like Santa's workshop! Except it smells like mushrooms... and everyone looks like they wanna hurt me... Love it!

As you can see, I don't like the traditional Christmas movies. I love movies that make me laugh.

Here's some of my favorite Christmas tunes:

1. Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms - I love this song because it's upbeat and it always puts me in a good mood.
2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus by The Jackson 5 - My favorite line is: I'm gonna tell my daddy. Whenever I sing along, I giggle afterwards.
3. Give Love on Christmas Day by The Jackson 5 - The title says it all.
4. This Christmas by Donny Hathway - This is the African-American family Christmas song. I guarantee that it is played in every black home on Christmas Day.
5. Silent Night by The Temptations - Whenever I hear this song, it reminds me of being a kid, living in Memphis. The Temptations added some soul to this otherwise traditional Christmas song.
6. The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole - I'm going to cheat a little and say the entire album is one of my favorites. My dad plays this CD every year while we're at the house on Christmas Day. This IS a classic Christmas album that everyone should own. You can't go wrong with Nat King Cole.
7. All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey - The song is catchy and upbeat. I like any Christmas song that I can sing along with and not sound like a hoarse toad.
8. Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt - A sexy Christmas song.
9. Last Christmas by Wham! - My love of George Michael will never end. It's a pop Christmas song for the brokenhearterd. "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart. But the very next day, you gave it away."
10. Carol of the Bells - I love seeing it performed live. I love the many layers of this song. You have to have a great voice to sing it. Unfortunately, I don't. So I sing it vicariously through the great choir/chorus groups who perform.

There's my list of my favorite Christmas movies and songs. I'm hoping this will slowly get me in the Christmas spirit. I hate being Scrooge! It's no fun.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!