We all have our favorite holiday traditions that we look forward to each year. My family’s traditions start before Thanksgiving is even over, and involve watching several holiday “classic” movies.
If you are anything like me, the holiday season just isn’t the same unless you watch the same movies year after year. Bartholomew County Public Library has dozens of holiday classics available on DVD to help you get into the holiday spirit.
Every year on Thanksgiving night, we gather in the living room to watch "Elf," my personal favorite holiday film. This star-studded 2003 comedy featuring Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel tells the story of a man named Buddy who thinks he is an elf, and who leaves the North Pole to find his “real” father when he learns the truth.
I can’t help but laugh every time I watch this movie at the ridiculous predicaments Buddy the Elf gets himself into in New York City at Christmas, particularly at Gimbel’s store where he finds employment as an elf in Santa’s toyshop. Elf provides the perfect stress relief after preparing Thanksgiving dinner and gets me in the mood for the holiday season.
Once Thanksgiving Day is over, we head out on our annual trek to our favorite Christmas tree farm to purchase our tree. After an animated debate over which one is the ideal tree, we head home with our prize to decorate while watching "Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas." This 1977 animated Jim Henson film is a tale about a mother and son otter who are struggling to make ends meet, but who have not lost their Christmas spirit. This campy movie provides the perfect backdrop for decorating the tree and singing along to Muppets songwriter Paul Williams’ songs “When the River Meets the Sea” and my favorite, “Bar-B-Que.”
The next tradition for my family is displaying holiday lights. I think we are all familiar with "National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation." Christmas lights are a serious thing in my neighborhood, and my family loves participating in the light show. I’m not saying we get as competitive as Chevy Chase, but watching the 1989 classic movie will give you some insight into why we call ourselves the Griswolds. From selecting a tree to decorating the house to Christmas shopping, there is more than one parallel from the Griswold family to my own. Not a year goes by that we do not watch it together and laugh until we cry.
We also binge watch our favorite animated shows such as "A Charlie Brown Christmas," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman" while decorating the house and baking cookies.
Bartholomew County Public Library has these holiday classics and more available to help you get into the holiday spirit. If you need inspiration for your decorating and baking projects, there also are many books and magazines to get you started. Your library also has digital books, magazines, movies, music and more available 24/7 at mybcpl.org.
Sandy Allman is a reference librarian at the Bartholomew County Public Library and can be reached at [email protected].
