Up and Christmas movies...

I've spent all morning doing homework, which involved drawing out my ideal child care room on grid paper and starting a sample weekly lesson plan. I convinced myself that I deserved a blogging break.

Yesterday my family rented "Up," and we watched it last night. Wow, it was amazing, far beyond anything I ever expected. I should have known I wouldn't be disappointed. I mean, the people at Pixar are apparently geniuses, since they cannot make a bad movie. There's something about Pixar movies...they're so realistic and incredibly clever ("Monsters, Inc." is a personal favorite). "Up" had me struggling to hold back tears during the first fifteen minutes, the montage of the couple's life together. It's something about widowed men that seems so pitiful. I'm not exactly sure why I feel more sorry for a widower than I do a widow (in movies, anyway). But Carl Fredericksen was so sad in that movie...how can they make you feel such pity for a little animated man? Anyway, I absolutely loved it. Now the only Pixar movie I haven't seen is "Wall-e."

The other night I watched "Little Women." I'm trying to go through my list of Christmas-ish movies that I try to watch every year.

I thought I had blogged about "Little Women" before, but I can't seem to find it. It isn't necessarily a "Christmas story," but it starts off at Christmas time and includes snow. It's a really cute period film, and the cast is great. It sticks pretty much with the book, but is greatly condensed, of course. Beth, Amy, and Jo are especially perfectly casted (Margaret O'Brien, Elizabeth Taylor, and June Allyson, respectively), but honestly, everyone is. It's a lovely movie, even if it is cut a bit short, and I wish the end was extended a little.

So here are the movies I always watch at Christmas:

• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer (the old TV version)
• Frosty, the Snowman (the original TV one and the slightly weird sequel-thing)
• The Santa Clause (number 1)
• Elf (which I blogged about here)
• Holiday Inn (also blogged about here)
• White Christmas
• The Bishop's Wife
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (either the old cartoon one or the new one, doesn't really matter to me)
• It's a Wonderful Life
• The Lemon Drop Kid (again, not necessarily a Christmas movie, but a big chunk of revolves around Christmas, and it's the first movie that "Silver Bells" was sang in)
• Meet Me in St. Louis (not just a Christmas movie)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (not Christmas, but it has to follow the first one!)

I think that's all, but something still seems to be missing. I also watch the two Christmas episodes of "Full House" and the one of "I Love Lucy." Anyway, I'll probably be blogging a little mini-review of these movies as I watch them this month.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for Christmas movies? Particularly old movies, but modern ones also?

Until next time,
Kristin