Friday, 26 August 2022

MY CHRISTMAS WISH

 


Dear Santa Claus its that time once again

And not for the first time I have to complain

Last Christmas you once again failed miserably

In securing that one simple gift for me

Every Christmas I write and beg and plead

And I’ve been good, not perfect though I’ll concede

This is not the first complaint you’ve had from me

I’ve written since I was four and now I’m forty three

So once again I’m sending you my Christmas list

And ask you to fulfill my one and only wish

Please send me my own special red hot lover

Or at the very least my own significant other

THREE WISE ONES

 

The three wise men

Travelled for days before reaching Bethlehem

And arrived after the birth

They stood and viewed the scene in awe

And knelt reverently in the lords presence

Then gave their gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

 

The three wise women

Would have stopped to ask directions

And arrived before the birth

They would have delivered the baby

Then they would have cleaned the stable and cooked a meal

Before giving the baby really useful gifts

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS IN WONDERLAND

 

It's turning out to be a really bad Christmas for the Saunders family, because they’ve just moved from Los Angeles to Edmonton, father Wayne (Patrick Swayze) has just lost his job, his wife Judy (Rachel Hayward) is stranded at LA airport, the kids have no friends, the family have no money and, with the exception of the bright-eyed Mary, they have no Christmas spirit.

With Judy stuck in LA the Christmas shopping duties fall on Wayne and the kids, Brian, (Matthew Knight) Danny (Cameron Bright) and Mary (Amy and Zoe Schlagel) have to tag along.

But its not long before things start looking a bit more like Christmas, when 12-year old Brian and 6-year old Mary find a satchel full of money at the local mall and they launch into a Yuletide shopping spree, but the crooks, Leo and Sheldon Cardoza (Chris Kattan, Preston Lacy) and their boss Ginger Peachum (Carmen Electra), who counterfeited the money, chase them through the mall packed with holiday shoppers.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SURVIVING XMAS (2018)

Miranda (Gemma Whelan) and Dan (Julian Ovenden) and their children live in the run down, rambling country house inherited from her recently deceased parents which they run as a small holding.

Despite its dilapidated, work in progress, state with a team of polish builders’ resident on site, they have invited a house full for Christmas.

Mirandas fading Hollywood actress sister Lyla (Joely Richardson), her alcoholic/drug addict husband Trent (Michael Landes) and their children, Dans oversexed half-sister Vicky (Ronni Ancona), his ex-wife Miriam (Sally Phillips) and addict son Harry (Jonas Moore),

Aunt Peggy (Patricia Hodge) and Uncle John (James Fox), to name but a few.

So, a chaotic Christmas ensues with old sibling rivalry, family squabbles, drunkenness, drug abuse, and infidelities all of which threaten to sabotage the season of goodwill.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS TREE (1966)

“The Christmas Tree” is A Children's Film Foundation Christmas-themed short film, in which a trio of kids Gary (William Burleigh), Jane (Kate Nicholls) and Sam (Anthony Honour) decide to embark on an epic odyssey to transport a large Christmas tree some 30 miles to a children's hospital in London and get into a variety of scrapes along the way.

It is filmed in black and white which adds to the atmosphere and is well photographed, there is plenty of humour to keep things moving along and the cast includes Brian Blessed and Geoffrey Whitehead as policemen.

All in all a very enjoyable little film. 

THROW AWAY CHRISTMAS

 

Cards adorned with Robins and snow

Holly sprigs and festive candle glow

Advent calendar and paper chains

Decorations never to be used again

Ribbons and bows and paper wrapping

With tree and wreath all go in the bin

Though Christmas may be throw away

The love can be recycled every day

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

 

It was Christmas Eve closing time, nearly

Where a last minute shopper, frustrated clearly

Was rummaging through the freezer cabinet

At her nearest out of town super market

Desperately searching for a frozen turkey

And couldn't find one big enough for her family

Then she saw a young shop assistant pass by

And decided that she would give him a try

"Do these turkeys get any bigger?" she said

Puzzled he replied "No madam, they're dead."

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS CAROL (2016)

 

Single parent Carol Montgomery (Anne Heche) lives with her son Bryan (Sean Michael Kyer) and is the undisputed Queen of Christmas and she organised every aspect of the holiday, but all that changed when another single parent Terry Evans (Dylan Neal) and his daughter Amelia (Farryn Van Humbeck) move to the town and he is a breath of fresh air and offers an alternative view of the plans and Carol and Terry battle for control of the Christmas holiday at the middle school that their children attend and learn a lesson about the true meaning of Christmas.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS LOVE (2021)

Newly qualified nurse, Joy Fickett (Katherine Barrell) and wannabee writer Eric Fellman (Alberto Frezza) are both at a crossroads in their lives as Christmas approaches so they both attend Community Cares seminars in their respective hometowns, Joy in Columbus, Eric in Minneapolis.

Liking what they heard they both apply for, and are accepted for, a two-week fellowship for Community Cares, Advent in Oshkosh, Joy to work in the community health clinic, and Eric writing for the Oshkosh program as well as helping a family in need, get a home for Christmas.

As Joy and Eric work together on the program, they get a better view of what they want from life for the future while falling in love with each other. 

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ONE CHRISTMAS EVE

Recently divorced mom Nell Blakemore (Anne Heche) attempts to make the first Christmas “without dad” perfect for her two kids' Alden (Griffin Kane) and Emma (Ali Skovbye).

But a series of mishaps threaten that desire in a funny, charming, warm-hearted movie about a group of diverse people who form a family on a crazy “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” style Christmas Eve where everything that can go wrong, does.

CHRISTMAS AT THE PEAKS

 

Will it be a cold Christmas?

Joyless and bleak

This year in Manchester

For Mr. and Mrs. Peak

 

Amanda and Philip

Robbed of their pride and joys

By a drunken fool

Who murdered their dear boys

 

What words will comfort

The loss of Ben and Arron

What consolation is there?

To be found as the time goes on

 

Fathers chums, mothers pride

Funny, studious and mild

Our hearts bleed for them

No parent should outlive a child

 

They bear the mental scars

Of a life that isn’t fair

While Philip still broken  

Sits confined to a wheelchair

 

I will think of the Peaks

As I spend Christmas with my family

And give thanks to God

They are all alive with me

 

It will be a sad Christmas

This year in Manchester

For Mr. and Mrs. Peak

The lonely mother and father

 

Ben and Arron will be there

If only in ethereal essence

Watching over mum and dad

I know they will feel their presence

THE SANTA CLAUSE

 

When I was a child

I believed in Santa Claus

When I got older

I didn’t believe in Santa Claus

When I became a parent

I was Santa Claus

Now I have grandchildren

I look like Santa Claus

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SURVIVING CHRISTMAS (2018)

 

Miranda (Gemma Whelan) and Dan (Julian Ovenden) and their children live in the run down, rambling country house inherited from her recently deceased parents which they run as a small holding.

Despite its dilapidated, work in progress, state with a team of polish builders’ resident on site, they have invited a house full for Christmas.

Mirandas fading Hollywood actress sister Lyla (Joely Richardson), her alcoholic/drug addict husband Trent (Michael Landes) and their children, Dans oversexed half-sister Vicky (Ronni Ancona), his ex-wife Miriam (Sally Phillips) and addict son Harry (Jonas Moore),

Aunt Peggy (Patricia Hodge) and Uncle John (James Fox), to name but a few.

So, a chaotic Christmas ensues with old sibling rivalry, family squabbles, drunkenness, drug abuse, and infidelities all of which threaten to sabotage the season of goodwill.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE NIGHT THEY SAVED CHRISTMAS

An oil company is exploring two Arctic sites for oil and they needed to blast through the bedrock at the first site and the shocks were so strong that they rocked Santa’s village.

Santa (Art Carney) realizes that any blasting at the second site will destroy his home so he enlists the aid of Claudia Baldwin (Jaclyn Smith), whose husband Michael (Paul Le Mat) works for the company, so that she and her children can convince her husband that the first site is where the oil that they are searching for is.

Along the way, Santa explains all his secrets about delivering presents all around the world.

June Lockhart stars as Mrs. Claus, Paul Williams as Ed the Elf and Mason Adams is the suborn old boss Sumner Murdock in this Christmas movie that is so bad its good. 

Thursday, 25 August 2022

IT WAS CHRISTMAS EVE

 

It was Christmas Eve

We were preparing for Christmas day

Stuffing the bird and peeling veg

Singing of Santa on his sleigh

When the phone call came

I thought great Dads on his way

Or maybe it will be Gran

With another Christmas cliché

 

A happy Christmas call

Full of happiness and cheer

In truth it was the very opposite

It was the call we all fear

The death of a loved one

The voice says so very clear

“I’ve lost my best friend”

And I had no words only tears

 

Out of the blue so unexpected

Certainly not on Christmas Eve

Christmas should be a celebration

Certainly not a time to grieve

But Christmas Eve or not

It seems it was his time to leave

So farewell dear brother

Life without you I cannot conceive


For my Brother Peter who died on Christmas Eve 2008

KIDS DON’T UNDERSTAND CHRISTMAS

 

All children think

Christmas just happens

But parents work tirelessly

To bring it about

Months in the planning

Putting things away

Things to add to a special day

Shopping and wrapping

Dressing and decking

Supermarket shopping

The prices heart stopping

Journeying from shop to shop

For the latest must have toy

All made worth while

To see a face lit with joy

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – KRINGLES FOR CHRISTMAS (2018)

 

In her quaint hometown of White Deer, Ellie Hartman (Brooke D'Orsay) works for the Carlington Bakery, famous for making Christmas Kringles, but her real passion is crafting, and her Christmas wreaths are in great demand.

Unbeknown to everyone at the bakery CEO Jack Carlingson (Jonathan Whittaker) is planning to step down in the New Year and hand the reigns over to his son Nick (Daniel Lissing).

However, because of his obsession with modernization he has reservations, so he sends Nick to White Deer in December to learn all aspects of working in a bakery, including the production line that he is so keen to replace and to meet the employees people face to face, because they are the ones destined to be laid off if he got his way.

It fell on Ellie as human resources manager to show him the ropes and teach Nick how to make a Kringle, while also showing him that people make a business successful, not machines.

He is also introduced to the other employees as well as townspeople who work at and use the food bank and begins to appreciate the human cost of mass layoffs.

During the process Ellie and Nick fall for each other as he helps her to chase her entrepreneurial dreams and their other dreams come true at the same time.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1951)

Alastair Sim stars as miser Ebenezer Scrooge in this quality retelling of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol”.

The classic tale in which he is taught the true meaning of Christmas by three Spirits who visit him, revealing to him the truth about his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current catalogue of cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways.

Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold, death or redemption.

The Spirits are played by Michael Dolan (Past), Francis De Wolff (Present) and Czeslaw Konarski (Future)

The other key characters and portrayed by Michael Hordern (Marley), Eleanor Summerfield (Flora), Mervyn Johns and Hermione Baddeley (The Cratchit’s), Glyn Dearman (Tiny Tim), Roddy Hughes and Hattie Jacques (The Fezziwig’s), Brian Worth (Fred) and Carol Marsh (Fan). 

Tuesday, 23 August 2022

JUST LIKE JACOB MARLEY

 

Peter was taken on Christmas Eve

Just like Jacob Marley

But the similarity ends there

He was never grasping or stingy

He had not been well for a time

And happy to pass without fuss

But he would have been hopping mad

That he was missing Christmas

He would not have planned it that way

And picked a better time to leave

I think he would have been happier

If he had died on New Years Eve

 

For my Brother Peter who died on Christmas Eve 2008

CHRISTMAS RULES

 

Our Christmas fare

Tables heaving

Cupboards overflowing

Contrasts starkly

With our foreign brothers

With meager bowls

Of meal or rice

How would they react?

To our gluttony

 

The homeless survive

On handouts

Of soup and bread

Or half eaten burgers

Discarded in bins

Sleeping in doorways

Or In cardboard boxes

With news paper bedding

 

Should we feel guilt?

For having more than they

For our good fortune

No we shouldn’t

But we should not forget them

We should spare a thought

For the less fortunate

And be charitable

A kind word or deed

Celebrate Christmas

By Christ’s rules

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS CONTEST (2021)

 

Something is missing in the life of successful company executive Lara (Candace Cameron Bure), though she doesn’t know what, but if you suggested it was her former professional Baseball player ex Ben (John Brotherton), you would get short shrift.

So, when they are unexpectedly thrown together, years after a painful breakup, when they compete in a televised weeklong Christmas contest to win money for the charity of their choosing, they are both shocked.

However, once their initial animosity subsides and the competition progresses, they start to talk, but Lara is forced into a difficult conversation with her mother Donna (Barbara Niven) and Ben expresses his concerns with his grandmother before they begin to rekindle their relationship while battling each other to become Denver's Queen or King of Christmas but the real victory will be love.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – HUMBOLDT PARK

 

This seasonal drama is about the Puerto Rican Rodriguez family living in the area of Humboldt Park in west Chicago who face what may well be their last Christmas together.

The Rodriguez family is headed by jovial bodega owner Edy (Alfred Molina) whose recent secretive behaviour has convinced his hot-tempered wife Anna (Elizabeth Peña) that he is having an affair which prompts her to unceremoniously announce at the family dinner table that she wants a divorce.

This sets the tone for the whole film which goes on to reveal all the flaws and weaknesses in the lives of everyone around the table.

Freddy RodrĂ­guez, Luis GuzmĂ¡n, Jay Hernandez, John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Vanessa Ferlito and Melonie Diaz make up the very able supporting cast in this enjoyable Christmas offering.

Monday, 22 August 2022

VENTURA HOLIDAY

 

A Christmas cruise in the Caribbean

What a dream for the Christmas season

It’s a dream holiday for anyone

And costs thousands of pounds for a reason

Among other things what you would expect

When venturing on the ocean waves

Is to be in company of likeminded people

Who comprehend how they should behave

You book early to avoid disappointment

And the chance to choose where to stay

Settle the amount in plenty of time

Then in December you’re on your way

But then to ensure a full compliment

Those greedy so and so’s at P& O

Heavily discount the remaining cabins

To all and sundry, happy Christmas ho ho ho

From every city, village and town

From Great Yarmouth to Merseyside

From John O’Groats to Lands End

And from Fishguard to Tyneside

They come in search of a bargain

And a cut price berth on a luxury cruise

The uncouth the loutish and the crude

They who measure fun in volumes of booze

And so begins the Chav cruise from hell

Not hell for the Chavs themselves sadly

But for the poor souls who paid their way

Chavs know no other way to behave but badly

For alcohol consumption they know no limit

This is apparent for every poor soul to see

Drunken food fights soon breakout

Some even set fire to the Christmas tree

What a sad indictment on our society

The way the Chavs behave abroad

It’s a shame that international law

Won’t let us throw the bastards overboard

CHRISTMAS SHOCKING

 

Well-worn festive tunes

Blare out

Hapless faces

Stare out

Faces strained

Bemused, Confused

Lists gripped tight

Pens ticking or deleting

Then onward

Loaded trolleys

Wildly steering

Zig zagging

Aisle to aisle

Every item

Must be had

Gin for her

Beer for dad

Chocs and cakes

Chops and steaks

Turkey, stuffing

Nuts and fruit

Frozen this

Prepacked that

Pop and juice

Something’s loose

Everything ticked

On the tight gripped list

Nothing missed

Merry Christmas wished

Hundreds of pounds

Of Christmas bought

The festivities can begin

Relax in the knowledge

The shops will only be shut

For twenty-four hours

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHESTNUT FAMILY CHRISTMAS (2021)

 

Talented pastry Chef Nina Chestnut (Meagan Holder) works as a live-in Chef for a wealthy family although her family believe she is a successful lawyer.

When her employer’s family go away for Christmas to a resort, Nina looks forward to spending a relaxed Christmas in the luxurious house.

However, during a phone conversation with her brother she accidentally commits to hosting her ambitious brothers Kyle and Jayson (Jaime M. Callica and (Klarc Jerome Wilson) and her niece Rogue (Kalista Wilson) for the holidays, because she had told them that she was the wealthy homeowner in order to impress them.

Desperate to impress her siblings, Nina enlists the help of her best friend Malcolm Butler (Brad James) to keep up her ruse, as she has told her brothers that they are engaged.

Everything goes relatively well until her employers return to the house early and her secrets are revealed, but then so are the rest of the family. 

So, with everyone's secrets exposed and the web of lies unravelled the only unresolved issue was the unrealized relationship between Nina and Malcolm.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983)

 

It’s the 1940’s and Christmas is approaching and 9-year-old Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) wants only one thing for Christmas that year: a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun.

When he mentions it at the dinner table, his mother (Melinda Dillon) immediately reacts by saying that he'll put his eye out.

He does little better when he raises it with his father (Darren McGavin) or his teacher (Tedde Moore) but all the while he fantasizes about what it would be like to be “Red Ryder” and catch the bad guys.

When the big day arrives, he gets lots of present under the tree including a lovely gift from his aunt that his mother very much approves of but will the BB gun be among them?

Thursday, 18 August 2022

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – PERFECT STRANGERS (2020)

 

Jen (Natalie Clark) travels to the Highlands to spend Christmas at the holiday home of the man in her life, unfortunately he is there with a wife and child that she didn’t know existed.

Meanwhile Rob (Kenny Boyle) had made the same journey with the intention to propose to his girlfriend, but when he does, she not only turned him down but also said she wasn’t in love with him.

So, the two lovelorn strangers with contrasting personalities come together at the railway station while waiting for a train that isn’t going to come and no way to get home for Christmas, with the weather closing in.

With no public transport and unable to get a cab Jen steals her boyfriend’s sports car and they head south in a car totally unsuitable for winter driving in the Highlands.

They eventually get stuck and have to walk until they happen upon a Hotel.

Where they join a motley crowd, Inn keeper (Sanjeev Kohli), guests including (Sylvester McCoy, Clare Grogan, Frazer Hines and Caitlin Blackwood) all sadly lacking in Christmas spirit.

Both betrayed by love and down on their luck Jen and Rob manage to find solace in each other and they even manage to resurrect Christmas for themselves and their companions.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A GODWINK CHRISTMAS: MIRACLE OF LOVE (2021)

 

Newly qualified nurse, Joy Fickett (Katherine Barrell) and wannabee writer Eric Fellman (Alberto Frezza) are both at a crossroads in their lives as Christmas approaches so they both attend Community Cares seminars in their respective hometowns, Joy in Columbus, Eric in Minneapolis.

Liking what they heard they both apply for, and are accepted for, a two-week fellowship for Community Cares, Advent in Oshkosh, Joy to work in the community health clinic, and Eric writing for the Oshkosh program as well as helping a family in need, get a home for Christmas.

As Joy and Eric work together on the program, they get a better view of what they want from life for the future while falling in love with each other.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS WITH THE RELATIVES (2018)

 

Miranda (Gemma Whelan) and Dan (Julian Ovenden) and their children live in the run down, rambling country house inherited from her recently deceased parents which they run as a small holding.

Despite its dilapidated, work in progress, state with a team of polish builders’ resident on site, they have invited a house full for Christmas.

Mirandas fading Hollywood actress sister Lyla (Joely Richardson), her alcoholic/drug addict husband Trent (Michael Landes) and their children, Dans oversexed half-sister Vicky (Ronni Ancona), his ex-wife Miriam (Sally Phillips) and addict son Harry (Jonas Moore),

Aunt Peggy (Patricia Hodge) and Uncle John (James Fox), to name but a few.

So, a chaotic Christmas ensues with old sibling rivalry, family squabbles, drunkenness, drug abuse, and infidelities all of which threaten to sabotage the season of goodwill.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS IN LOVE (2018)

 

In her quaint hometown of White Deer, Ellie Hartman (Brooke D'Orsay) works for the Carlington Bakery, famous for making Christmas Kringles, but her real passion is crafting, and her Christmas wreaths are in great demand.

Unbeknown to everyone at the bakery CEO Jack Carlingson (Jonathan Whittaker) is planning to step down in the New Year and hand the reigns over to his son Nick (Daniel Lissing).

However, because of his obsession with modernization he has reservations, so he sends Nick to White Deer in December to learn all aspects of working in a bakery, including the production line that he is so keen to replace and to meet the employees people face to face, because they are the ones destined to be laid off if he got his way.

It fell on Ellie as human resources manager to show him the ropes and teach Nick how to make a Kringle, while also showing him that people make a business successful, not machines.

He is also introduced to the other employees as well as townspeople who work at and use the food bank and begins to appreciate the human cost of mass layoffs.

During the process Ellie and Nick fall for each other as he helps her to chase her entrepreneurial dreams and their other dreams come true at the same time.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS STRAY

 

Workaholic Ethan (Andra Fuller) is on his way to an important meeting when a stray dog causes his car to go off the road and hit a tree.

He calls a tow and Connie (Melissa Murray-Mutch) takes him into the charming Christmas village of Beacon Hills.

He is furious and pursues every avenue to get out of town to make his meeting, but he is frustrated at every turn, no cabs, no care hire, an inadequate bus schedule and heavy snow fall, so he has to concede defeat and book into a Hotel.

He is unhappy about being stuck as work pressure begins to mount, stuck in a small mountain town with only a homeless dog for company but then he meets the beautiful local vet, Foster (Rhyon Nicole Brown).

Sparks soon fly between them and he’s irresistibly drawn to the free-spirited vet, but he struggles to put down his phone long enough to enjoy the situation.

So will his inability to loosen up and let true love in, ruin his chance for a Christmas romance or will Foster prove too hard to resist.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF LOVE (2021)

 

Newly qualified nurse, Joy Fickett (Katherine Barrell) and wannabee writer Eric Fellman (Alberto Frezza) are both at a crossroads in their lives as Christmas approaches so they both attend Community Cares seminars in their respective hometowns, Joy in Columbus, Eric in Minneapolis.

Liking what they heard they both apply for, and are accepted for, a two-week fellowship for Community Cares, Advent in Oshkosh, Joy to work in the community health clinic, and Eric writing for the Oshkosh program as well as helping a family in need, get a home for Christmas.

As Joy and Eric work together on the program, they get a better view of what they want from life for the future while falling in love with each other.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – LOST AT CHRISTMAS (2020)

 

Jen (Natalie Clark) travels to the Highlands to spend Christmas at the holiday home of the man in her life, unfortunately he is there with a wife and child that she didn’t know existed.

Meanwhile Rob (Kenny Boyle) had made the same journey with the intention to propose to his girlfriend, but when he does, she not only turned him down but also said she wasn’t in love with him.

So, the two lovelorn strangers with contrasting personalities come together at the railway station while waiting for a train that isn’t going to come and no way to get home for Christmas, with the weather closing in.

With no public transport and unable to get a cab Jen steals her boyfriend’s sports car and they head south in a car totally unsuitable for winter driving in the Highlands.

They eventually get stuck and have to walk until they happen upon a Hotel.

Where they join a motley crowd, Inn keeper (Sanjeev Kohli), guests including (Sylvester McCoy, Clare Grogan, Frazer Hines and Caitlin Blackwood) all sadly lacking in Christmas spirit.

Both betrayed by love and down on their luck Jen and Rob manage to find solace in each other and they even manage to resurrect Christmas for themselves and their companions.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHESTNUT FAMILY CHRISTMAS (2021)

 

Talented pastry Chef Nina Chestnut (Meagan Holder) works as a live-in Chef for a wealthy family although her family believe she is a successful lawyer.

When her employer’s family go away for Christmas to a resort, Nina looks forward to spending a relaxed Christmas in the luxurious house.

However, during a phone conversation with her brother she accidentally commits to hosting her ambitious brothers Kyle and Jayson (Jaime M. Callica and (Klarc Jerome Wilson) and her niece Rogue (Kalista Wilson) for the holidays, because she had told them that she was the wealthy homeowner in order to impress them.

Desperate to impress her siblings, Nina enlists the help of her best friend Malcolm Butler (Brad James) to keep up her ruse, as she has told her brothers that they are engaged.

Everything goes relatively well until her employers return to the house early and her secrets are revealed, but then so are the rest of the family. 

So, with everyone's secrets exposed and the web of lies unravelled the only unresolved issue was the unrealized relationship between Nina and Malcolm.

Wednesday, 17 August 2022

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS CONTEST (2021)

 

Something is missing in the life of successful company executive Lara (Candace Cameron Bure), though she doesn’t know what, but if you suggested it was her former professional Baseball player ex Ben (John Brotherton), you would get short shrift.

So, when they are unexpectedly thrown together, years after a painful breakup, when they compete in a televised weeklong Christmas contest to win money for the charity of their choosing, they are both shocked.

However, once their initial animosity subsides and the competition progresses, they start to talk, but Lara is forced into a difficult conversation with her mother Donna (Barbara Niven) and Ben expresses his concerns with his grandmother before they begin to rekindle their relationship while battling each other to become Denver's Queen or King of Christmas but the real victory will be love.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS IN ROME (2019)

 

American Angela de Luca (Lacey Chabert), is a tour guide in Rome, who loves showing visitors what she finds special about the city.

But her nonstandard guidebook, off piste tours, often get her in trouble with her boss Tomasso Toffino (Simone Spinazze) and she is fired shortly before Christmas.

The next day she literally bumps into culture-shocked businessman Oliver Martin (Sam Page) from New York who employs her to be his personal tour guide while he’s in Rome to acquire a renowned Italian ceramics company, Forlinghetti.

Angela knows that to impress an old-world person like Luigi Forlinghetti (Franco Nero), Oliver will have to do things the traditional Italian way.

While Angela is opening Oliver's eyes to the joys of what Rome has to offer, she also opens his heart, and they fall in love.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – LAST CHRISTMAS (2019)

 

Wannabe singer Kate (Emilia Clarke) works as an Elf in a 365 day a year London Christmas Store for her grumpy boss, Santa (Michelle Yeoh).

But in the months since returning to work after a serious illness she had become an unreliable, selfish, sofa surfing, loose moraled, heavy drinking party girl, prone to making bad decisions, who had burned her bridges with almost every friend she ever had, and she religiously avoided her mum and dad (Emma Thompson and Boris Isakovic) and sister Marta (Lydia Leonard).

But then in the run up to Christmas her life takes a new turn when she meets a mysterious young man, Tom (Henry Golding) who is different from anyone she’d ever met before.

During the Christmas season he brings out the best in her and she starts to think of others rather than herself and strives to rebuild bridges with friends and family.

But she begins to wonder is Tom is too good to be true, and then the penny drops.

Tom was the young man who lost his life the previous Christmas and whose donated heart was in her chest. 

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS EVERLASTING (2018)

The news that Lucy Toomey (Tatyana Ali) is to be made partner at her New York Corporate law firm in the New Year after years of working long hours and sacrificing her social life is tempered by the sudden death of her older sister Alice with Christmas fast approaching.

Alice was left with some special needs after suffering head injuries in an automobile accident when she was 20 years old, injuries that Lucy felt guilty about because she was the reason Alice was driving that night.

Which is the reason she didn’t get back to Wisconsin very often although Lucy looked after Alice financially.

But after Alice passed away Lucy had to return home to Nilson's Bay for the funeral and to handle her estate, which she was dreading, and was also regretting the fact that she was too busy to take her sister's final call.

Once back in Nilson's Bay, she is reunited with her old high school sweetheart Peter (DondrĂ© T. Whitfield) who also happened to be Alice's Lawyer who details the terms of her sister’s eccentric will that stated in no uncertain terms that for Lucy to inherit the family home, she must live there for 30 days which meant she would need to be there throughout the holidays.

The thought of spending a month in her old hometown drives her to distraction but once she accepted there was no alternative the experience was quite profound.

She discovered that her sister hadn’t suffered as a result of her accident in the way Lucy thought she had, on the contrary she had a full life and was universally loved and had more friends than Lucy, she even had a daughter.

Peter was by Lucy’s side during all the revelations and helped her forgive herself for the past and open her heart for the future.


THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – NATIVITY!

Primary school teacher Paul Maddens (Martin Freeman) is saddled with directing the school’s nativity play five years after an epic fail on his only other directorial outing.

He protests but Head teacher Mrs. Bevan (Pam Ferris) turns a deaf ear, but she does get him a classroom assistant, Mr. Poppy (Marc Wootton) to help, who just happens to be her nephew.

His main competitor when he crashed and burned was a posh private school and the director was a former acquaintance Gordon Shakespeare (Jason Watkins) who got the top review in town every year.

So, Paul boasted that his ex-girlfriend Jennifer (Ashley Jensen), a Hollywood Producer, was planning to come and see his show.

It was just supposed to be an idle brag, but Mr Poppy was eaves dropping and within no time the whole town knew and with Chinese whispers it grew beyond all recognition, and everyone was expecting Hollywood to arrive in town.

Paul is suddenly a local celebrity and at the centre of quarrelling parents and over-excited children desperate in their bid for fame and fortune.

His only hope is to reach out to Jennifer to help everybody's Christmas wishes come true, but she has a secret of her own.

So only Christmas magic can save the day.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – GREMLINS (1984)

Randall Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) is looking for a Christmas gift for his mild-mannered bank teller son Billy (Zach Galligan) in a shop in China Town, when he sees a cute little creature called a Mogwai, but when the storekeeper refuses to sell it to him, he steals it and returns home with it to Kingston Falls.

He tells Billy that there are three important rules he must follow in order to keep his new pet, don’t expose him to bright light, don’t get him wet and never feed him after midnight.

However, he inadvertently breaks all three rules and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on the small town and he and his girlfriend Kate (Phoebe Cates) have to battle through the resulting mayhem and destruction to try and save the day.

Tuesday, 16 August 2022

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A MATCH MADE AT CHRISTMAS (2021)

 

Romantic, small-town girl Holly (Micah Lynn Hanson), has grown up watching great-aunt Lillian (Juli Erickson) making perfect matches in the town, including her best friend Angela (Aubrey Shimek Davis) with her brother Spencer (Jared Hernandez).

But she has never made a match for Holly, until the day Spencer’s best man Chris (Tim Llewellyn) arrives in town for the wedding.

Neither of them are happy about it because they couldn’t be a more unlikely pair, the romantic Christmas lover and the career-driven realist are chalk and cheese, but all-knowing Great Aunt Lillian was never wrong

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS SWITCH (2018)

 

Struggling singing waitress and mother Audrey Turner (Jackie Seiden) and wealthy music executive Julia Samson (Ashley Wood) are both at the same mall and in the same store.

Audrey is cursed with not being able to say no to anyone and as a result has no time for herself.

Julia's life on the other hand is full of luxury, but because of her career she is unable to connect with her family.

In the store they both reach for the same decoration and make a wish that their lives were different and the next morning they wake up in each other’s beds, each other's lives, and in each other’s bodies.

After freaking out they meet up and try to figure out how they swapped and more importantly how they can swap back.

It turns out that the only way is to live each other’s lives and learn how to put things right.

As Christmas looms close, they help each other switch back before they miss Christmas with their own families.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – REBUILDING A DREAM CHRISTMAS (2020)

 

Abbey (Meggan Kaiser) is a successful big city real estate broker on the verge of a big promotion when she has to return to her former hometown after the death of her grandmother.

The old Victorian home in which she spent so many Christmases as a child has been left to her in her grandmothers will.

She immediately decides to sell up, but the house needs work before she can put it on the market, so she resolves to hire someone, who turns out to be her childhood crush Josh (Zane Stephens).

While working on the house they find delightful Christmas treasure which had been hidden around the house by her grandmother, and with the help of single Dad Josh and his young son Noah (Bryson Jon Steele) she rediscovers her Christmas spirit and questions the wisdom of selling the house which could become her home.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – PUPPY LOVE FOR CHRISTMAS (2021)

 

Aid worker Annie Blake (Georgia Flood) returns to her hometown in North Haven, Vermont, to spend the holidays with her family after finishing a mission in Nepal, while she waits for her next project with the "Helping Hand" organisation and a possible promotion.

It’s the first time she has been back home since her mother passed away three years earlier and stays with her Aunt Claire (Christine Amor) but having devoted her life to helping people in need she is unable to just relax and enjoy the holidays.

So, she pours all of her energy into rehoming animals from a shelter which brings her into the orbit of local vet and Annie's old school debating nemesis Dylan Hawkes (Ezekiel Simat) and they form a reluctant alliance to settle a ragtag bunch of animals looking for homes.

In the end they manage to create a Christmas that nobody will ever forget, and in the process, find true love.


THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – DANCING THROUGH THE SNOW (2021)

 

Ballet teacher Olivia (AnnaLynne McCord) is struggling to keep her studio afloat as Christmas approaches and plans to close after the Holidays and leave town for pastures new in the New Year.

Before then she has the Christmas production to put on and casts Lily (Bianca Lawrence) in the starring role in The Nutcracker.

But after a few chance meetings with Lily's handsome firefighter father Michael Foster (Colin Lawrence) she soon finds her focus shifting from dance to romance.

For single widow Michael, dipping his toe back into the dating pool after his first romantic connection with a woman since his wife passed away was problematic enough, and even more so with his beautiful daughter's ballet teacher.

So would Lily’s struggle to adjust to his father finding love again extinguish loves embers before they have properly ignited or will Christmas magic work its will.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – INN FOR CHRISTMAS (2020)

 

Mandy Leeds (Jonna Walsh) is steadily climbing the corporate ladder in the hotel industry and living in sunny Miami, however when she is on her way home to spend Christmas with her Gram (Jayne Eastwood) she bumps into her old high school rival Lucas Menzino (Jesse Hutch).

She doesn't get back to her small hometown very often, but her Grams invite wasn’t the only reason for her return.

The main purpose in town was to acquire, for her company, the Chesterwood, a quaint local Inn which is up for sale.

Unfortunately, she finds out that her archival Lucas has got his eye on the Inn as well.

So, the contest is on for them to outbid each other but all the while they are keeping their respective eyes on the prize, they are getting closer and closer and by the end they both realise what the real prize is.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS INN FARMSTEAD (2020)

 Julia Rogers (Lexi Giovagnoli) and Chad Everest (Travis Burns) are fiercely rival Realtors who are competitors in the listing of a lifetime, the Farmstead Inn.

But in order to stand a chance of winning they have to stay at the Inn for a week as guests of the owners, Herb and Donna Erickson (Greg Evigan and Susan Chambers), to experience the holiday season at Farmstead.

So, while her sister Jena (Rachel O'Connell) takes care of the office and looks after their Dad, (Bruce Purcell), Julia competes for the listing, however the more activities they do together the less they behave as adversary’s and seem more and more like a couple and their focus changes. 

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – MY CHRISTMAS WISH (2020)

 

Abbey (Meggan Kaiser) is a successful big city real estate broker on the verge of a big promotion when she has to return to her former hometown after the death of her grandmother.

The old Victorian home in which she spent so many Christmases as a child has been left to her in her grandmothers will.

She immediately decides to sell up, but the house needs work before she can put it on the market, so she resolves to hire someone, who turns out to be her childhood crush Josh (Zane Stephens).

While working on the house they find delightful Christmas treasure which had been hidden around the house by her grandmother, and with the help of single Dad Josh and his young son Noah (Bryson Jon Steele) she rediscovers her Christmas spirit and questions the wisdom of selling the house which could become her home.

Thursday, 11 August 2022

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS SWITCH (2018)

 

Struggling singing waitress and mother Audrey Turner (Jackie Seiden) and wealthy music executive Julia Samson (Ashley Wood) are both at the same mall and in the same store.

Audrey is cursed with not being able to say no to anyone and as a result has no time for herself.

Julia's life on the other hand is full of luxury, but because of her career she is unable to connect with her family.

In the store they both reach for the same decoration and make a wish that their lives were different and the next morning they wake up in each other’s beds, each other's lives, and in each other’s bodies.

After freaking out they meet up and try to figure out how they swapped and more importantly how they can swap back.

It turns out that the only way is to live each other’s lives and learn how to put things right.

As Christmas looms close, they help each other switch back before they miss Christmas with their own families.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ON THE 12TH DATE OF CHRISTMAS (2020)

 

In Chicago Jennifer Holloway (Mallory Jansen) and Aidan Walsh (Tyler Hynes) are both game creators and are both vying for a promotion, and although they are seemingly incompatible, they are teamed up to create a game to promote the Devonshire Hotel chain.

What they come up with is a romantic, city-wide scavenger hunt themed for the “12 Days of Christmas.”

But as Jennifer and Aidan work their way around the city composing all the clues, they find out that the game and the promotion are less important than the romance they have found along the way.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS TO CHERISH (2019)

 

Darcy Archer (Ali Liebert) and Aiden Harris (Peter Porte) prepare to celebrate their second Christmas together, with Darcy running Henley's and Aiden is a crafts teacher.

But all is not plain sailing as they have an unexpected guest staying with Mrs. Henley (Tina Lifford) in the shape of Marcus (Dominic Mariche) who bonds with Bailey the dog, for obvious reasons and with Aiden through a model village project he’s working on as a gift for Darcy.

But the overwhelming topic on everyone’s minds is the beloved community centre, which is threatened with closure as the rich owner David Pearce (Ben Wilkinson) plans to sell it for a lucrative development.

But as the community all have memories tied to the centre everyone unites to seek historical protection and give everyone an unforgettable holiday.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – GHOSTING (2019)

 

As she is driving home, Jess (Aisha Dee) is preoccupied with texting following the best first date of her life with Ben (Kendrick Sampson) and is killed in a car crash and after the accident she wakes up as a ghost.

She is unable to move on, so she assumes she has to settle unfinished business first.

She is drawn to her best friend Kara (Kimiko Glenn) and is surprised that she can see her so they embark on an hilarious, bittersweet final adventure to determine what it is that’s keeping her earthbound so that Jess can ascend to the afterlife.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS PUDDING

 

I love Christmas pudding

But it doesn’t return the favour

I wish you could get Gaviscon

In brandy butter flavour

THE NIGHT IS CLEAR

 

The night is clear

Here! Here!

Can’t you hear?

It’s the reindeer

Santa is near

Let us cheer,

Open a Beer

Christmas is here


THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SKIPPING CHRISTMAS (2004)

 

A fun Christmas movie in which Luther Krank (Tim Allen) is fed up with the commerciality of Christmas anyway but when only daughter Blair (Julie Gonzalo) leaves and goes to another country he decides to skip the holiday and go on a vacation cruise with his wife Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) instead.

All they have to do then is resist the pressure from their neighbours to participate in the house decorating contest and survive all the other seasonal nonsense.

But when their daughter calls on Christmas Eve and says she’s coming home for Christmas, it causes an uproar in the Krank household as the family scrambles to create a perfect Christmas from scratch in 12 hours will hilariously effect when the pesky neighbours suddenly become their allies.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS CUPID'S ARROW (2018)

At Thanksgiving dinner with her family, single College Literature Professor Holly, (Elisabeth Harnois) announces that she has had an article published in a prestigious journal but is soon overshadowed by the revelation that her married sister is pregnant.

So, she is forced to evaluate her life and is persuaded by her best friend Emily (Sasha Jackson) to sign up to a dating app.

After her first three dates didn’t go well, she was ready to throw in the towel rather than risk meeting another “frog” but then she is paired with a “prince” and arranges a date with Lawyer Josh (Chad Michael Collins) who is gorgeous, but she thinks he is all good looks and no substance.

Josh, being a serial womaniser doesn’t want to let a beautiful woman slip through his fingers, so he enlists the help of college roommate David (Jonathan Togo) who is also a Literature Professor at the same college as Holly.

Using the promise of an interview for a lucrative job he persuades David to write love poems to Holly on his behalf in true Cyrano De Bergerac style.

What widowed single parent David is unaware of is that the girl in question is the object of his own affections. 

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS TAIL (2012)

 

Bobby Cole (Bryson Sams) and his smart but boisterous dog Chilly love their life in   Sunshine Beach getting into scrapes and having adventures on the beach with his friends. 

But one day his father Patrick (C. Thomas Howell) announces he is being transferred to New York City, and to make matters worse, Chilly can’t go with them because he is untrained.

So, Bobby and his friends have only one week to turn the boisterous crazy beach dog into a well behaved, civilized, fit for New York indoor city dog.

And if that’s not enough to contend with there are the unforeseen consequences of opening their doors to prospective house buyers as they also make welcome a group of dangerous dog-nappers, led by Quarterman (Tom Arnold), who are hell bent on stealing Chilly who the boys have to fend off on Christmas eve.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS COACH (2019)

Christmas Coaches Lauren (Erica Deutschman) and Colleen (Tianna Nori) are best friends, business partners and Christmas enthusiasts who have turned their love for the holidays into successful careers, and every day they think they landed the job of their dreams, where they have the opportunity to give clients their most perfect Christmas.

 

Then out of the blue they land their biggest job yet, when the aristocratic Anderson family hires them.

Because of other commitments it falls on Lauren to tackle the job single handed and her mission is clear, to make Christmas into a magical event for the family even though she is intimidated by such nobility.

Thankfully she finds an immediate ally in Joyce (Jennifer Vallance) the family housekeeper who know all about the family traditions, and Lauren certainly needs help, especial to break the ice with the handsome James Anderson (Chad Connell).

 

However, James is best described as frosty as he’s in the middle of closing a business deal, and he is far from receptive to her enthusiastic Christmas spirit, but Lauren is persistent, and James begins to thaw as happy childhood memories are rekindled, and love appears to be in the Christmas air until family lawyer and childhood friend Maryam (Samantha Madely) arrives on the scene.

So, will Christmas work its magic or not? 

Wednesday, 10 August 2022

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – JOHN GRISHAM’S SKIPPING CHRISTMAS (2004)

 

A fun Christmas movie in which Luther Krank (Tim Allen) is fed up with the commerciality of Christmas anyway but when only daughter Blair (Julie Gonzalo) leaves and goes to another country he decides to skip the holiday and go on a vacation cruise with his wife Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) instead.

All they have to do then is resist the pressure from their neighbours to participate in the house decorating contest and survive all the other seasonal nonsense.

But when their daughter calls on Christmas Eve and says she’s coming home for Christmas, it causes an uproar in the Krank household as the family scrambles to create a perfect Christmas from scratch in 12 hours will hilariously effect when the pesky neighbours suddenly become their allies.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS COACH (2019)

 

Christmas Coaches Lauren (Erica Deutschman) and Colleen (Tianna Nori) are best friends, business partners and Christmas enthusiasts who have turned their love for the holidays into successful careers, and every day they think they landed the job of their dreams, where they have the opportunity to give clients their most perfect Christmas.

 

Then out of the blue they land their biggest job yet, when the aristocratic Anderson family hires them.

Because of other commitments it falls on Lauren to tackle the job single handed and her mission is clear, to make Christmas into a magical event for the family even though she is intimidated by such nobility.

Thankfully she finds an immediate ally in Joyce (Jennifer Vallance) the family housekeeper who know all about the family traditions, and Lauren certainly needs help, especial to break the ice with the handsome James Anderson (Chad Connell).

 

However, James is best described as frosty as he’s in the middle of closing a business deal, and he is far from receptive to her enthusiastic Christmas spirit, but Lauren is persistent, and James begins to thaw as happy childhood memories are rekindled, and love appears to be in the Christmas air until family lawyer and childhood friend Maryam (Samantha Madely) arrives on the scene.

So, will Christmas work its magic or not?

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE BOY WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS (1998)

 

Santa (Colin McClean) has an evil younger brother named Atnas (Douglas Robinson) who along with his henchmen tricks his way into the North Pole, kidnaps his brother, imprisons the Elves, woes Mrs Claus and plans to put an end to Christmas forever.

It falls to Jeremy (Andre Bourque) a brave little boy, his friends and one of the Elves, Pointer (Dana Michael Woods) to reunite Santa with his Magic Hat and save Christmas.