PANTOMIME # 2

 

Pantomime is a traditional Christmas and New Year entertainment unique and peculiar to the British theatre.
Pantomime origins can be traced back to the 16th and 17th century Italian improvised comic drama called the Commedia Dell'arte.
Punch and Judy, Harlequinade and the French tradition of mime also have their origins in the commedia Dell'arte.
With its roots deep in the harlequin tradition of the 18th century combined with the music hall burlesque of the 19th forged what we know today as pantomime where an actress always plays the part of principal boy and an actor always plays the dame.
The Pantomimes used traditional fairy tales like Mother Goose Puss in Boots, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Red Riding Hood in which they wove into the story political satire, parodies of popular figures and slapstick thus providing something for everyone.
The great thing about Panto is that it is the one part of British culture which refuses to embrace Political Correctness, thank god.
By the end of every Panto virtue is rewarded, love conquers all, good defeats evil and everyone lives happily ever after.

CHRISTMAS ENTERTAINMENT

 

Since the advent of Cable and Satellite Every Christmas is the same. It used to be bad enough in the old days when there were only three channels to fill but now, we allegedly have more choice the terrestrial channels don’t even try to offer anything that we might consider to be acceptable.

Take this Christmas just gone, it doesn’t have to be the latest everyone is the same now, but we will stick with this latest offering as they are freshest in the memory. 

They really pulled the stops out and so packed was the schedule that they couldn’t even squeeze in the Great Escape.

Unfortunately, all five channels were packed with a mixture of repeats and things which should never be seen again.

Tom Browns schooldays gave the impression it might brighten an otherwise dull selection only to disappoint.

However, the choice plum of the holiday season has to be Uncle Adolph, what were they thinking, at one-point good old incestuous Uncle Adolph was sat knocking out a tune on the piano to impress his niece when I thought he was going to burst into a chorus of “Springtime for Hitler” the play couldn’t have been anymore ludicrous if he had.

Thankfully the smug and inanely grinning Miss Marple has been returned to the asylum from whence she came (hopefully never to be released again) and the writers have returned to writing daytime soaps for the Outer Mongolia broadcasting corporation.

Still, it won’t be long before we’re doing it all again so better get the sprouts on.

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (013) An Unentertaining Christmas

 

Since the advent of Cable, Satellite and Streaming the quality of the entertainment seems to diminish as each Christmas passes.

It used to be bad enough in the old days when there were only three channels to fill, but we did at least get some great Christmas fare.

Now we allegedly have more choice than we have ever had, although I think the reality is that we merely have more channels, and the same or even less quality.

In truth the terrestrial channels can’t really compete although to be honest they don’t even try don’t even try any more to offer anything that we might consider to be of acceptable quality.

Year after year all five channels are packed with a mixture of repeats and things which should never be seen again.

I remember a Christmas not long ago; I can’t remember one single stand out program that appeared on the terrestrial channels that year.

To be truthful it doesn’t have to be the latest Christmas schedule as every one is the same.

The Great Escape, Tom Browns schooldays, Mr Chips and the obligatory Sound of Music.

However, there are sometimes a selection of new dramas though quite honestly, they do tend to flatter to deceive.

I remember one holiday season several years ago where one of the offerings was something called “Uncle Adolph”, God alone knows what they were thinking.

Ken Stott had the lead role, although he was more reminiscent of Groucho Marx than the Fuhrer and at one point good old incestuous Uncle Adolph was sat knocking out a tune on the piano to impress his pretty young niece and I genuinely thought he was going to burst into a chorus of “Springtime for Hitler”, to be quite honest the play couldn’t have been anymore ludicrous if he had.

I do still get my bumper Christmas edition of the Radio Times every year and open it with real hope that this year will be better than the one before, but alas.

Christmas Movie Reviews # 12

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE NINE LIVES OF CHRISTMAS

Firefighter Zachary Stone (Brandon Routh) is happy with the single life, no strings, no commitments and no settling down.
He has a succession of stunningly beautiful girlfriends, the latest one being model Blair (Chelsea Hobbs) but after he adopts a stray cat called Ambrose or more precisely the cat adopts Zachary, he meets veterinarian student Marilee White (Kimberly Sustad) in the pet food aisle at the supermarket and he begins to question if the single life is as fulfilling as he thought it was.
Marilee has also sworn off serious commitment or in fact dating in general until she finishes her final year of study but she is nonetheless drawn to the good looking firefighter.
They meet several times and the attraction grows until Blair gets Marilee fired from her dad’s pet store which leads to Zachary dumping her and going off in search of Marilee to apologize.
When he finally runs into her she gets evicted from her apartment for a breach of the tenancy agreement, namely having a cat.
So needing a place to stay he offers her his spare room and then the sexual tension builds between them.
But the question is will either of them break their vows against commitment in lieu of the love that is growing between them.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE PERFECT HOLIDAY

“The Perfect Holiday” is a fun-filled comedy full of laughter, love and just a hint of magic for Christmas.
A little girl, Emily (Khail Bryant) overhears her mother Nancy (Gabrielle Union) tell her friends that she would be happy if a man was to just pay her a compliment.
So when she goes to see the Mall Santa, Benjamin (Morris Chestnut), she asks Santa to make her mum’s wish come true.
Benjamin decides that he would make the wish come true and in the process he falls in love with Nancy with the help of an Angel, Mrs Christmas (Queen Latifah) and in spite of the efforts of her counterpart Bah Humbug (Terrence Howard).
Charlie Murphy, Katt Williams and Faizon Love also star in this, delightful family treat for the whole family to enjoy.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS STORY

The film follows a young chorister from a small Appalachian mountain town, Grace Gibson (Desiree Ross) and her family as she pursues her dream of becoming a country music star.
She is ably supported along the way by her parents (Megyn Price and Brian McKnight), her teacher and mentor (Ross McCall) and grandmother (Mary Kay Place).
The pinnacle of the film is a country and western talent show hosted by Dolly Parton in which she is up against Jamie Warner (Dillon James) and the excellent Mary Lou Memphis (Camille Sanders).
This is an enjoyably sweet tale with the subtle morality messages which you would expect in a film aimed at young teens but it has very little reference to Christmas although the final scene showing the family sitting down to Christmas dinner accompanied by Desiree Ross’s rendition of Silent Night is quite beautifully done and its worth watching the film just for that.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY

With the threat of foreclosure hanging over her father's candy store, Wendy Carroll (Ashley Williams) and her six-year-old daughter Grace (Kylie Price) travel to the big city in hopes of making extra holiday cash to save the store.
They stay with hometown friend Angie (Shanola Hampton) who works at Wolman’s Department store and Wendy manages to get a job in the toy department.
The job brings her into contact with the nephew of the store owner Tom Wolman (Jon Prescott) which prompts an instant mutual attraction, which brings her into direct conflict with Teanna Musk (Ashanti) the board appointed Grinch of a store manager.
On the surface Teanna seems hell bent on destroying the Christmas spirit throughout the store, even sacking Santa, but she has an ulterior motif.
With Wendy losing faith in Christmas she reaches out to the old man who was the store Santa only to discover he was the real deal and then she realises she must bring the true meaning of Christmas back to Wolman’s before it is too late and get her man into the bargain.
One of the films highlights is a nicely performed rendition of "The First Noel" by Wendy and Tom.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE MAGIC CRYSTAL

This is the delightful animated tale of a young orphan boy Yotan (Kyle E. Christensen) who is tricked into going to the North Pole to steal a powerful crystal by Santa’s Brother Basil (Gerald Owens).
But as soon he realises he has delivered it into the wrong hands, he sets out to return it to safety before it's too late and Christmas is lost forever.
Security Elf’s Jaga and Didi (Clarissa Humm & Cj Fam) don’t think Yotan is up to the task but Santa (Joe Carey) holds a different view.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS SWITCH

Eddie Bennett (Brian Krause) is a fast-talking, Three-card Monte dealer who has hustled the streets of New York City for the last 15 years and along with his friends, he has mastered every scam there is.
But one day in early December he is visited by a mysterious burly looking man called Nick (George Buza) who offers him an unusual proposition where he will give Eddie the opportunity to achieve eternal redemption for all the bad deeds he has done in his life and in return he must transfer his spirit into a different body for three weeks.
The body belongs to an aging, ailing Santa Claus, Sam Wells (Cedric Smith), who can use Eddie's body to play Santa for one more Christmas before he dies.
Eddie thinks the man is crazy and has no interest in redemption but if he were to go through with the deal, he'd want a million dollars in cash.
The mysterious Nick snaps his fingers and a million dollars appears before an amazed Eddie and so the deal is done.
Complications arise when Eddie's friends find out about the million dollar pay off and want part of the action and when Eddie meets Sam's daughter, Susan (Natasha Henstridge) he finds himself falling in love with her and also finds the real meaning of Christmas along the way.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE ELF THAT RESCUED CHRISTMAS

This is the delightful animated tale of a young orphan boy Yotan (Kyle E. Christensen) who is tricked into going to the North Pole to steal a powerful crystal by Santa’s Brother Basil (Gerald Owens).
But as soon he realises he has delivered it into the wrong hands, he sets out to return it to safety before it's too late and Christmas is lost forever.
Security Elf’s Jaga and Didi (Clarissa Humm & Cj Fam) don’t think Yotan is up to the task but Santa (Joe Carey) holds a different view.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF JONATHON TOOMEY

This is a story of the coming together of sad and lonely people in a gentle, moving and heart-warming way.
Jonathan Toomey (Tom Berenger) is a lonely ill-tempered and reclusive woodcarver who lives in a cabin in the woods.
He is lonely because he has lost his wife and child and he is ill-tempered because he is angry about his loss.
Thomas McDowell (Luke Ward-Wilkinson) is sad because he lost his father in the war.
When he moves to the country with his mother and he suffers further heart break when, on the journey, he loses the treasured wooden nativity set that held a special meaning for him and his dead father,
So his worried mother, Susan (Joely Richardson), persuades the curmudgeonly woodcarver to create a replacement set, and to allow her son to watch him work on it.
A curious relationship then develops during the commission as the young boy makes greater and more difficult demands of the woodcarver's ability, and as Christmas approaches, the three of them struggle to come to terms with each other and their painful memories of the past.
A lovely and very enjoyable, film beautifully shot with idyllic chocolate box scenes of the country.
There is also a strong supporting cast and even a small part for the always excellent Saoirse Ronan who never disappoints.
All in all a very good watch.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS SHEPHERD

The Christmas Shepherd is the delightful story about Sally Brown (Teri Polo) who is a published children's book author and the widow of a veteran.
After her husband Dylan died she was left with his German Shepherd "Buddy" who became her constant companion and muse.
But after a severe storm, Buddy, who is afraid of thunder, runs away and after a number of human interventions ends up with widower, Mark Green (Martin Cummins) and his daughter Emma (Jordyn Ashley Olson) and Buddy becomes the bridge that bring the two lonely people together.
A lovely film of which Buddy is the real star.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS SONG

When a boys schools merges with a girls school they are left with two music programs and two music teachers, Diana (Natasha Henstridge) and Ken (Gabriel Hogan) which is unsustainable.
One of the programs would eventually have to go which is why Principal Gedler (Brigitte Robinson) suggests they enter duos in a televised singing competition to decide who is most worthy to stay.
But despite the fact they were in direct competition Romance blossoms between the two music teachers as they also compete for the same job.
A very enjoyable holiday offering, especially the scene when the Principal has a Christmas Dinner rehearsal.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – IRA FINKELSTEIN'S CHRISTMAS

Ira J. Finkelstein (Elijah Nelson) is a Christmas obsessed Jewish boy.
He's seen every Christmas movie ever made and his dreams are filled with reindeer, sleigh rides and of course, snow.
The problem is, apart from the fact that Ira is Jewish is that at 11 years of age he feels that Christmas is passing him by and When Ira's hopes for a holiday vacation in Aspen are dashed, he hatches a plan to finally get the Christmas of his dreams.
When flying unaccompanied to visit his grandparents in sunny Florida, he swaps tickets with Mikey Amato (Justin Thomas Howell), another 11-year-old also flying unaccompanied on his way to Christmastown, WA.
But they not only trade airline tickets but places as well and Ira gets more than he bargained for when he experiences his first "White Christmas".
Elliott Gould and David DeLuise also star in this pleasant Christmas caper.

Christmas Movie Reviews # 11

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – HOLIDAY MIRACLE

On the eve of Christmas, Rockford County Sheriff Rick Langston (Dean Cain) has lost his holiday spirit.
That isn’t helped when he catches a local man who had stolen the baby Jesus from a Nativity scene in order end up in a warm jail cell.
Later he finds a man at his home and Rick naturally assumes he has broken in even though he looks and acts a lot like Santa Claus.
But he arrests the jolly old man in the red suit anyway and places him in jail with the Nativity thief and then both he and Santa open the sheriff’s eyes to a few things.
Unexpectedly Sheriff Langston then meets a woman who has just moved to Rockford named Lucy Hart (Christine Lakin) and after meeting her and her daughter Alana (Sophie Bolen) he comes to realise that even when you feel that all is lost, love is all around you and that his life promises more than he could have hoped for and he had a renewed belief in the possibility of miracles.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS MIRACLE 2007

This film is based on a true story about an estranged couple who find themselves lost in the Idaho wilderness after in impromptu snowmobile outing.
It was just before Christmas and when the weather turns they are trapped in a blizzard and the snowfall is so great all the trails are hidden.
Lost and alone Suzanne and Jim Shemwell (Jami Gertz and Dylan Walsh) are forced to confront the reasons why they separated.
Meanwhile their family, when they are not looking for Suzanne and Jim, are looking inward at themselves and re-evaluate their lives and their relationships.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – HELP FOR CHRISTMAS

Although she loves Christmas, Christine (Summer Glau), who is an elf from Santa's village, wonders if there could be more to life than making toys at the North Pole.
So when Santa receives an emergency wish from a little boy in Los Angeles, he puts Christine on a special assignment in the real world and sends her to L.A. to help the VanCamp family.
Sara Vancamp (Eva LaRue) is a busy mom with absolutely no Christmas spirit and her husband Scott (Dan Gauthier), is little better.
So Christine is to look after the two Vancamp kids, Ally (Izabela Vidovic) and Will (Mason Cook) and give the whole family a Christmas wake-up call.
It is not altogether plain sailing and the question of whether Christine will fail her assignment and be sent back to the North Pole for good, or the VanCamps will come to their senses about the meaning of Christmas is unclear, but it’s fun watching the tale unfold.
The romantic interest is provided by Sara’s brother Dave Gabriel (John Brotherton) and Steve Larkin puts in a wonderful portrayal of Santa.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS AT CARTWRIGHT’S

A single mom, Nicky Talbot (Alicia Witt) is going from door to door to find a job and boost her finances but without success.
Then a friend tells her that a big store is hiring so she goes along and gets a holiday job at Cartwright’s department store but not as floor staff, she gets the job as Santa Claus in the grotto.
This was achieved when an angel, Harry Osbourne (Wallace Shawn) entered her life and brought about some positive changes, including the spark of a new romance.
She of course was unaware that he was an angel and she thought he was from corporate.
Her head elf in the grotto was Peg (Linda Kash) and she thought Nicky was wonderful in fact everyone loved Santa Nick, except the evil Fiona Aldrich (Gabrielle Miller) who was her boss.
Nicky’s daughter Becky (T.J. McGibbon) is cute without being precocious and the love interest is supplied very ably by department head Bill (Gabriel Hogan) and her landlady Mrs. Rositani is played by the excellent Jayne Eastwood.
This is a great film, believable yet magical and any Christmas film with an Angel in it gets my vote.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS ANGEL 2009

Ashley Matthews (Kari Hawker-Diaz) has been on her own all her life but she feels even more alone when it gets close to Christmas as she searches fruitlessly for a job and the endless Christmas cheer around her only rubs salt in the wounds as she scrimps and scrapes by to support herself and her dog, Dash.
However help is at hand from her neighbour, Nick Anderson (Bruce Davison), who knows exactly what to do to help and he offers her a job.
He asks her to be his assistant in what turns out to be a philanthropic endeavour, however there’s one catch she can't tell anyone that her new boss is a kind of Secret Santa, and she must help people anonymously.
Through her new job, Ashley meets Will (K.C. Clyde), a writer for a business magazine who uncovers what Ashley is doing, and more importantly, Nick's involvement in the acts of kindness.
As Ashley and Nick help people in need, she tries to protect Nick's secret, and her own heart, while Will must weigh the consequences of what might happen if he exposes them.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SWITCHMAS

Ira J. Finkelstein (Elijah Nelson) is a Christmas obsessed Jewish boy.
He's seen every Christmas movie ever made and his dreams are filled with reindeer, sleigh rides and of course, snow.
The problem is, apart from the fact that Ira is Jewish is that at 11 years of age he feels that Christmas is passing him by and When Ira's hopes for a holiday vacation in Aspen are dashed, he hatches a plan to finally get the Christmas of his dreams.
When flying unaccompanied to visit his grandparents in sunny Florida, he swaps tickets with Mikey Amato (Justin Thomas Howell), another 11-year-old also flying unaccompanied on his way to Christmastown, WA.
But they not only trade airline tickets but places as well and Ira gets more than he bargained for when he experiences his first "White Christmas".
Elliott Gould and David DeLuise also star in this pleasant Christmas caper.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER - A HORSE TAIL

Michael Thompson (Patrick Muldoon) is an uptight city accountant who is struggling to raise his teenage daughter Chloe (Mandalynn Carlson) all on his own after his wife’s tragic death.
Being a single parent and having to work long hours Chloe doesn’t see as much of him as she would like which leads to her attention seeking behaviour, so when he gets a call from Cliff Harrison (Rick Herod) to help save their family stables before ruthless bankers shut them down, he wonders if the country life is just what he and Chloe need to start over.
However when Michael arrives to sort out a farm’s financial problems he finds that Cliff's daughter Samantha (Charisma Carpenter) is not as appreciative of his help as rest of the family (Sydney (Dominique Swain), Jackson (Jaren Lewison), and Ben (Billy Tilk)) are for his help.
But as they search for ways to save the family's legacy, Romance develops between the accountant and Samantha while the baddies in the story seem hell bent on acquiring the farms best horse called Holly which is prised by the family as it was Cliff’s deceased wife’s favourite.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS PUPPY

A cynical youth, Riley (Aaron Jaeger), whose mother Sarah (Maureen McCormick) is about to lose her job right before the holidays, is visited by a magical Christmas spirit called Hope (Vanessa Angel).
She gives him a task to help another family regain their Christmas spirit and by so doing get it back for himself.
Alexandra Paul, Jason Brooks and Mariah Buzolin star as the family in crisis but Janet Carroll steals the show as Grandmother Betty.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE GOOD WITCH'S GIFT

Almost as soon as Sheriff Jake Russell (Chris Potter) and Cassie Nightingale (Catherine Bell) decide to get married on Christmas Eve, complications arise in this Christmas serving of the Good Witch.
The first problem is the arrival in town of ex-con Leon Deeks (James McGowan) and Jake is instructed by the mayor to make him his top priority.
Jakes second complication is securing the wedding license as he can't find the documents proving Cassie’s existence in the world and then there is the difficulty of finding a wedding cake at the last minute.
However last but not least, Jake's kids are upset: Brandon (Matthew Knight) wants to spend time with his new girlfriend Jodi (Jordan Todosey), who is also the ex-cons daughter, and his sister Lori (Hannah Endicott-Douglas) manages to lose Cassie's heirloom wedding ring into the bargain.
Other than that its plain sailing.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – FINDING MRS CLAUS

Mrs. Claus (Mira Sorvino) is feeling neglected by her less than attentive husband (Will Sasso) and while she is consoling herself going through the latest mail delivery of Santa letters she finds one addressed to her.
The letter is from a girl called Hope (Aislyn Watson) so she goes to Las Vegas to help Hope with her Christmas wish which is to find love for her mother Noelle (Laura Vandervoort).
But Santa finds out she has gone and follows her to Sin City to make amends and puts Christmas at risk as a result when things don't go quite as he planned.
Andrew W. Walker provides the love interest as Barman Myles and Geoff Gustafson provides the laughs as Santa’s Elf companion, Calvin, who is more interested in gambling than finding Mrs Claus.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ANYTHING BUT CHRISTMAS

In this romantic comedy John (Sergio Di Zio) loves Grace (Elaine Hendrix) and her 10-year-old son, Zachary (Sean Michael Kyer) and he wants to propose to her at Christmas however he hates Christmas or rather he has a phobia of Christmas due to his childhood experiences, in fact it’s so bad he can’t even say the word.
Grace on the other hand loves celebrating the Christmas season and so does Zachary, they also both love John, but do they love him enough.
As the tale unfolds, chaos with exes, misunderstandings, mad parents and in-laws all imperil John and Grace's relationship and the big question is, can they get it all sorted out in time for the holidays?

Christmas Movie Reviews # 10

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ANGEL OF CHRISTMAS

Susan Nicholas (Jennifer Finnigan) is a copy editor for a New York Newspaper but she really wants to be a writer, but is continually being knocked back.
But she is given an assignment just before Christmas to write a seasonal piece for the Christmas edition of the paper, the only problem is that she is a sceptic when it comes to Christmas.
But she is inspired to write an article about her family's much-storied heirloom, a Christmas angel, which was hand carved by her great Grandfather.
It has supposedly been instrumental in bring several generation of her forebears together but Susan is a cynic about that as well.
But despite her cynicism the angel leads her to an accidental meeting with Brady (Jonathan Scarfe), a cute, upbeat artist who with the help of the angel, whisks Susan the grinch into a holiday-time friendship and hopefully more, if the hand-carved angel, with the reputation to bring people together, work its magic on the sceptical Susan as it moves her closer to Brady.
This is a really lovely Christmas story and quite magical even if the hand carved angel is really rather ugly.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A BOYFRIEND FOR CHRISTMAS

Holly Grant (Kelli Williams) is not looking forward to Christmas at her parents’ house as her brother has a wife and children and she hasn't had a boyfriend since Ted Powell (Bruce Thomas) broke her heart when he chose to break up with her when he was transferred to an out of town newspaper owned by his family's publishing empire.
Plus on Christmas Eve a woman Holly was helping failed to regain custody of her kids when pro bono lawyer Ryan Hughes (Patrick Muldoon) never showed up at the hearing.

Knowing that she was never likely to meet Hughes, Holly has to settle for dictating a nasty letter to him. Holly's friend Diane (Maeve Quinlan) tries to perk her up by promising to send her a really great Xmas present.
So when a handsome man with a Christmas tree knocks at her door, she believes that Douglas Firwood is her present and she can take him home to her parents for the day as a boyfriend she is serious about.
In actual fact Douglas is really Ryan Hughes who is acting on the instructions of Santa Claus (Charles Durning) who is trying to deliver on a Christmas Wish made 20 years earlier which is made difficult when Ted appears back on the scene.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS WISHES

Jason Gedrick, Erica Cerra, Richard Harmon, Amitai Marmorstein and Emmalyn Estrada star in this festive tale that centre’s around the towns Wishing Tree, a special Christmas tree decorated with handwritten wishes.
The story revolves around the local private school, its teachers, its “orphaned” pupils and their lives over the Christmas vacation and their reasons for being there.
It has drama, humour and romance so this movie delivers just what you want in a Christmas tale.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS MIX

The Pepper and Spice radio show in Los Angeles was a popular and edgy phone in show but cynical Pepper Sterling (Tilky Jones) over steps the mark and upsets one of the stations major sponsors and is banished to a sister station in rural Colorado town.
He was assigned to co-host a show with a "love doctor" Sandra Love (Haylie Duff), who is a hopeless romantic.
Pepper was unhappy with being second banana on a hick show in the back of beyond and wasn’t backwards in coming forward about letter people know as a result they have a spat live on air which gets them off on the wrong foot and their antagonistic relationship gets the whole town talking.
At first the two mix like oil and water but their on-air bickering becomes popular and, inevitably, they start to like each other and like soon leads to love.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED FOR CHRISTMAS

This is the endearing tale of the postal service’s four musketeers of the undelivered mail department, the beloved quartet of post office detectives, with a duty to deliver every last letter before Christmas.
Oliver O'Toole (Eric Mabius) and his team, Shane McInerney (Kristin Booth), Rita Haywith (Crystal Lowe) and Norman Dorman (Geoff Gustafson), are working around the clock to redirect Santa’s mail and with the assistance and a little guidance from a mysterious post office volunteer, Jordan (Rob Estes) they clear all the back log by the end of December 23rd.
The whole group then all attend the Christmas formal before they head off on their separate ways to spend their Christmas’s alone where they receive an emotional last-minute plea addressed to God, so they must delay their own travel plans to make sure one little girl doesn’t lose her Christmas joy.
And as they work tirelessly to make the little girl’s wish come true Oliver runs into his former Sunday school teacher (Marion Ross) and the true identity of the mysterious Jordan is revealed and the quartet discover love right under their noses.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ROSEMONT

Twenty three year old Lisa (Ayla Kell) is pregnant and running away from the baby’s father Craig (Lochlyn Munro).
She is travelling on the bus to Denver when she hears that the road ahead is closed due to snow and is going back the way they came.
But at a diner she overhears Brad (Brendan Michael Coughlin), a professional snowboarder, talking to his girlfriend on the phone about his plan to drive over the mountain in his 4 x 4 so she asks for a ride.
They make good progress initially but a blizzard over takes them and Brad's car slams into a snow bank in the middle of the wilderness.
They are forced to seek shelter at the only sign of civilization that they had seen in the last ten miles, the Rosemont Lodge.
Which was once a vibrant year-round resort, but the Rosemont Lodge had been closed for nearly 20 years.
Most of the Lodge has been sealed up and only a corner of the main building shows any sign of habitation.
As they approached the building they are greeted by the lodge's owner, Josephine (Grace Zabriskie), who is brandishing a shotgun, and her retainer Abe (Brad Dourif) who persuades her to let them in out of the snow.
Josephine used to be the heart and soul of the resort, her personality, and her cooking, were as much of an attraction as were the hundreds of acres of pristine mountain wilderness but as a result of personal tragedy she closed the resort and became a recluse.
However having Brad and a heavily pregnant Lisa about the place it has a thawing effect on Josephine and after she and Abe deliver the baby a bond is formed that has a lasting effect.

This is a very enjoyable Christmas tale in which Grace Zabriskie is the absolute star of the show as Josephine but Brad Dourif runs a close second as Abe.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER - A HORSE TALE

Michael Thompson (Patrick Muldoon) is an uptight city accountant who is struggling to raise his teenage daughter Chloe (Mandalynn Carlson) all on his own after his wife’s tragic death.
Being a single parent and having to work long hours Chloe doesn’t see as much of him as she would like which leads to her attention seeking behaviour, so when he gets a call from Cliff Harrison (Rick Herod) to help save their family stables before ruthless bankers shut them down, he wonders if the country life is just what he and Chloe need to start over.
However when Michael arrives to sort out a farm’s financial problems he finds that Cliff's daughter Samantha (Charisma Carpenter) is not as appreciative of his help as rest of the family (Sydney (Dominique Swain), Jackson (Jaren Lewison), and Ben (Billy Tilk)) are for his help.
But as they search for ways to save the family's legacy, Romance develops between the accountant and Samantha while the baddies in the story seem hell bent on acquiring the farms best horse called Holly which is prised by the family as it was Cliff’s deceased wife’s favourite.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS

Katherine (Briana Evigan) is a Royal Princess and is in New York just before Christmas for a series of official engagements.
But she just wants an hour to herself out of her busy schedule to visit an art exhibition.
But when her Aunt Margaret (Jacqueline Samuda), who runs her life, tells her it was not possible and to stop being selfish she escapes her entourage to explore New York anyway and as she is tired of her diamond-studded and privileged life and the royal responsibilities that went along with being a royal princess she decided to take longer than an hour.
But when a pair of street hustlers steal her purse and prised camera, a good Samaritan, a young man called Jack (Paul Campbell) comes to her aid and ends up sweeping her off of her feet when he shows her his side of the city.
And when her true identity is finally revealed it is Jack who arranges for her to view the exhibition unheeded after calling in a favour.
It’s a lovely film in which, Harry (Jay Brazeau) steals the show as Jack’s friend, in this gentle heart-warming Christmas tale.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY

A cynical youth, Riley (Aaron Jaeger), whose mother Sarah (Maureen McCormick) is about to lose her job right before the holidays, is visited by a magical Christmas spirit called Hope (Vanessa Angel).
She gives him a task to help another family regain their Christmas spirit and by so doing get it back for himself.
Alexandra Paul, Jason Brooks and Mariah Buzolin star as the family in crisis but Janet Carroll steals the show as Grandmother Betty.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER –CHRISTMAS BELLE

Appraiser/real estate saleswoman Isabella Everhart (Haylie Duff) is in partnership with her father Rex Everhart (C. Thomas Howell) but he’s not pulling his weight and not for the first time he drops a bombshell in her lap at the last minute, a large estate sale.
So still angry at her father she leave her California hometown in the rear-view mirror, Belle heads north on business to facilitate the estate sale of a mansion and she also put some distance between herself and her old school friend and persistent suitor Tony (Mark Famiglietti).
Despite her displeasure at being let down by her father the job is a dream, the client, Hunter Lowell (Nicholas Gonzalez), however is not, but, as the two spend more time together, his icy demeanour begins to melt.
Although their relationship is budding, Belle's long-time suitor, Tony, arrives, sending mixed signals to Hunter while adding chaos to the holiday season in a Yuletide romantic triangle.

Christmas Movie Reviews # 9

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SNOWED IN AT ROSEMONT

Twenty three year old Lisa (Ayla Kell) is pregnant and running away from the baby’s father Craig (Lochlyn Munro).
She is travelling on the bus to Denver when she hears that the road ahead is closed due to snow and is going back the way they came.
But at a diner she overhears Brad (Brendan Michael Coughlin), a professional snowboarder, talking to his girlfriend on the phone about his plan to drive over the mountain in his 4 x 4 so she asks for a ride.
They make good progress initially but a blizzard over takes them and Brad's car slams into a snow bank in the middle of the wilderness.
They are forced to seek shelter at the only sign of civilization that they had seen in the last ten miles, the Rosemont Lodge.
Which was once a vibrant year-round resort, but the Rosemont Lodge had been closed for nearly 20 years.
Most of the Lodge has been sealed up and only a corner of the main building shows any sign of habitation.
As they approached the building they are greeted by the lodge's owner, Josephine (Grace Zabriskie), who is brandishing a shotgun, and her retainer Abe (Brad Dourif) who persuades her to let them in out of the snow.
Josephine used to be the heart and soul of the resort, her personality, and her cooking, were as much of an attraction as were the hundreds of acres of pristine mountain wilderness but as a result of personal tragedy she closed the resort and became a recluse.
However having Brad and a heavily pregnant Lisa about the place it has a thawing effect on Josephine and after she and Abe deliver the baby a bond is formed that has a lasting effect.

This is a very enjoyable Christmas tale in which Grace Zabriskie is the absolute star of the show as Josephine but Brad Dourif runs a close second as Abe.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS IN CONWAY

To most of the inhabitants of Conway, South Carolina, Duncan Mayor (Andy Garcia) is a bad tempered grouch, but to his wife, Suzy Mayor (Mary-Louise Parker) he was a doting pussycat.
And he has more reason than normal to be cranky because Suzy is dying and has arrived home from the hospital to be cared for 24/7 by Nurse Natalie Springer (Mandy Moore), whom Duncan resents for being there and tries his best to ignore her.
He also singles out landscape gardener Tommy Harris (Riley Smith) for special treatment while he is working on the neighbour’s garden.
But Duncan begrudging employs Tommy to help him set up a Ferris Wheel in his own back yard as a special Christmas present for Suzy and the significance of the gift was that it was while riding one many years earlier that Duncan asked Suzy to marry him.
Neighbour Gayle Matthews (Cheri Oteri) is the only fly in the ointment who manages to the construction halted.
But the ex-carnival worker, Henry (Mark Jeffrey Miller), who Duncan bought the Ferris Wheel from comes to the rescue to finish the job with his crew.
This is a wonderful story full of tears and laughter in equal measure and Mary-Louise Parker puts in another trademark performance in a very memorable Christmas story of enduring love.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – LOST LETTER MYSTERIES FOR CHRISTMAS

This is the endearing tale of the postal service’s four musketeers of the Dead Letter Office, the beloved quartet of post office detectives, with a duty to deliver every last letter before Christmas.
Oliver O'Toole (Eric Mabius) and his team, Shane McInerney (Kristin Booth), Rita Haywith (Crystal Lowe) and Norman Dorman (Geoff Gustafson), are working around the clock to redirect Santa’s mail and with the assistance and a little guidance from a mysterious post office volunteer, Jordan (Rob Estes) they clear all the back log by the end of December 23rd.
The whole group then all attend the Christmas formal before they head off on their separate ways to spend their Christmas’s alone where they receive an emotional last-minute plea addressed to God, so they must delay their own travel plans to make sure one little girl doesn’t lose her Christmas joy.
And as they work tirelessly to make the little girl’s wish come true Oliver runs into his former Sunday school teacher (Marion Ross) and the true identity of the mysterious Jordan is revealed and the quartet discover love right under their noses.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – NAUGHTY AND NICE

The Pepper and Spice radio show in Los Angeles was a popular and edgy phone in show but cynical Pepper Sterling (Tilky Jones) over steps the mark and upsets one of the stations major sponsors and is banished to a sister station in rural Colorado town.
He was assigned to co-host a show with a "love doctor" Sandra Love (Haylie Duff), who is a hopeless romantic.
Pepper was unhappy with being second banana on a hick show in the back of beyond and wasn’t backwards in coming forward about letter people know as a result they have a spat live on air which gets them off on the wrong foot and their antagonistic relationship gets the whole town talking.
At first the two mix like oil and water but their on-air bickering becomes popular and, inevitably, they start to like each other and like soon leads to love.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS PAGEANT

When temperamental Broadway director Vera Parks (Melissa Gilbert) is fired from yet another job, she has become unemployable in Manhattan so when she gets an offer to direct a Christmas pageant somewhere upstate, she has no alternative but to take the gig.
But she comes into conflict with all the cast, who are all traditionalists, when Vera wants to change everything.
She is also reacquainted with former beau Jack Harmon (Robert Mailhouse) which she was not expecting and the former love is slowly rekindled as the rehearsals continue and then she begins to form relationships with the cast and understanding of each other’s points of views and appreciation of their positions lead to compromises being made.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS

Julie (Jeanne Neilson) and Austin Locke (Eric Jay Beck) are devastated when they learn their young son, Dax, has cancer.
Their story is told through the eyes of Megan Walsh (Candace Cameron Bure) a busy wife and mother who reads Julie’s blog about the time spent at St Jude’s hospital.
As she reads the blog she learns to put her own life into perspective while the Locke’s have to face the fact that their son is going to die and that he won’t live until Christmas, but with courage, determination and faith, they give Dax one last Christmas, even if it is in October.
You might think the death of a child an unusual component for a Christmas story but far from being morbid it is an uplifting story which makes you think.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER - A SONG FOR THE SEASON

This is a lovely story set during the holiday season, when a stern school administrator Cal Peterson (Gerald McRaney) is sent to review Bethlehem School with a view to cutting costs by any means.
He is accompanied by his teenage niece Fern (Alison Pill) who is now in his care and who, unknown to Cal, is brought alive by the music program
Cal and Fern move in with Cal’s father Jake Peterson (Andy Griffith) which provides another sub plot.
Also Cal despite himself begins to fall for music teacher Lily Waite (Naomi Judd) and following a long review, Cal is forced to conclude that the only way to save the funds is to eliminate the music program.
It is only at the final concert, before Lily must leave her job, the music program is saved by generous donations, and Cal sees Fern perform.
Not a dry eye in the house, wonderful stuff.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A STAR FOR CHRISTMAS

Cassie (Briana Evigan) owns and runs her own Cupcakery which happens to be the only thing that is actually working in Cassie's world, her small town business in fact is a huge success, but her love life on the other hand is a total mess.
She can’t get over her ex-boyfriend Jared (Travis Van Winkle) because she sees him all the time as they have joint custody of the dog.
One day a stranger in the shop announces that she makes the best cupcakes he has ever tasted and the stranger turns out to be a big time Hollywood film director and he is making a movie in town and he wants Cassie to cater for the crew.
She also meets Alex (Corey Sevier) who she thinks is a handyman and employs him to work in the bakery and then her whole universe is turned upside down when she falls in love with him before he is revealed to be the famous and notoriously troubled actor Alex Gray.
Actress Skylar (Brooke Burns) rocks the boat as the femme fatal but Cassie’s best friend Tricia (Karissa Vacker) holds things together in the enjoyable holiday romcom.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ANGEL DOLLS

Angel Dolls is by far the best Christmas movie of the last 30 years.
It is possessed with all the usual ingredients for a seasonal film, romance, humour, schmaltz, pathos and a strong Christian message but this one has something else, a surprise ending.
And that’s not something that’s easy to pull off in a Christmas movie.
Lynn Brandt (Josie Bissett) is an abused wife who leaves her alcoholic husband Darryl (Russell Porter) on Thanksgiving and moves with her children Thomas (Rustin Gresiuk) and Sara (Farryn Van Humbeck) to another town.
A year later and Lynn is working hard but getting nowhere financially and has to tell her son Thomas that they can’t afford a tree, decorations or presents.
Thomas is already having problems of his own as he’s still the new boy at high school and is being regularly bullied.
Their lives slowly become entwined with another family in trouble Kevin Morrell (Matthew Settle) has a failing business and his wife Jenny (Kendra Anderson) is heavily pregnant.
Thomas and Kevin become friends on the basketball court at a church youth club while Jenny’s pregnancy takes a turn for the worst.
Lynn finds a solution for the lack of Christmas presents and signs up the children for the Paper Angels which allows those on low incomes to write their child’s name and the desired gifts on the back of a Paper Angel hanging on the Christmas Tree at the Mall.
The school bullying soon turns to cyber bullying when another student puts up a Facebook appeal to help a poor kid namely Thomas.
But after he is befriended by popular girl Cassie Bale (Anja Savcic), Thomas uses the cyber bullying to his own advantage and turns the Facebook campaign into a charity collection for the Salvation Army.
Predictably perhaps Kevin gets Thomas’s angel from the tree, but the gifts he asks for are far from predictable.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE ROAD TO CHRISTMAS

After her flight is diverted due to bad weather high-powered fashion photographer Claire Jameson (Jennifer Grey) finds herself stranded in Middle America on the way to her dream Christmas Eve wedding in Aspen.
At the same time the rugged former artist turned teacher, Tom Pullman (Clark Gregg), and his 13-year old daughter Hilly (Megan Park) are on the road to spend Christmas with Grandma.
Claire is unable to get another flight or rent a car and is reduced to begging for a ride.
But Tom and Hilly are well into their road trip before they cross paths with Claire but when they do they kindly offer to take her to Aspen which isn’t far from their destination.
But as they got under way, none of them realized that as their journey was beginning it would lead them to a very different destination to the one they were expecting.

Christmas Movie Reviews # 8

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SMALL TOWN SANTA

On the eve of Christmas, Rockford County Sheriff Rick Langston (Dean Cain) has lost his holiday spirit.
That isn’t helped when he catches a local man who had stolen the baby Jesus from a Nativity scene in order end up in a warm jail cell.
Later he finds a man at his home and Rick naturally assumes he has broken in even though he looks and acts a lot like Santa Claus.
But he arrests the jolly old man in the red suit anyway and places him in jail with the Nativity thief and then both he and Santa open the sheriff’s eyes to a few things.
Unexpectedly Sheriff Langston then meets a woman who has just moved to Rockford named Lucy Hart (Christine Lakin) and after meeting her and her daughter Alana (Sophie Bolen) he comes to realise that even when you feel that all is lost, love is all around you and that his life promises more than he could have hoped for and he had a renewed belief in the possibility of miracles.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A FAIRYTALE CHRISTMAS

Appraiser/real estate saleswoman Isabella Everhart (Haylie Duff) is in partnership with her father Rex Everhart (C. Thomas Howell) but he’s not pulling his weight and not for the first time he drops a bombshell in her lap at the last minute, a large estate sale.
So still angry at her father she leave her California hometown in the rear-view mirror, Belle heads north on business to facilitate the estate sale of a mansion and she also put some distance between herself and her old school friend and persistent suitor Tony (Mark Famiglietti).
Despite her displeasure at being let down by her father the job is a dream, the client, Hunter Lowell (Nicholas Gonzalez), however is not, but, as the two spend more time together, his icy demeanour begins to melt.
Although their relationship is budding, Belle's long-time suitor, Tony, arrives, sending mixed signals to Hunter while adding chaos to the holiday season in a Yuletide romantic triangle.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE SANTA SUIT

Drake Hunter (Kevin Sorbo) is CEO of Hunter Toys, turned the company he inherited from his father, from a cosy quality manufacturer into a ruthless, uncaring, profit hungry business.
He employed all the production line staff on 39 hour weeks therefore avoiding the need to provide full benefits and he was no better during the holidays he showed his staff no festive generosity, no bonuses or time off.
However he gets the scrooge treatment when he meets who he presumes is one of the store Santa’s, Kris Krandall (Derry Robinson), who magically transforms Drake into a likeness of himself and as no one recognizes him as CEO he is forced to live in a shelter run by Nancy Baxter (Jodie Dowdall) and work as a Santa for Norm Dobson (Jason Blicker) in his toy store, with weird would be-actor Sebastian (Darrell Faria) as his Elf.
While working at the store he meets a quiet young girl called Gemma (Brianna Daguanno) and between his interaction with her and the kind and gentle influence of Nancy at the shelter he reassesses his values and priorities in life.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE SANTA INCIDENT

Santa (James Cosmo) has his sleigh shot down while flying through restricted military airspace and he is found unconscious on the railway tracks by two children Daniel (Scott Graham) and Sophia (Ali Lyons),
While lying in hospital in a coma one of the nurses looking after him is the children’s mother Joanna (Ione Skye), but the earthbound Santa is sought for questioning by a pair of overzealous Homeland Security agents.
As a result the fate of Christmas is in the hands of the disbelieving by-the-book duo of Agents, unless their faith in Santa can be restored by two children, their mother, the local sheriff (Jonathan Kerrigan) and a trio of elves who have arrived from the North to help out a friend in need.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – DECK THE HALLS (2011)

Based on the novel by Mary and Cathy Higgins Clark this breezy Christmas mystery thriller in which a female Detective Regan Reilly (Scottie Thompson) hooks up with a lottery winner-cleaning woman-turned amateur sleuth Alvirah Meehan (Kathy Najimy) to investigate the kidnapping of Regan's father Luke Reilly (David Selby) and a young female driver Rosita Alvarado (Luciana Carro) by a man in a Santa suit just before the holidays.
So in this fast moving seasonal thriller, the race is on to rescue the unfortunate pair from the out of character “Santa” kidnapper and get them home in time for Christmas.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A SNOW GLOBE CHRISTMAS

Meg (Alicia Witt) is a cynical TV exec who thinks the shows she produces mislead people into thinking dreams really can come true.
She is also a terrible Scrooge like boss who uses and abuses her crew, but she meets her match when she encounters Sal (Christina Milian) but that was mainly because she was an Angel.
During a conversation between the two of them Meg tries to smash a snow globe which bounces up and hits her on the head and knocks her out.
When she wakes up she is in the perfect snow-covered town depicted in the snow globe and she has a husband, Ted (Donald Faison) and two children.
Unable to fit into the world that she finds herself in, despite the fact that everyone in town tries to accept her, her negative attitudes eventually impacts on the town folks.
But just as she starts to realize that she likes her snow globe life better than her real one, she returns to reality with another bonk on the head courtesy of Sal, but she is no longer the person she was.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE TWELVE TREES OF CHRISTMAS

The Twelve Trees of Christmas strongly echoes the rivalries of "You've Got Mail" or "Two Weeks’ Notice".
Cheri Jamison (Lindy Booth) works at the Shaughnessy Library in Manhattan and she finds out shortly before Christmas that the library is not to reopen after the holiday and is to be demolished to make way for luxury apartments.
She immediately rallies the residents of her beloved Manhattan neighbourhood to fight the closure but finds herself up against an ambitious developer Tony Shaughnessy (Robin Dunne).
Despite her efforts she is thwarted at every turn so decides to get all the patrons of the library to participate in a Christmas tree decorating contest to be judged on Christmas Eve by Rosaleen Shaughnessy (Dawn Greenhalgh).
The process of decorating the trees brings romance to some of the participants including despite their best efforts, Cheri and Tony.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT 2013

Charlotte Hart (Nicollette Sheridan), a distinguished journalist, has moved back to her home town and is living with her brother’s family.
However just before Christmas a real estate developer, Daniel Huntslar (Bart Johnson) approaches the small town with a very lucrative offer.
However Charlotte is sceptical and as she’s a journalist her nose tells her there’s a real scoop, so she drives to see the real estate company boss to question him, however while en route she has a terrible car accident and wakes up in the hospital only to realize that her body is in a coma, but her spirit is very much awake.
She then meets another spirit who just happens to be the greedy developer who was the driver of the other car involved in the crash and he too is in a coma.
In the five days before the big vote on the proposed development Charlotte must try to change the minds of the town’s people as well as her fellow spirit.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ONCE UPON A HOLIDAY

Katherine (Briana Evigan) is a Royal Princess and is in New York just before Christmas for a series of official engagements.
But she just wants an hour to herself out of her busy schedule to visit an art exhibition.
But when her Aunt Margaret (Jacqueline Samuda), who runs her life, tells her it was not possible and to stop being selfish she escapes her entourage to explore New York anyway and as she is tired of her diamond-studded and privileged life and the royal responsibilities that went along with being a royal princess she decided to take longer than an hour.
But when a pair of street hustlers steal her purse and prised camera, a good Samaritan, a young man called Jack (Paul Campbell) comes to her aid and ends up sweeping her off of her feet when he shows her his side of the city.
And when her true identity is finally revealed it is Jack who arranges for her to view the exhibition unheeded after calling in a favour.
It’s a lovely film in which, Harry (Jay Brazeau) steals the show as Jack’s friend, in this gentle heart-warming Christmas tale.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS PROMISE

Michael Thompson (Patrick Muldoon) is an uptight city accountant who is struggling to raise his teenage daughter Chloe (Mandalynn Carlson) all on his own after his wife’s tragic death.
Being a single parent and having to work long hours Chloe doesn’t see as much of him as she would like which leads to her attention seeking behaviour, so when he gets a call from Cliff Harrison (Rick Herod) to help save their family stables before ruthless bankers shut them down, he wonders if the country life is just what he and Chloe need to start over.
However when Michael arrives to sort out a farm’s financial problems he finds that Cliff's daughter Samantha (Charisma Carpenter) is not as appreciative of his help as rest of the family (Sydney (Dominique Swain), Jackson (Jaren Lewison), and Ben (Billy Tilk)) are for his help.
But as they search for ways to save the family's legacy, Romance develops between the accountant and Samantha while the baddies in the story seem hell bent on acquiring the farms best horse called Holly which is prised by the family as it was Cliff’s deceased wife’s favourite.

Christmas Movie Reviews # 7

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SECRET SANTA 2001

10-year-old, Jackson Mayhew (Rory Culkin) moves in with his Aunt (Sherilyn Fenn) after the death of his parents.
Aunt Patty works the bar at the Coconut Grotto hotel in Florida and it’s at the Hotel where Jackson befriends an elderly man Sam Clausner (Hume Cronyn) and he begins to suspect that the old man is actually Santa Claus,
The wonderful Hume Cronyn's is brilliant and plays his role with panache and it will be remembered as a holiday classic.
His flawless performance was given despite the fact he was almost 90 years old.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE 2009

Ashley Matthews (Kari Hawker-Diaz) has been on her own all her life but she feels even more alone when it gets close to Christmas as she searches fruitlessly for a job and the endless Christmas cheer around her only rubs salt in the wounds as she scrimps and scrapes by to support herself and her dog, Dash.
However help is at hand from her neighbour, Nick Anderson (Bruce Davison), who knows exactly what to do to help and he offers her a job.
He asks her to be his assistant in what turns out to be a philanthropic endeavour, however there’s one catch she can't tell anyone that her new boss is a kind of Secret Santa, and she must help people anonymously.
Through her new job, Ashley meets Will (K.C. Clyde), a writer for a business magazine who uncovers what Ashley is doing, and more importantly, Nick's involvement in the acts of kindness.
As Ashley and Nick help people in need, she tries to protect Nick's secret, and her own heart, while Will must weigh the consequences of what might happen if he exposes them.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE THREE GIFTS

Jack Green (Dean Cain) inherited a southern Californian horse ranch from his father complete with an all-natural toy factory in the barn. Along with his wife Cherie (Jean Louisa Kelly) he is bullied into taking in the three “holy terrors” from orphanage run by his bossy aunt Rita (Mimi Kennedy).
It's only for a few weeks while renovations are done which would be completed before the holidays.
Mike (Dylan Sprayberry) and his buddies, Henry (Alex Zubarev) and Ray (Spencer Bridges), prove to be a handful, but Jack proves that he has father-potential and he and Cherie like having them around.
The trio go on their best behaviour after overhearing the couple are considering adopting just one of them, but that means they have to become rivals in order to be the one that’s chosen, resulting in trouble for everyone and fun for the viewer.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – LOST AT CHRISTMAS

This film is based on a true story about an estranged couple who find themselves lost in the Idaho wilderness after in impromptu snowmobile outing.
It was just before Christmas and when the weather turns they are trapped in a blizzard and the snowfall is so great all the trails are hidden.
Lost and alone Suzanne and Jim Shemwell (Jami Gertz and Dylan Walsh) are forced to confront the reasons why they separated.
Meanwhile their family, when they are not looking for Suzanne and Jim, are looking inward at themselves and re-evaluate their lives and their relationships.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS 2013

After being told by her boss that the company needs to attract more clients, Elizabeth (Melissa Sagemiller), a skilled executive, is also told she is to get unwanted help in the form of Robert (Brad Rowe), to grow the business.
Through the help of one of Santa’s helpers, Calvin the Elf (Martin Klebba), she is blessed with an extraordinary gift when she obtains a piece of jewellery that allows her to hear everyone’s unspoken thoughts.
It was intended to make her become more self-aware in order to find personal and professional fulfilment but she uses it as a tool to gain new clients and get one up on Robert.
However having first used her new-found power to get ahead at work, she soon learns to become a better person, and turns an office rivalry into romance while learning the true meaning of Christmas.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER –
COME DANCE WITH ME

Jack (Andrew McCarthy) is an executive in a financial brokerage firm and seems to have it all.
He is a rising star in line for a big promotion and has already impressed the boss, Drew Clayton (Chris Gillett), He is also dating the boss’s daughter’ the beautiful and elegant Demi Clayton (Stephanie Mills).
Jack plans to propose to Demi at her father's lavish annual Christmas Dance but in order to create the perfect impression on the night he signs up for ballroom dance lessons.
Which is when he meets dance instructor, Christine (Michelle Nolden), and the story really begins.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ALL I WANT IS CHRISTMAS

Ira J. Finkelstein (Elijah Nelson) is a Christmas obsessed Jewish boy.
He's seen every Christmas movie ever made and his dreams are filled with reindeer, sleigh rides and of course, snow.
The problem is, apart from the fact that Ira is Jewish is that at 11 years of age he feels that Christmas is passing him by and When Ira's hopes for a holiday vacation in Aspen are dashed, he hatches a plan to finally get the Christmas of his dreams.
When flying unaccompanied to visit his grandparents in sunny Florida, he swaps tickets with Mikey Amato (Justin Thomas Howell), another 11-year-old also flying unaccompanied on his way to Christmastown, WA.
But they not only trade airline tickets but places as well and Ira gets more than he bargained for when he experiences his first "White Christmas".
Elliott Gould and David DeLuise also star in this pleasant Christmas caper.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – HELP FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Although she loves Christmas, Christine (Summer Glau), who is an elf from Santa's village, wonders if there could be more to life than making toys at the North Pole.
So when Santa receives an emergency wish from a little boy in Los Angeles, he puts Christine on a special assignment in the real world and sends her to L.A. to help the VanCamp family.
Sara Vancamp (Eva LaRue) is a busy mom with absolutely no Christmas spirit and her husband Scott (Dan Gauthier), is little better.
So Christine is to look after the two Vancamp kids, Ally (Izabela Vidovic) and Will (Mason Cook) and give the whole family a Christmas wake-up call.
It is not altogether plain sailing and the question of whether Christine will fail her assignment and be sent back to the North Pole for good, or the VanCamps will come to their senses about the meaning of Christmas is unclear, but it’s fun watching the tale unfold.
The romantic interest is provided by Sara’s brother Dave Gabriel (John Brotherton) and Steve Larkin puts in a wonderful portrayal of Santa.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS 1991

Ethan (Ethan Embry), is the practical older brother, and adorable Hallie (Thora Birch) knows how to charm her way out any given situation, and they are both intent on spending Christmas with their parents, Catherine (Harley Jane Kozak) and Michael (Jamey Sheridan), and grandmother, Lillian (Lauren Bacall).
Despite the fact that their parents are divorced and Catherine is about to marry Tony Boer (Kevin Nealon)
So when Hallie goes to visit Santa Claus, she asks for the unusual gift of getting her parents back together.
Ethan and Hallie embark on their adventure and almost nothing goes exactly as planned partly because Ethan is preoccupied not only with his parents' romantic dilemma but also his first teenage crush, Stephanie (Amy Oberer).
This Christmas comedy is a hilarious caper to ensure everyone lives happily ever after scheme to get what they most want for Christmas.
So in the end does Catherine decide to reject Tony and remarry Michael or do the children fail.
Watch it and see.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THIS CHRISTMAS

This Christmas, is a holiday drama centred on the Whitfield family's first Christmas together in four years.
In Los Angeles, Shirley Ann Whitfield (Loretta Devine), affectionately known as Ma'Dere, is the matriarch of the Whitfield family.
Her six children are scattered far and wide, wife and mother Lisa (Regina King) lives in San Francisco and feels the need to take on the responsibility to manage her extended family's welfare.
Traveling jazz musician Quentin Jr (Idris Elba), who has been absent from the family for four years, and Claude (Columbus Short) is a marine.
In New York ad exec Kelli and (Sharon Leal) is the self-confessed selfish one, Mel (Lauren London) is a college student and Michael (Chris Brown) still lives at home while figuring out what he wants to do with his life.
Ma'Dere has lived in the family home for a few years now with Joe Black (Delroy Lindo), a church deacon, with Ma'Dere's husband/the children's father, Quentin Whitfield Sr., long having left the family to pursue a life as a jazz musician.
Each person present in Ma'Dere's house at Christmas is dealing with an issue in his/her life, some known by the family and some not but they all have an effect on the family dynamic associated with how “This Christmas” will turn out for them as a collective family.

Christmas Movie Reviews # 6

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – HOLIDAY HELP

A single mom, Nicky Talbot (Alicia Witt) is going from door to door to find a job and boost her finances but without success.
Then a friend tells her that a big store is hiring so she goes along and gets a holiday job at Cartwright’s department store but not as floor staff, she gets the job as Santa Claus in the grotto.
This was achieved when an angel, Harry Osbourne (Wallace Shawn) entered her life and brought about some positive changes, including the spark of a new romance.
She of course was unaware that he was an angel and she thought he was from corporate.
Her head elf in the grotto was Peg (Linda Kash) and she thought Nicky was wonderful in fact everyone loved Santa Nick, except the evil Fiona Aldrich (Gabrielle Miller) who was her boss.
Nicky’s daughter Becky (T.J. McGibbon) is cute without being precocious and the love interest is supplied very ably by department head Bill (Gabriel Hogan) and her landlady Mrs. Rositani is played by the excellent Jayne Eastwood.
This is a great film, believable yet magical and any Christmas film with an Angel in it gets my vote.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A GRANDPA FOR CHRISTMAS

Bert O'Riley (Ernest Borgnine) is an old-time entertainer who is retired from showbiz and estranged not only from his daughter Marie (Tracy Nelson) but also his 9-year-old granddaughter, Becca (Juliette Goglia).
And it would have remained that way had Marie not been badly hurt in a car crash and had to be hospitalized for a prolonged period.
Social services has to find someone for 9 year old Becca to stay with, her father isn’t on the scene her grandmother is dead so they turned to Bert.
He was about to sell his house and move into a retirement home but suddenly finds himself caring for a granddaughter he didn’t know he had.
It’s very awkward at first, Becca is horrified she has to live with her Grandpa because not only has she never met him, but everything she had ever heard about him her whole life is what a bum he was.
But gradually the bond between the two of them grows and she realises that Bert isn’t a bum after all, in fact she gets to meet his old show-biz friends, Roxie Famosa (Katherine Helmond) Adam Johnson (Jamie Farr) and Karl Sugarman (Richard Libertini) and she learns that her Grandpa is a pretty good guy and that her Mom was wrong about her Dad all along.
While Marie was in hospital he showed tender loving care towards Becca and took charge in her life and when she was ready to be discharged she accepted that she and her daughter had been brainwashed into thinking that Bert was an ogre and agreed that they should go and live with him.
It's a wonderful story emphasizing strong family traditions which is most appropriate for the holiday season.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE SANTA CLAUSE

Divorcee Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is disgusted to learn that his ex-wife Laura (Wendy Crewson) and her husband Dr Neil Miller (Judge Reinhold) have tried to break it to their 6-year-old son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) that Santa isn't real, thankfully they failed but a huge argument ensued.
But on Christmas Eve, after Scott has read “The Night Before Christmas” to Charlie and put him to bed Charlie is awakened by a bump on the roof so he wakes up his Dad.
They discover a man in a Santa suit on the roof and when he's startled by Scott calling out to him, he falls, leaving only an 8-reindeer sleigh and an empty suit with instructions to put it on if the previous occupant was involved in an accident.
Scott does as the card says and is transported all around the town dropping gifts through chimneys until he's taken to the North Pole and informed by a group who claim they're elves, led by Bernard (David Krumholtz), that he is now Santa Claus.
Charlie is so proud of his dad's new job, though Scott is convinced that it was just a dream, that is until his hair turns white, his beard keeps growing back, and he inexplicably gains a lot of weight.
He finds himself unable to come to any other conclusion other than to accept that he is Santa, however there is just one problem, how is he going to keep it secret from his disbelieving family.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE SANTA CLAUSE 3: THE ESCAPE CLAUSE

Santa Claus (Tim Allen) had problems, it was only a few days before Christmas and production was lagging, Mrs. Claus (Elizabeth Mitchell) was about to give birth to their first child and wanted family time, and the Counsel of Legendary Figures had called an emergency meeting to discuss Jack Frost (Martin Short) and at the end of the meeting he is left with Santa, on probation and under his supervision.
To appease his wife he flew her parents (Alan Arkin and Ann-Margret) up to the North Pole but had to pretend to them that they were in Canada.
He also brings his ex-wife Laura (Wendy Crewson), her husband Neil (Judge Reinhold), and their daughter Lucy (Liliana Mumy) to surround his wife with family.
But while Santa is busy with the family Jack makes mischief inside the toy factory and hatches a plan to become Santa and with Santa juggling so many things he manages to trick him into invoking the little-known Escape Clause and wish he'd never become Santa.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS BOX

Richard Evans (Richard Thomas) a struggling ski-shop owner reluctantly moves himself, his wife Keri (Annette O'Toole) and his daughter Jenna (Kelsey Mulrooney) in to an old estate as live-in help for an elderly widow, Mary Parkin (Maureen O'Hara).
While he struggles to balance his career and family life, he has recurring dreams about an angel.
The relationship between Keri, Jenna and Mrs Parkin is very revealing and the moment of the tree decorating is particularly heart-warming but it’s her interactions with Richard that exposes the secrets and sadness of her past.
This is a great holiday film with a classy performance from Maureen O'Hara and Richard Thomas puts in a gem of a performance.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ANGEL IN THE FAMILY

Sarah Bishop (Tracey Needham) and her estranged sister Beth (Natasha Gregson Wagner) are reunited after their father Buddy (Ronny Cox) suffers a mild stroke.
Buddy, who's never accepted the loss of his wife Lorraine (Meredith Baxter), has only one wish and that is for her to return home for Christmas.
With the sweet memories of Christmas‘s gone by brought to mind, Sarah makes an impossible wish, namely that her mother could be there too and make the family complete.
And by morning, the Christmas prayer had been answered when her mother returned from beyond the grave to spend one final Christmas with her earthbound family.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – GIFT OF THE MAGI

Mark Webber and Marla Sokoloff star in this modern take on the classic tale the Gift of the Magi.
Newlyweds Jim and Della Young move into their new apartment, that they can barely afford and despite having to make do with second hand furnishings they are happy.
However after Della’s car is stolen they have to use up all their saving to buy another one.
As a result they agree not to buy Christmas presents that year.
Secretly however they both decide to do so anyway.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS VISITOR

A remarkable Christmas story of loss and renewal in which the Boyajian’s have not celebrated Christmas in 11 years not since they lost their son to the Persian Gulf War and their faith was lost with him.
But that all changed when a stranger joined them, who was around the same age their son would have been.
George (William Devane) struggles with the past and his wife Carol (Meredith Baxter) searches for answers and his daughter Jean (Reagan Pasternak) fights for the future.
They wonder if the stranger, Matthew (Dean McDermott), is a con artist or if he is perhaps the miracle their family has been waiting for.
Slowly his influence reawakens their faith and appreciation of Christmas in a way that will change them forever.
It’s a lovely endearing tale of small town America and learning to appreciate what you have through what you’ve lost.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS 2015

Jamie Patterson Mason Douglas is jealous of his rich friend Blake Matthews (Juliocesar Chavez) so when he gets annoyed at his parents (Antonio Sabato Jr and Shannen Doherty) he makes a wish to swap families with his wealthy best friend at Christmas.
To his delight his wish comes true and he finds himself living the extravagant lifestyle he always dreamed of true However despite having everything he ever wanted, his new mother and father have little time for him, and he grandmother has been dumped in a home and so he ends up trying to put things back the way they were.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS LIST

Krissy Kringle (Hilarie Burton) dislikes Christmas intently, mainly because she’s had to go through life with the name Krissy Kringle.
But she also suffered the indignity of having her street renamed “Candy Cane Lane” as a result of her name and the street name she gets regular deliveries of Christmas mail.
This particular year however was worse than normal when she is fired from the Ad Agency where she works instead of getting the promotion she was expecting and is forced to take a job as a present wrapper at the Mall and must dress as an Elf.
When she arrives home and forces open her front door, amidst the mountain of Christmas mail she finds a special delivery intended for Santa Claus, the Naughty or Nice book which he had left behind while visiting a child.
Krissy uses the power of the book to expose the naughty deeds of those around her, but soon finds that her newfound power can have devastating results.
Gabriel Tigerman is excellent as Krissie’s partner in crime at the Mall, Marco Webb and Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter put in a convincing performances as her parents Walter and Carol Kringle.

Christmas Carols and Songs # 3

FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS CAROL # 48 THE AGE OLD REASON FOR JOY

The Age Old Reason for Joy
Composed by Robin Mayhew

Some know very well the age old story of the birth and life of Christ.
It's hard to believe all that's been narrated in our modern world of light.
Magic stories, Christ ascending
All give some a cause to doubt
But (Amin) faith is the thing you (Dmin) must (Amin) develop
To give you heart and sing it out.
Chorus
Let us sing our praise
On this special day
Young and old as one
Full of love and fun
It's that time of year
To be so full of cheer
One divine birth
And our Saviour is here.
Verse 2
Before He was born the Ten Commandments were known by almost every man.
God gave them to Moses well before to underline His wondrous plan.
But man had stumbled from the path
So God sent his Son.
To give to the world an understanding
Of what is right and what is wrong.
Chorus
Let us sing our praise
On this Christmas day
Young and old as one
Full of love and fun.
It's that time of year
To be so full of cheer
One divine birth
And Jesus is here.
Verse 3
Gather all of your loved ones close around and sing of the joy this Day does bring.
Make friends and wish them all the best and teach them all the words to sing.
Tell your children
And their children
Everything thing you know that's right
For faith and love is born at Christmas
Through God's son Jesus Christ.
Chorus
Let us sing our praise (There's so much to sing about)
On this Christmas day (Makes you want to shout it out)
Young and old as one.(There's so much to celebrate)
Full of love and fun. .(On this very special date)
It's that time of year (Let us make it very clear)
To be so full of cheer (Only joy and never fear)
One divine birth (Happiness and merriment)
And Jesus is here.
Reprise
So there is the age old reason for
This wondrous joy at
Christmas time.

FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS SONG # 45 DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

Despite the general awfulness of the Christmas song there are however always exceptions to the rule and I have a short list of personal favorites.
Without exception all my choices not only include the song but the best performer of that song and so in no particular order here is my forty fifth selection.

“Driving Home For Christmas”
Written and Performed by Chris Rea
I'm driving home for christmas
Oh, I can't wait to see those faces
I'm driving home for christmas, yea
Well I'm moving down that line
And it's been so long
But I will be there
I sing this song
To pass the time away
Driving in my car
Driving home for christmas

It's gonna take some time
But I'll get there
Top to toe in tailbacks
Oh, I got red lights on the run
But soon there'll be a three-way
Get my feet on holy ground

So I sing for you
Though you can't hear me
When I get trough
And feel you near me
I am driving home for christmas
Driving home for christmas
With a thousand memories

I take look at the driver next to me
He's just the same
Just the same

Top to toe in tailbacks
Oh, I got red lights on the run
I'm driving home for christmas, yea
Get my feet on holy ground
So I sing for you
Though you can't hear me
When I get trough
And feel you near me
Driving in my car
Driving home for christmas
Driving home for christmas
With a thousand memories

FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS SONG # 46 RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER

Despite the general awfulness of the Christmas song there are however always exceptions to the rule and I have a short list of personal favorites.
Without exception all my choices not only include the song but the best performer of that song and so in no particular order here is my forty sixth selection.

“Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer”
Written by John Marks
Performed by Bing Crosby

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen,
But do you recall?
The most famous reindeer of all?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Has a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows.
All of the other reindeer's
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?

Then all the reindeer loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer
You'll go down in history!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Has a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it,
You would even say it glows,
And all of the other reindeer's
Used to laugh and call him names,
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games,

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Wont you guide my sleigh tonight?

Then all the reindeer loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
You'll go down in history!

FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS CAROL # 42 THE SEVEN JOYS OF MARY

The Seven Joys of Mary
English traditional Music and lyrics authorship unknown

The very first joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of one
To see her blessed Jesus
When He was first her Son
When He was first her Son.
Chorus
When He was Her first Son, Good Lord;
And happy may we be,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
To all eternity
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of two
To see her own son Jesus,
To make the lame to go.
To make the lame to go. Chorus
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of three
To see her own son Jesus,
To make the blind to see.
To make the blind to see. Chorus
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of four
To see her own son Jesus,
To read the Bible o'er.
To read the Bible o'er. Chorus
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of five
To see her own son Jesus,
To bring the dead alive.
To bring the dead alive. Chorus
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of six
To see her own son Jesus,
Upon the Crucifix
Upon the Crucifix. Chorus
The next good joy that Mary had,
It was the joy of seven
To see her own son Jesus,
To wear the crown of Heaven
To wear the crown of Heaven Chorus

FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS SONG # 48 CHRISTMAS LULLABY

Despite the general awfulness of the Christmas song there are however always exceptions to the rule and I have a short list of personal favorites.
Without exception all my choices not only include the song but the best performer of that song and so in no particular order here is my forty eighth selection.

“Christmas Lullaby”
Written By Ann Hampton Callaway
Performed by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

This is a Christmas Lullaby
To still you softly into dreaming
A simple Christmas lullaby
I sing to you each passing year
The world is wrapped in joy and wonder in silent mystery
And in this spell that we are under
Blessing surround our hearts completely
This is a Christmas Lullaby
For someone lovely as snow falling
I sing your Christmas Lullaby
To cradle you with all our love
Let peace on earth be yours tonight
Under the star that shines so bright
The world is wrapped in joy and wonder in silent mystery
And in this spell that we are under
Blessing surround our hearts completely

FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS CAROL # 43 SIR CHRISTMAS

Sir Christmas
Music and lyrics written by Rev Richard Smart 1435-1477

Sir Christmas appears and sings
Nowel, Nowel, Nowel, Nowel.
The Assembly asks
Who is this that singeth so,
Nowel, Nowel, Nowel.
Sir Christmas replies
I am here, Sir Christemas.
The Assembly
Welcome my Lord, Sir Christmas.
Welcome to us all, both more and less.
Come near. Nowel.
Sir Christmas
Dieu vous garde beaux sieurs, tidings I you bring:
A maid hath y-bore a Child full young,
The which causeth you for to sing Nowel.
The Assembly
Nowel, Nowel, Nowel, Nowel.
Sir Christmas
Christ is now born of a pure maid,
In an ox stall He is laid,
Wherefore sing we all at a brayde. Nowel.
The Assembly
Nowel, Nowel, Nowel, Nowel.
Sir Christmas
Buvex bien par toute la compagnie.
Make good cheer and be right merry
And sing with us now joyfully. Nowel.
The Assembly
Nowel, Nowel, Nowel, Nowel.

FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS SONG # 47 THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

Despite the general awfulness of the Christmas song there are however always exceptions to the rule and I have a short list of personal favorites.
Without exception all my choices not only include the song but the best performer of that song and so in no particular order here is my forty seventh selection.

“The Little Drummer Boy”
Written by Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone
Performed by Bing Crosby

Come they told me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
A new-born king to see pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Our finest gifts we bring pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum
Come they told me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
A new-born king to see pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Our finest gifts we bring pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
to lay before the king pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum
so to honour him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
when we come
Little baby pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
I stood beside him there pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
I played my drum for him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
I played my best for him pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
Rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum
And he smiled at me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum
me and my drum

FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS CAROL # 44 STAR OF THE EAST

Star Of The East
Lyrics written by Alfred Hans Zoller
Translation by George Cooper in 1890
Music by Amanda Kennedy in 1883

Star of the East, Oh Bethlehem's star,
Guiding us on to Heaven afar!
Sorrow and grief are lull'd by thy light,
Thou hope of each mortal, in death's lonely night!

Fearless and tranquil, we look up to Thee!
Knowing thou beam'st thro' eternity!
Help us to follow where Thou still dost guide,
Pilgrims of earth so wide.

Star of the East, thou hope of the soul,
While round us here the dark billows roll,
Lead us from sin to glory afar,
Thou star of the East, thou sweet Bethlehem's star.

Star of the East, undimmed by each cloud,
What tho' the storms of grief gather loud?
Faithful and pure thy rays beam to save,
Still bright o'er the cradle, and bright o'er the grave!

Smiles of a Saviour are mirror'd in Thee!
Glimpses of Heaven in thy light we see!
Guide us still onward to that blessed shore,
After earth's toil is o'er!

Star of the East, thou hope of the soul,
While round us here the dark billows roll,
Lead us from sin to glory afar,
Thou star of the East, thou sweet Bethlehem's star.

Oh star that leads to God above!
Whose rays are peace and joy and love!
Watch o'er us still till life hath ceased,
Beam on, bright star, sweet Bethlehem star!