THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS WISH (1950)

On the Eve of Christmas, hard times fall on vaudeville performer Joe Mahoney (Jimmy Conlin), and he is forced to part ways with his extraordinary, indispensable, kilt-wearing animated dancing companion Rupert the squirrel.

Rupert finds his way into the hands of another struggling vaudevillian, Louie Amendola (Jimmy Durante), who takes a dingy room at the home of miserly landlord Frank Dingle (Frank Orth) and his family.

But thanks to Rupert an unexpected Christmas miracle is about to take place that everyone will benefit from.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – MISTLETOE MIXUP (2021)

 

Holly (Danielle C. Ryan) was a workaholic with no time to find romance, or to celebrate the holidays, however her friend and employer, Vicky (Adrienne Thomas), persuades her to go to a Christmas Tree farm to buy a tree to get her in the holiday mood and encourages  her to make a Christmas wish to improve her love life.

She unintentionally makes two wishes and ends up ends up meeting two great guys Tom Austin (Joey and Matthew Lawrence) on the same day while shopping for the Christmas tree.

She ends up going on a date with each of them but it’s not until much later during a family holiday ski trip she discovers that both of her potential suitors are present, and they turn out to be brothers.

Immediately the truth comes out sibling rivalry ensues which almost causes her to lose her mind, but she also loses her heart.

So, will Holly find true love or spend another Christmas alone?

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – MY FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS TREE (2022)

Kyla (Emma Johnson) is a skilled genealogy researcher who does amazing work putting together family trees for her clients but has hit a brick wall with her own ancestry.

That is until she has to travel to the charming town of Conifer with her sister Mandy (Marnie Mahannah) to meet Christmas tree farm owner Cody (Giles Panton).

While she’s there she discovers some new information regarding her mother's mysterious extended family which was even more surprising than finding holiday romance.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS STARS (2019)

When aspiring R&B artist Layla (Erica Durance) crosses paths one day with Spence (J.T. Hodges) a bartender with a hidden talent for writing lyrics.

It’s obvious they have chemistry and Layla thinks her luck has changed and she has finally got her big break and has a shot at  getting a record deal.

However, things don’t quite according to plan as the music execs want to change their sound and even focus on Spence as the real star.

So, as the holidays approach will their relationship survive the torrid ups and downs of the music business.

 

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (078) Christmas Carole

 

The village of Kettlewell sits in the rolling Pepperstock Hills that form the northwest border of the Finchbottom Vale and it is half a mile from the hamlet of Kettlewell-on-the-Hill, the two of which made up the parish of St Augustine’s Church, and Kettlewell is 1.5 miles from its largest neighbour, Highfinch where Carole Bond was born and raised.

On Christmas Eve she was driving through the village she had lived in her whole life and could never imagine living anywhere else.

Carole had come close to losing the house after her husband left and had to work hard to keep a roof over her children's heads after the divorce.

She had had to make sacrifices over the years and one of those was romantic attachments which was why she hadn’t found a significant other in her life.

However, her sons, were now both engaged to fine young women, so time was running out for her to find love again before the grandchildren came along.

 

When she arrived at the Downshire Arms she parked the car and went in, once inside the pub she removed her coat, she was wearing a Christmas outfit bought specially for the occasion.

Black leather ankle boots, green Christmas tights with holly motif on her shapely legs, and a red velvet dress, mid-thigh with gold trim.

Her first stop was the ladies so she could check her make up.

She looked in the mirror and considering her age she was very happy with what she was seeing, her skin was glowing, she had her fair share of lines but then she did have a smiling open face, her hazel eyes were still stunning, her hair was honey coloured and was her one vanity as it came from a bottle.

She smiled at her reflection because her children had been talking about wanting to find someone for her, but they didn’t know that she already had her sights set on the new Doctor at the surgery where she worked as a receptionist.

So, when he invited her out for a pub lunch, she treated it as an early Christmas Present.

After a final look in the mirror, Carole smiled at her reflection and said.

“Happy Christmas Carole”

Then she went into the restaurant and when she saw her lunch date, who was sitting waiting for her, turn and smile at her, she felt sure she would have a Happy New Year as well.

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (077) Christmas Goose

 

In the early morning mists of late September Robert Armstrong was involved in a fifteen-car pileup on the Finchbottom Expressway which almost took his life.

He suffered multiple fractures, a lacerated liver and a punctured lung and was in an induced coma for three weeks.

When he was allowed to go home, his girlfriend Lillian Baggott

and his sister Beth looked after him, it was an uphill struggle but as Christmas approached a corner was turned.

 

It was a bright winter morning two days before Christmas, Lillian was pottering around the bedroom in her nightie and chatting ten to the dozen as Robert lay in bed.

When he first came home, she slept in an armchair beside the bed for the first week, after that she moved into the spare room at night, she missed sleeping beside him, she had hoped that would have changed by Christmas.

Lillian sighed to herself and then after drawing the curtains went over to the bed.

“Time to get you sat up” she said with a smile and reached across him.    

“Morning girls” he said as he gazed down the top of her nightie as she leant forward, at her beautiful braless breasts.

“Behave, you’ll strain something” she retorted with a chuckle, but she made no effort to block his view.

“I won’t strain anything by doing this” he said and pulled her towards him so he could kiss her passionately.

Lillian closed her eyes as Robert kissed her then afterwards, she said wistfully. 

“I’ve missed you kissing me and holding me”.

“Have you missed anything else?” he asked, and her eyes widened.

“So much” she replied dreamily.

“Then you’d better come and join me then” he said.

 

Lillian emerged from the bedroom flush faced and smiling and walked across the landing.

“You’re looking very pleased with yourself” Beth said as she reached the top of the stairs.

“Robert is feeling better” Lillian retorted smugly and added before going into the bathroom “I just got a Christmas goose”.

Uncanny Christmas Tales – (076) Stolen Christmas Kiss

 

Harriet Fisher was fast approaching her 18th birthday and although she wasn’t aware of it, was considered to be an absolute beauty, elegant, daintily petite, intelligent, funny, sexy and with a perfectly beautiful angelic voice, pure Carrington Chase educated perfection and it was a voice that made Charlotte Green sound common.

Harriet of course didn’t see herself that way and found it difficult to express her true nature because she was painfully shy.

It was appropriate that she sounded the part as she was a day boarder at Carrington Chase, which was Downshire’s version of Roedean, although those in Downshire thought it was the other way around.

 

Although Harriet was almost an adult, she still had to wear full school uniform every day, which she found very annoying, but it was a quirk  of the school, and it was the best.

During term time she lived at her Godmother Mary Davenport’s house in Carrington as her family home was in Abbottsford.

She did of course go home during the holidays and most weekends, but not all, but Harriet seldom went out and when she did, it was with the Davenports, who did their best to make her feel part of the family, but it was not the same as being at home.  

 

Johnny Davenport was the eldest child at 23 and was the only one of the family who hadn’t really had any dealings with Harriet.

He had been at university for three years and when he was home for holidays she was back in Abbottsford.

However now he was doing his master’s he was studying a lot of the time at home, but due to her shyness their interactions were very limited.

He really liked what he’d seen and figured she would probably warm up a little one she got used to him being around, but it was taking a while, so he decided he should be more proactive as they approached Christmas, he needed to make his move before she went back to Abbottsford for the holidays.

 

He had been putting Christmas decorations up with his mum all day but when she left to do the school run, he made sure that he was downstairs when Harriet returned home from college so he could intercept her as soon as she arrived through the front door so she couldn’t rush straight upstairs to her room, as was her normal routine.

 

When he heard the key in the lock he walked towards the door and as soon as he could see her distinctive uniformed figure through the glass, and he knew firstly that it was her and secondly that she was in the porch he prepared to strike.

Johnny didn’t have to wait for long for the porch to open and as Harriet wasn’t expecting to be confronted and her arms were full, she was easy prey.

So, the moment she became aware of his presence he held the mistletoe above her head and said.

“Merry Christmas!” and planted a kiss on her surprised lips.

The duration of the kiss was only a second or so and when he had finished, and Harriet made no protest he took it to be a good sign, so he turned away and said over his shoulder.

“I have more mistletoe in the lounge if you’re interested”.

Once he was in the lounge he stood by the Christmas Tree and waited and hoped he hadn’t miscalculated.

Johnny only had to wait for a minute before she appeared in the doorway still wearing her complete school uniform, minus her coat and shoes.

Harriet gave a quick glance to confirm where Johnny was and then she walked slowly towards him in short shuffling steps with her head down as she stared down at her stocking feet, until she came to a shuffling halt when she was standing in front of him.

Harriet then took a deep breath before she raised her head and looked up at him expectantly.

Johnny’s heart melted as he looked down on the diminutive figure gazing up at him and he realised for the first time that he loved her.   

So, when he stooped down to kiss her expectant lips it held much more significance than the one, he stole in the hall, and that was reflected in the duration.

The long sensual kiss was followed by another and another and would have led to another had she not heard her godmother and Johnnys siblings emerging from the car outside.

They had to wait another full day before they could pick up where they left off for the first of many more times and it turned out that she had a very good reason not to go home to Abbottsford every weekend, and that reason was she had fallen in love with Johnny Davenport.