It's the most wonderful time of the year...Almost!

The holiday season has begun and Christmas is just around the corner. I could not be more excited! I know some people wait to start celebrating and decorating for Christmas until after Thanksgiving but I am always in favor of starting early. Why deck the halls tomorrow when you can deck them today?

Christmas music always makes me happy but my favorite way to get in the holiday spirit is to watch Christmas movies. There are so many wonderful Christmas movies but these are my absolute favorites:

"You guys give up or are you thirsty for more?" Oh how I love this movie! I remember watching it as a kid and thinking that it would be so much fun to have a house to myself, but also thinking how scary & sad it would be to be all alone for Christmas. I know it's a "kid" movie but I love it just as much today as I did the first time I saw it. Another classic from the late, great John Hughes.

Speaking of classics...




"Everytime a bell rings, an angel gets its wings." This movie warms my heart. Watching Clarence show George Bailey what Bedford Falls would be like if he'd never existed...George deciding he wants to live and realizing what a "wonderful life" he had...and Clarence earning his wings...gets me every single time. I've seen this movie more times than I can count but I can't help but cry at the end when George sees how many lives he's touched and that the town has raised enough money to save the Building and Loan. It really is a wonderful life and this movie reminds me how lucky I am for the blessings in my own life. (And apparently turns me into a giant sap too!)



My final favorite holiday movie isn't a classic (yet) but the first time I saw it, it earned a place on my list of favorites.




I think this is a wonderful movie for so many reasons. It's happy and sad, hopeful and hopeless, funny, romantic and just so real. The eight love stories are woven together so masterfully and each showcases a different aspect of love. Everytime I see this movie I have a different "favorite" love story. Sometimes it's Colin Firth's character, the writer, and his housekeeper who fall in love despite the fact that they don't speak the same language. When he proposes in broken Portugese and she replies in imperfect English...so romantic! And sometimes my favorite story is the love between the stepfather and stepson as they struggle through the loss of their wife and mom. The innocent love between the porn stand-ins is so sweet and the singer and his manager who really are each other's family... I just love the message that love comes in all shapes and sizes. My heart just breaks for Emma Thompson's character who realizes her husband has been unfaithful but stays for her children, and for Laura Linney who can't make a romantic relationship work because she's so committed to her mentally ill brother, and for the man in love with Kiera Knightly but can't have her because she's married to his best friend. Love isn't always easy or perfect. Despite these sad stories the movie is still so fun and uplifting. The music is amazing and who doesn't love all the British accents? Love really is all around.



These are my favorite holiday movies...what are yours?