Christmas Movies

Now, it's no surprise that I love, love, LOVE Christmas. Seriously - every single thing about it! One of my favorites, though, is Christmas movies! From Lifetime movies to the 25 Days of Christmas on ABCFamily, to movies on Netflix - I'm a lover of all things Christmas movies! And yes, I'm well aware that Christmas has been over for almost two weeks now, but I have still been watching Christmas movies that I recorded. There's just not enough time in the day to get them all watched right at Christmas! So, without further adieu, here are the Christmas movies that I saw and loved this year, whether they be first-timers for me or traditional watches. 
A Christmas Proposal Two lawyers dueling over a proposal to turn a quaint mountain town into a ski resort are former childhood sweethearts. Lisa is fighting to protect Fillmore and big-city attorney Rick represents the developer who wants to plow down part of the town. When car troubles force Rick to stick around a few extra days, the small town and his former beloved begin to work their magic on him. 
This movie is one I've seen every year for the past few years on LMN {that's Lifetime Movie Network for those of you that aren't familiar}. I love the small-town feeling in this movie, and it always reminds me of home! 
Saving Santa A lowly stable elf finds that he is the only one who can stop an invasion of the North Pole by using the secret of Santa's sleigh, a TimeGlobe, to travel back in time to save Santa - twice. 
This is a movie that I found perusing Netflix one night and watched with my hubby while it was freezing outside. It made for a few laughs and a great lazy Saturday night in! Per IMDB, it was newly released this year. 

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation The Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.
Okay, so I jumped on the National Lampoon's bandwagon this year! I've seen this movie on many Christmas-lover's movie lists, so I vowed to finally watch it this year {that's right, I was unfamiliar with the Griswold family prior to this movie this year!}. So, the Saturday after Thanksgiving while at Colten's grandparents' house, we watched it on Netflix, and it was hilarious! I'm so glad that I've finally seen this movie! Definitely a must-see for the entire family! 

Twelve Trees of Christmas Cheri Jamison rallies the residents of her beloved Manhattan neighborhood to participate in a Christmas tree contest when her cherished local library is abruptly set for demolition. Cheri finds herself up against an ambitious developer, Tony Shaughnessy. 
This is a new movie on LMN, and I'm so glad that I recorded this one! It revolves entirely around an old, neighborhood library and the joys it brings to not only the employees, but the children and their families as well. As an avid reader myself, I truly enjoyed this film! It's a must for all book lovers alike! Heck, even if you don't love to read, it's still a great story. 

The Santa Clause When a man inadvertently kills Santa on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place. 
This one is a classic! I watch it every year, and this year enjoyed it with my husband. I laugh and really get into this movie every single time! It was first released in 2004, and I'm pretty sure I've been in love with it ever since. If you're looking for a good, fun, family Christmas movie - this one's for you! It's hilarious and very well done. Who doesn't want a glimpse inside of the North Pole at Christmastime? 

The Santa Clause 2 Scott Calvin has been a humble Santa for nearly ten years, but it might come to an end if he doesn't find a Mrs. Clause. 
This one is up there, right behind The Santa Clause {duh}. I love the addition of Scott's niece and her joy and love for Christmas! I also am fond of the fact that you really get to see Santa still being a father to Charlie, through all of his problems at school. I know it's what ultimately leads him to the Mrs, but it's nice to see the 'family' aspect of the movie as well as the Christmas one. If you're watching the first film, you might as well settle in for The Santa Clause 2 as well! 

The Mistle-Tones Holly, blessed with an amazing singing voice, is all set to audition for the newly vacated spot in a legendary local Christmas group which was founded by her late mother years ago. Shocked and upset when the spot goes to the barely talented best friend of the group's leader, Marci, Holly sets out to create her own musical group, the Mistle-Tones. Holly finds herself on a journey to the real meaning of Christmas with some new friends and a new love thrown in for good measure. 
This movie is becoming a favorite of mine! It first released on ABC Family in 2012, and I just love it! It's a competitive movie about the love of Christmas and singing carols, with a love interest thrown in the mix. It's a great movie that reminds you of the true meaning of Christmas! A great flick for the whole family! 

Christmas on the Bayou When successful New York marketing executive Katherine discovers her workaholic ways are taking a toll on her eight-year-old son, Zac, she decides to spend Christmas with him and her mother, Lilly, in her home town on the bayou. When Caleb tries to rekindle a childhood romance and convince her to move back home, Katherine is torn between the bright lights of the big city and the quiet, gentler rhythms of her Southern roots. Only a Christmas miracle orchestrated by Papa Noel can steer her heart to her true home. 
This is a newly released movie on Lifetime. It's such an amazing story of a family trying to survive post-divorce at Christmas. Being a southern girl myself, it was refreshing to watch a truly Southern Christmas movie and just fall in love with the small hometown community on the bayou. And the Christmas parade was out of this world! I loved this movie!! 

The Holiday Two women troubled with guy problems swap homes in each other's countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love. 
I may be biased on this one, seeing as when I first moved out of my parents' house, I didn't have cable and didn't own any DVD's other than this movie, so I watched it on repeat for weeks and weeks before I finally got cable hooked up. With that being said, this is my all-time favorite movie ever! I love the humor, the romances, the homey feel of England with the large city life of L.A. It's just a great mix all the way around! Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz killed it! It also doesn't hurt to get to stare at Jude Law...just sayin'. :) 


So, there you have it! Christmas movie watchin' is officially over in our home, as sad as it makes me. But I absolutely loved these movies this past Christmas, and I can't wait to see what next Christmas brings! :)  What are some of your go-to Christmas movies? 

Family is Forever

Oh my goodness - WHAT A WEEKEND!! And wait, it's 2014? Are you sure? ... 
Regardless of the fact that I've been MIA all year, I had the most amazing weekend ever this past weekend. Seriously. It's what we all needed, and I'm so glad that we were able to enjoy it before the craziness of life hits us with full force. Because let's face it, today is back to reality for a lot of people, including myself! 
This weekend, I went on a surprise visit home. My sister {who now has a blog of her own thanks to her amazingly awesome sister!! ahhhh!!} was planning to head home for the weekend to just get away. I tagged along, and my brother jumped on the bandwagon with us on Saturday morning! So, we headed out for the two hour drive. 
On the way, my brother DJ'd for us with a playlist of random songs that took us back, back, back in time! {Drumline reference...love, love, love that movie!}. Just to name a few...
Buckcherry - Crazy Bitch Eminem - Slim Shady Britney Spears - Oops I Did it Again Jay Z - 99 Problems  Chumbawamba - Tubthumper Freak Nasty - The Dip  Will Smith - Gettin Jiggy With It  The Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood Train - Meet Virginia  Christina Aguilera - Genie in a Bottle Shaggy - Angel Crazy Train - Butterfly Baha Men - Who Let the Dogs Out Britney Spears - Work Bitch Shaggy - It Wasn't Me 
I told you, random and old school! It was so much fun and really made the drive fly by! And then we surprised my parents when all three of us showed up - so that was fun, too. AND IT ONLY GOT BETTER FROM THERE! I seriously cannot put into words how great this weekend was. But I'm trying anyway :). 
Once we got home, we trekked over to the old house that we grew up in, and boy, the memories came flooding back! We laughed and just reminisced over so much! Once we got back to mom and dad's house, we went through even more stuff that my mom had brought over from the old house already. We had such a fun time reading through old school assignments and projects - laughter is good for the soul, right? :) 
I had apparently written a hilarious story about how much I love to fish. Be on the lookout for that later this week ;). We also played some Future Cop on the Playstation 2! Another trip down memory lane! It just kept coming and coming, all weekend long! 
Sunday after church, we played some games, but the most popular and most fun was pictionary! We played that game and laughed so hard for well over 4 hours! I learned just how much I am not artistic, by any means... 
Overall, this weekend was a big trip down memory lane, and we loved every second of it! It was so good and refreshing to get together as a family and truly enjoy one another's company. We weren't trolling Facebook or glued to the TV the entire time. We actually spent quality time together! I think we all needed it, and we were all so happy the entire weekend! There was no bickering or arguing or fighting or anything. It was just a long, fun-filled weekend with my family. And it's one I'll cherish forever. 
I know that reading this, it may not seem like that great of a weekend, but I guess you just had to be there! We busted out some crazy dance moves, sang stupid song lyrics, got weird things stuck in our head, and laughed at each other's randomness. Blessed moments, I tell ya! And because we spent so much time away from our phones, I didn't really get any pictures of the craziness {I know, blogger fail}, but it was SO GOOD to be able to just live in the moment and enjoy time with my loved ones. God has truly blessed me with one amazing family, and for that, I'm forever grateful! He knew we needed this time together and He didn't disappoint!