'Twas the night before Christmas...

It's Christmas Eve, have been listening to Christmas music for weeks (the classics like Johnny Mathis and Bing Crosby), our Christmas tree has filled our living room (so big that we have to look at it from outside), has soooo much tinsel on it that it could be confused with a space ship (nope, my girls are not big into being subtle), and I'm really waaaaay more into Christmas than photography at this very moment so thought I would share my "top five all time" Christmas movies of all time.


Number one on my list is "The Bishop's Wife" with Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven. It's the story of an Episcopal Bishop who is losing sight of his family and why he entered the church as he becomes far too engrossed in having an elaborate cathedral built, that is until an angel (Cary Grant) enters his life and helps him refocus on what is really most important.


Second on the list is "A Christmas Carol"... don't really think I have to tell anyone what this movie is about. There are soooooo many versions, but for me it's a tossup between 1999 version with Patrick Stewart or the 1938 version with Reginald Owen and I am only slightly embarrassed to admit I have every version that has been filmed on DVD. A great "modernization" of this classic tale is "Scrooged" with Bill Murray (VERY funny).


Third is "It's a Wonderful Life", a story about how George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) spent his entire life trying to get out of Bedford Falls but for one reason or another never succeeds. Feeling his life has been a waste he has the rare opportunity to see what the lives of those people he has touched would have been like had he never been born, it's then that he realizes that he truly is the richest man in town.

Fourth is "The Family Man" with Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni, this funny, touching story is about redemption, second chances and family. It looks at what life would have been like had Jack Campbell (Nicolas Cage) chosen a mini van and diapers over a Ferrari and (equally) fast women.



Fifth, and last on my list is "The Shop Around the Corner", another movie with Jimmy Stuart and is less a Christmas movie and more a movie that takes place at Christmas time. If you've seen the movie "You've got Mail" you already know the plot line.

These are my favorites because they beautifully demonstrate love that we (should) have for each other and that demonstrate the better side of mankind. If you like sentimentality at Christmas (like I do) you just can't go wrong with any of these movies, if you haven't seen them (or it's been some time) I would strongly encourage you to give them a try.

Please, please please, I would love nothing more than to hear what movies have made it to the top of your Christmas movie list.