BP and I started a family tradition a few years ago. I’m not sure we knew we were starting one when we began, but it has become something we look forward to each year as December approaches. For each day of December until Christmas day we watch a Christmas television special from one of our favourite TV shows or, if we have time, a Christmas movie.
It sounds a little cheesy and from the outset it might seem really repetitive watching a different group of people celebrate Christmas every day for 25 days. The thing is, Christmas movies and Christmas specials almost always have some up-lifting message or cheery ending. It tends to make me feel quite good about Christmas, instead of cynical, like I used to be.
Some of our favourites are:
- the 30 Rock Christmas special where Jack and Liz try to find the coolest presents for each other they can manage without spending any money,
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,
- the first Simpsons Christmas,
- Roseanne’s Christmas special ‘Santa Claus’,
- Home Alone 1 & 2,
- Scrooged, mostly for Bill Murray
- Of course, It’s a Wonderful Life.
So what did we watch today? Well, since we relaxed our Little Fearse no-TV rule we thought we’d better kick it off with something we could share…
Help me out here – do you have any great, unique traditions that your family has created? Also, any suggestions for Christmas TV specials or films that we should add to our list this year?
Merry December,
Mama xox
The Fearse Family 
We watch the Muppet Christmas Carol (on VHS) every year as we put up the tree, although the kids (10 and 13) do have to be persuaded a little now…) 🙂
I still love it!
Oh that’s perfect! BP is a huge muppet fan, as is Little Fearse.
Great!
Also, for the grown-ups, check out the Big Bang Theory Christmas episode where Sheldon and Penny exchange gifts, gets me every time! 🙂
Many, many years ago when my brothers and I were little my Mum got the Patsy Biscoe Christmas album on cassette. I fell in love with I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas and since then that album has always meant Christmas to me. It is now a current family tradition to play the Patsy Biscoe album at Christmas. Today we had it blaring (from Spotify as the cassette tape stretched some years back) while putting up the Christmas Tree with Mr Four. It was so cute watching him sing along at the top of his lungs to Jingle Bells and Rudolph and I love that he’ll have memories of this like I do 🙂
Oh, good old Patsy Biscoe. She drives me a little crazy but Little Fearse loves her. I bet she’d get a kick out of I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas!
My mum makes a Christmas pudding every year (that when cooked, she pours brandy over it and sets it alight) and we each have to stir the mixture three times and make a wish. If you’re not present for the stirring it is done via proxy over the phone.
My tv and movie suggestions are..
He-man and She-ra Christmas Special – yes it exists and I own it. (I could lend it)
A Christmas Story – Ralphy, BB guns, tongues getting stuck to frozen telephone poles…it’s my favourite Christmas film
Just Friends – starring Ryan Reynolds. Many might think it’s garbage but I enjoy it at Christmas (it is also set during the festive season)
Charlie Brown Christmas
Elf
Father Ted Christmas episode
Bridget Jones has Christmasy elements which I also enjoy repeatedly throughout December.
Hey thanks for your great suggestions. I love the idea of fulfilling a tradition by proxy. We may just be the kind of parents who make our kids watch the same Christmas movies as us from across the world. Maybe by then they’ll have holograms so you can be in two places at once or something.
Have a lovely xmas tradition, my parents gave me a xmas tree ornament every year since i was little! i now have about 25 and they are all diffrent and represent me at a diffrent age. i LOVE them, and this year they are going up on my very first own tree (am 27). I hope they will do the same for future grand children.
Oh, that is a lovely tradition! I bet your tree looks gorgeous, too, and full of memories.
Not particularly unique, but we go out for Chinese food on Christmas evening. We do our big dinner on Christmas Eve so it’s a nice way to unwind.
I think the Christmas Eve meal is wise. I’m usually in a food coma by Christmas night…then we have Christmas on the following day (Boxing Day here) with BPs family.
I loved the movie Babe when I was a kid, although mum used it as a way to get me to sleep hehe I didn’t actually see the end of it until I was about eight years old 🙂 I loved Magda Szubanskis character the fretting woman trying to get everything perfect on Christmas day hehe.
OH yeh! I forgot Babe had the whole Christmas thing. Thanks!