This time of year, is a Christmasphile's dream. It's mine, too. The television stations have started earlier than ever this year (all of November) with their nonstop offerings of holiday pap and I'm lovin' it. Our satellite company has no less than three channels offering 24-hour, aroundthe- clock syrup. Sugar coma, here I come.
I have to admit now that I'm older, I no longer care for the traditional 'romance' storylines although as a teen I'd have been watching them all. You know the ones I'm talking about. They're the ones where the high-powered girl (or boy) is a workaholic and needs to be taught a lesson on love, kindness, giving, and sharing their feelings by not being a Scrooge. This is accomplished by getting sent to a small town that lives and breathes nothing but Christmas. It's a winter wonderland and sweetness overdose all rolled into one.
They are 'thrown' together with a boy (or girl) who never left their hometown and wouldn't even think of living anywhere else. Everyone knows everyone else, so a city-slicker stranger stands out like a sore thumb. The town, and especially the hometown boy (or girl), makes it their mission to sweet them to death.
They are usually made to work together on some project that will devastate the town if it's not pulled off by Christmas Eve. The local boy (or girl) usually has a parent that's widowed for some added heartstring-tugging. Occasionally a child is added to the mix for the cuteness factor.
Just as the sparks start to fly between the workaholic city slicker and the homegrown guy (or gal), in waltzes the boyfriend/fiancé (or girlfriend/fiancée) to throw a spanner in the works. They show disdain for the small-town hicks and try to convince their flame to return to 'civilization'. Of course, our protagonist always chooses to give up their high-paying, stress-inducing job for the simple life in Christmas Central.
My favorite type of shows is the non-traditional ones that aren't totally romance centric. For example: 'Holiday In Handcuffs' is about a girl in her late twenties who is being commanded by her controlling mother to meet the family at a remote cabin in the woods. Her boyfriend breaks up with her just as they are supposed to leave for the weekend so she 'kidnaps' a really cute guy who happens into the cafe where she works and forces him to stand in for the absentee boyfriend. Of course, through a series of events they get together but the way it's set up, you're rooting for her in the end.
'Holiday Switch' is about a woman whose family is struggling financially during the holidays. Her put-upon husband does his best to keep her and their two children smiling. She climbs into her dryer (goofy, I know) and finds herself married to a rich former boyfriend and childless. She also discovers they are divorcing and finds out that money does not necessarily equal happiness. She makes it back home just in time for Christmas and finds her joy.
'Journey Back to Christmas' is about a World War II-era nurse caught in a storm and seeks shelter. When she awakens, she's been transported to 2016. She is completely baffled as to where she is. She meets the town lawman who takes her under his wing while several in town are trying to figure out if she's a con. In the meantime, she helps them find the real meaning of Christmas. On a walk, she spots a memorial to those from the town who died during the war and sees that her presumably deceased husband's name is missing. She and a few of the townspeople help her find her way back home where she discovers her husband is alive.
On the lighter side, I like 'Funny Farm' starring Chevy Chase and Madolyn Smith in a 'fish-out-of-water story of New Yorkers moving to an idyllic rural town where the people are a little different. Hilarity ensues with a corpse in the garden, a drunken mailman who tosses their mail on the ground, and a sheriff that's not allowed to drive. After not realizing his dream to be a novelist, he puts the house up for sale and pays the locals to 'act like a Norman Rockwell' painting to a pair of prospective buyers. In the midst of this, they realize they don't really want to move so they stay put and make a happy future together.
Of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without all three 'The Santa Clauses', 'Home Alone' one and two, 'It's a Wonderful Life' or 'Small One' which is the story of the donkey who carried Mary to Bethlehem.
I know I've mentioned some of these movies before. What can I say? I'm in Christmasphile Heaven.