Holiday Cheer

As a child, nothing was quite like the magic of holiday movies. As an adult, I hold onto my favorites and hope to collect them all.

One of my absolute favorites is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. This one was especially entertaining to children and introduced great literature to young people. It was my first experience with Dickens, and it remains a treasure in my mind.

Another favorite of my family, especially my father, is the ever classic Grinch. None of the remakes had come out when I was a child, so the original from 1966 is the one I grew up with.

In 1993, we went to see a new movie, completely unique at the time, that changed holiday movies forever. Jack Skellington as Santa is forever etched in my mind as part of the Christmas tradition. The story was originally a picture book, and we had that, too.

When I was a child, the annual twenty-four-hour Christmas marathon of A Christmas Story began on television. We would watch off and on Christmas Day. It's my mom's very favorite holiday movie, and a much-beloved movie by many.

But my very favorite Christmas movie is from the mid-1990s. The classic tale starring Tim Allen: The Santa Clause. I never saw the sequels, but the original is incredible to me. I always cry when Scott and Charlie arrive at the North Pole for the first time.

Traditions are what bring the holidays joy for many people, and those traditions can be passed down through the generations or the fun pieces of holidays with a found family.

Whoever you celebrate with for the holiday, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

For all of you who don't celebrate, I wish you a happy day for whatever religious holiday you celebrate. 'Tis the season for many people. Happy Holidays to all.