Have you been meaning to watch old holiday film classics but never get around to it? Or are you just as disturbed as we are by some of the mid-century Christmas TV programming (looking at you, Rudolph)? In Episode 31 Meagan and Sarah talk about our favorite – and not-so-much – holiday movies, TV, books, and music. Join us!
BEYOND At Home
Meagan mentioned that we’ll be doing some holiday special mini-episodes of The Mom Hour, so look for those later this month! She also let it slip that she’s leading a virtual retreat beginning in January and that podcast listeners will get a special discount when it launches. Be sure to subscribe to The Mom Hour if you haven’t already!
Links we discussed in Episode 31
MOVIES & TV
- It’s a Wonderful Life, Holiday Inn, and White Christmas
- Miracle on 34th Street (the 1947 version and the 1994 remake)
- The Snowman
- Annie (the 2014 version)
- Love Actually
- A Christmas Carol (the 1984 version)
- The Polar Express
- Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- How The Grinch Stole Christmas! (the 1966 animated version)
- Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas and Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas
- Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, and A Christmas Story
- One Magic Christmas (favorite listener award goes to anyone who also watched this movie as a kid!)
- The Nutcracker (the 1993 Macaulay Culkin version and the 1977 version with Baryshnikov)
BOOKS
- A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) – FREE on Kindle!
- The Christmas Magic (Lauren Thompson)
- The Little House series (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
- Books by author Jan Brett
- The Nativity (Julie Vivas)
- Oh, What a Christmas! (Michael Garland)
MUSIC
- Meagan’s Christmas Hour (Spotify playlist)
- Come Let Us Adore Him and Sing Noel (The Lower Lights)
- Sarah likes this version of The Nutcracker (The Orchestra of The Royal Opera House Covent Garden)
OTHER STUFF
- ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas 2015 Schedule
- 25 Christmas Movies You Can Stream (Digital Trends)
- Best Holiday Movies for Kids (Commonsense Media)
Loved this episode. A more recent movie that I really liked was The Holiday with Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black (being very un-Jack Black) and Jude Watson. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457939/
That’s a great one, Holly! Thanks for the reminder!
The Barenaked Ladies – Barenaked for the Holidays is a favorite around my house every year! Also, my favorite 80’s band, Erasure released a holiday album a few years back that is wonderful – Snow Globe. Enjoy!
My kids love BNL! Will have to check that one out for sure. Thanks, Carol! 🙂
Obsessed with Meagan’s playlist in case anyone was wondering, it’s perfect!
We celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah in our house and my son watches Full Court Miracle on Disney Channel On Demand. It tells the Hanukkah story with a basketball theme which my sports loving boy loves. It’s from some years ago.
I have seen “One Magic Christmas” many times!! Hallmark channel used to play it regularly on their Christmas movie rotation after Thanksgiving. The angel Gabriel takes her kids; and in the movie he is depicted kind of like a cowboy. The actress is great, but I always thought it was a really weird movie.
I love the podcast! You guys are great!
I love the George C Scott Christmas Carol but I don’t think it’s the one Megan was referring to. It’s not a musical. Could she be thinking of Scrooge with Albert Finney? It’s from 1970 but it would have been on TV in the eighties.
http://www.amazon.com/Scrooge-Albert-Finney/dp/B0000AQS5D/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449759761&sr=8-1&keywords=scrooge
Awesome podcast guys! Now I’m in the mood to watch some Christmas specials!
OMG, Beth, you’re totally right! THANK YOU!! There was something nagging at me that the name wasn’t actually A Christmas Carol, but I wouldn’t have remembered that on my own.
The night before listening to this podcast I watched Love Actually and wrapped presents after my kids went to bed! Loved listening to you guys chatting about it, it’s definitely my favorite. I also have enjoyed Meagan’s playlist… such a good mix. Celine Dion also has a great Christmas cd, it’s not all the classic songs, but I still love it.
You can get all the Christmas Scenes from Little House in one volume. A Little House Christmas: Holiday Stories from the Little House Books – Published in 1995.