One of the Many Things I Love About the Holidays

The holidays are just around the corner. For some people, it means trips to the shopping mall, menus to prepare, family members to invite, travel arrangements to be made.  For me, it means holiday movies. You heard me right, holiday movies.

You know the ones I’m talking about. Those movies on the channels people think only middle-aged women watch. I know for a fact men watch them, too. And although they’d deny it if you asked, I’m proud to report I’ve been watching those channels since I was single in my twenties.

I love holiday movies. I can’t get enough of them. Even though, as my husband pointed out, they pretty much follow the same plot lines. Girl leaves her small hometown and lives her adult life in the big city. She’s changed to a tough, career-minded girl who has a boyfriend who’s a jerk but also is on the high powered, cold, success track. Said boyfriend breaks up with her. She goes back to her small town where she grew up for the holidays and reconnects with her old flame. They live happily ever after in a holiday themed ending. Or a high-powered successful woman from the city goes to a small town which loves Christmas and even has a real live St. Nick there who is, of course, named Nick. She goes there to take over a business or close down the town and ends up falling in love with the town and it’s handsome, blue-collar hero.

Sounds cheesy, right? But I always end up tearing up during those movies, especially during that final iconic scene. Hand in hand, the townspeople surround the main-street Christmas tree and sing carols while the camera cuts to a kiss between the happy new couple. It warms my heart and touches me in a way nothing else can.

You see, my holidays never were like that. I didn’t grow up in a small town. The one time I actually lived in a small town, I did go see the lighting of the Christmas tree next to the town hall. But it wasn’t like the Christmas trees in the movies. It was just a regular pine tree which was always there strung with rainbow Christmas lights. It was bare like the tree on “A Charlie Brown Christmas” before the Peanuts Gang decorated it with ornaments. Only a handful of people came to the lighting, and it was so underwhelming, I barely noticed when the dim lights flickered on. No convivial hand-holding, no burst of caroling, and certainly no romantic kissing.

And what was missing most of all was the magic. The magic of our childhood beliefs (Santa!). The magic of true love that surrounds the hero and heroine as they kiss beneath the mistletoe. The message that true love is out there, and it’s even better during the holidays. And last but not least, but certainly my favorite: the magic of changed hearts as the female lead comes to love her small town and its people.

So, this holiday season, I ask you to stop on one of these movies when you’re flipping through the channels (or if you don’t have cable television, click on one of the many holiday movies on Netflix.) Laugh at the utter cheesiness of some of the moments. Bite your nails when the plot thickens. And above all else, let the holiday scenes fill your heart with the magic that only comes around this time of year.