Countdown to Blogmas: Christmas Movies All Around!

I'm tryin' something new this year and I'm going to jump on the Blogmas bandwagon and post every day from December 1st through the 25th with a different holiday post. We'll see how it works out, but  I'm definitely in the planning stages right now. It should be pretty cool. 

You know, this year I tried not to be one of those people who immediately skips from Pumpkin Spice to Peppermint, Jack O' Lanterns to Christmas lights, but I just couldn't help it. Halloween ended and the next day I watched Eloise at Christmastime, my favorite holiday movie....or one of them. I thought that if you were also in the Christmas spirit just a touch early this year, I would share my favorite Christmas movies (that I may...or may not have already watched so far this month).

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

While my mother loves the original, I am definitely partial to the Jim Carrey version of things. Loosely based on the original Grinch, this version relies much more on physical comedy and Carey's mastery of one-liners (who-venile delinquents, anyone?). For some reason, the version that I watch about a billion times online each year and the one ABCFamily uses for 25 Days of Christmas are a little different, so I get to enjoy both several times before the holidays are over.

Eloise at Christmastime

Oh, I absolutely love Eloise! This is, by far, one of my favorite movies, Christmas or otherwise, because I love Eloise. She's precocious and adorable and sees life as black and white (and sometimes, pink!): You love each other? Good, I'll make sure you end up together. If you're not as Disney obsessed as my family, you may not know that this premiered as part of the revival of Wonderful World of Disney over 10 years ago. Sophia Vassilieva plays Eloise and Julie Andrews plays her ever-patient Nanny in the duo of films that they produced in the Eloise series. It's such a sweet movie and I love how she plays the famous six year old.

Year Without a Santa Claus

If you don't love a good Rankin-Bass Christmas movie, you don't have a soul. These are what make Christmas in my eyes, and this particular movie is my absolute favorite of them all, probably because of Heatmiser and Snowmiser. The flamboyant duo who control the temperature of the world are what make this movie.

The Family Stone

I saw this in theaters when it came out (I was much too young to understand the movie) and liked it. Now that I watch it as an adult, there is something about this movie and this family that makes you fall in love with them. Despite their dysfunctionality and the craziness that ensues when they get together, at the end of the day, they love each other and everything turns out alright. I love it and will watch it again and again this season.

Arthur Christmas

Oh, the slippers in this movie! Written about Santa's youngest, most...well-meaning son, this movie shows what happens when three generations of Santa live under the same roof and how the meaning of Christmas is so individual. I love the animation and to be totally honest, the movie reminds me a lot of my childhood even though it came out three years ago.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Dear mainstream media and obnoxious parents, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is not promoting bullying. It's promoting acceptance of differences and dancing to the beat of your own drum. I can't believe that's become a topic of conversation. This is one of my Dad's favorites and I can't help but love it, too. After all, Rankin-Bass rules Christmas. Yukon Cornelius makes this movie for me. With his big, red beard and his can-do attitude, he kinda reminds me of Teddy Roosevelt. Between him and The Bumble, this movie really couldn't get any cuter.

It's a Wonderful Life

True Life: I love Jimmy Stewart. After I saw Harvey like 7 years ago, I fell in love and when I watched this movie for the first time as an adult last year, I just fell in love with him all over again. After all, who is more charming than Jimmy Stewart holding a bathrobe out to a naked woman hiding in a bush?

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Rank-Bass, man. This movie was my absolute favorite as a kid. I loved the Winter Warlock and the Burgermeister Meisterburger. It's just such a silly, feel-good movie and I watch it at least twice every holiday season because I love the music and the story of Santa and the explanation of Mrs. Claus. Plus, Santa's a ginge. Of course I'm gonna love the movie, duh!

Rise of the Guardians

Technically, this movie takes place around Easter, but I mean with the giant, Russian Santa and the elves and yetis running around, there's no way it's an Easter movie. I just love this movie. It's one of the funniest, freshest movies that has come out for Christmas in a while. None of the characters are trite, traditional Christmas characters and the way the movie talks about belief and finding out who you are is a great message for kids and adults alike. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas

I mean, the iconic, sad little tree. As a kid, I really wasn't into the Charlie Brown Holiday Specials, but as I've grown up, I've realized how good they are and how poignant and important the messages that they share with us each year are. Christmas isn't about getting a new PlayStation or finding the perfect present. It's about family and coming together to celebrate the feeling of this time of year. 

October Favorites

First of all, how is it November First?! I feel like I was just celebrating New Year's and here I am watching Christmas things on Netflix (yes, I caved early this year. But I bought myself a Fresh Balsam candle at Bath and Body Works, and the Christmas tree scent is killin' me!). 2014 has, so far, been one of the best years of my life. I'm actually thrilled with how my life has turned out so far. 

After that profound little moment, let's move on to my months favorites, shall we? 

-City Classified Ankle Boots. Hi, I'm Chelsea and I spend a lot of time on Pinterest. I see thousands of outfits, and most of the outfits I pin seem to feature adorable ankle boots. Which clearly means I also need adorable ankle boots.  

For the last two fall/winter seasons I've been searching for the perfect ones and accidentally found them in the front window of Tilly's one day last month. 

These are the perfect boots. They're so comfortable, even with the little heel. I think if I had designed them they wouldn't have come out any better. 

-Jack-O-Lantern Charm. I got my first Pandora bracelet 6 months ago on my trip to Punta Cana. Nothing else stood out to me as a souvenir so I went to the Pandora store at the resort looking for a unique charm. 

Unfortunately, there are no unique charms with Pandora, but I've worn my bracelet every day since. I only take it off to shower. I wasn't really interested in other charms from the store (I mean, besides the obvious mermaid charm) until I saw the little Jack-O-Lantern charm they brought out for Halloween. My mom got it for me as payment with helping her out at work, and I've loved the festive little touch he's added to my wrist this month (and for every month from now on).

-ELF Mauve Blush. Basically there is no reason for me to have bought this other than being bored with my entire makeup collection and needing to switch things up. I was all ready to splash out on a Nars or MAC blush until I hit Target one day for something completely unrelated and remembered ELF's $3 blushes. This shade looks like a natural flush on me and gives my every day makeup an edge for the cooler weather.

-About a Boy. Never paid much attention to this show when it premiered. I saw snippets because my mom watches it, but never saw anything good enough to sit down for. 

Bored one day, I clicked on the first season and proceeded to laugh my ass off. The premise of the show is that an independently wealthy man (we later found out he wrote a smash-hit Christmas song) living in San Francisco gets some new neighbors: an overly clingy hippie mother and her 11 year old son who, as you can imagine, desperately needs some male influence in his life. Main character, Will, rescues the boy from bullies one day and their friendship grows from there. It is such a funny and sweet show that I think anyone would like to watch it. 

-Call the Midwife.  I'm definitely a Masterpiece kinda girl. I found this on Netflix and thought I would give it a shot earlier this month. It was fantastic. I don't know what it is about midwives in impoverished South London in the 1950's, but I watched all 3 seasons in a week and have the premiere of season 4 already marked on my calendar...next year. It's a great show with great writing and an interesting cast of characters. Definitely check it out if you enjoy BBC Programming. 

-Last Man Standing. Let's just say it was a really good month for me and Netflix. I watched this show back in the day when it first premiered, but between the first episode of the second season and the new Kristen, Boyd and whatever the heck the obnoxious baby daddy's name is, I couldn't take it anymore. It was just not the same show. 

However, in my post Call the Midwife search for something to watch, I decided to give it a try and loved getting back into it. It's also opened my eyes to the fact that I'm apparently a 60-something year old man on the inside because ALL of Tim Allen's jokes make me laugh.

November is going to be a big month. I have a lot of things going on and you can expect a few blog posts about pre-holiday shenanigans, especially after Thanksgiving.