Mary Jo here, and for this month’s Ask a Wench, we’re talking about Wench favorite Christmas movies, or even favorite Thanksgiving movies. And for those who have no favorite holiday movies, do you have a favorite holiday book? It’s all good!
Christina: My favourite Christmas movie is The Holiday featuring Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jack Black. An Englishwoman decides to do a house swap with an American over Christmas and they both have various adventures as a result. I just love the cosy feel of it, the two romances (one insta-chemistry, the other slow burn), and the contrast of Christmas in an English country cottage in the snow vs a modern house in hot California. It’s supremely satisfying!
I also have to mention a recent UK film – Your Christmas or Mine? It’s a low-key quirky film that really tugs at the heartstrings 
and I love it! A young couple, newly in love, say goodbye to each other at a London train station, both heading home to their families for the holidays. Just before their trains depart, they both decide they would rather spend Christmas with each other and rush to catch another train. The result is they end up alone with their partner’s family and there are some surprising revelations while they try to figure out how to reunite. It’s hilarious in places, poignant in others, but ultimately really feel-good.
Nicola here.
I’m not a huge fan of Christmas films although when I was a child, I adored adventure stories set at Christmas or the in the winter season, like the Box of Delights and the Wolves of Willoughby Chase. They always felt so magical and exciting. I also love a good Christmas novella!
I do have a soft spot for the comedy Elf with Will Ferrell as Buddy, an orphaned boy who was raised by Santa’s elves but who discovers as an adult that he is a human, and travels to New York to find his biological father. Naturally, Buddy has grown up with a sweet, wholesome, and naïve world view whilst his father is a cynical and hard-bitten businessman. Both have a great deal to learn as they try to adapt to each other and Buddy gets used to the “real” world. There is a lot of humour, some romance and lashing of feel-good Christmas spirit. It never gets too twee because it’s so well-observed beneath the twinkly exterior. Plus, it is very funny. For me the film hits the perfect spot for a movie that leaves you feeling warm and full of glad tidings.
Pat here:
Given my inability to remember names and titles, I must confess I did a Google to see if I’ve ever watched a Christmas movie. I’m not into mushy sentiment (Hallmark, looking at you) or silliness (Remember Chevy Chase? Even his name was silly), so I’m inclined to believe I haven’t seen a Christmas movie, beyond whatever the kids watched back in the Jurassic. So I looked at Rotten Tomatoes’ all-time favorite Christmas movie selection and almost burst out laughing. Their top picks date back even further than the Jurassic! https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-christmas-movies/
I’m pretty sure I’ve watched Meet Me In St. Louis but I don’t think of it as a Christmas movie. I may have watched Miracle on 34th Street at some point and I’m not much inclined to do so again. I can remember never making it through It’s a Wonderful Life (crying for a holiday? No thanks.). And c’mon, Edward Scissorhands? As much as I adore Johnny Depp, that is not a movie I’d watch while sipping hot cocoa and wrapping presents.
So I give up. I’ll just pick up a few of Mary Jo’s Christmas novellas and listen to Christmas music, thank you very much!
Susan here.
A house full of boys helped shape my Christmas movie list over the years, and I still prefer some of those flicks to many others. A yearly favorite in our house is A Christmas Story–one of the funniest, most endearing slice-of-life Christmas movies of all time, it’s the 1940s-set tale of young Ralphie’s determination to get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas despite the objections of his parents, teacher, and Santa (you’ll shoot yer eye out, kid!). The adventures and antics of Ralphie, his parents, brother, and friends are timeless and very funny–a tongue stuck on a frozen pole, snowball fights, an Italian leg lamp, a meal of Peking duck after a turkey disaster. Equally beloved is Home Alone, where eight-year-old Kevin is inadvertently left behind on the family Christmas vacation, so he deals with pizza delivery, buying groceries, and ingeniously plotting to outwit and defeat a pair of burglars.
My three sons, at 5, 8, and 12, filmed their own version of Home Alone, a hilarious video that we watch every Christmas. Other favorites include Elf, Christmas Chronicles, and Die Hard (yes, I’m in the camp that says it’s a great Christmas movie. As the saying goes, it’s not Christmas until Hans Gruber falls from the Nakatomi Plaza). Get your plaid flannels on, make some hot chocolate, pop some popcorn, put on a favorite Christmas movie, and if it’s snowing outside, that’s a perfect holiday evening!
Anne’s turn:
I have great memories of when I was a little girl, watching the old Christmas movies on TV at my grandmothers with all the family — Miracle on 34th Street, Holiday Inn with Mum’s favorite — Bing Crosby. She would sing along. And others. But I don’t watch many Christmas movie these days. I did watch a couple of Hallmark movies once when a friend was trying to write with a view to being picked up by Hallmark, but I found them rather saccharine and a bit silly. Probably my favorite Christmas movie is Love Actually, with all the different threads coming together, reflecting so many different aspects of Christmas, and though several are bitter-sweet, the ending is uplifting and joyous.
And I LOVE the scene where Hugh Grant as the Prince Minister dances. Such fun. Here’s the link.
Mary Jo:
Like Christina, I’m a big fan of The Holiday. It’s funny and sweet as it features two female fishes out of water, two romances, and some lovely secondary characters. I won’t say more since Christina has already described it so well.
Another Christmas movie we love is Silent Night, which is based on a true WWII story. In 1944 the Battle of the Bulge took 
place in bitter winter weather. Just before Christmas, German wife and mother Elisabeth Vincken and her young son Fritz try to avoid the fighting by going to a cabin the family owns deep in the Forest of Ardennes.
The cabin is discovered by American soldiers seeking shelter because one of the three is wounded. Then German soldiers show up, also seeking shelter from the vicious cold. Needless to say, there is serious tension but Frau Vincken demands that they leave their weapons outside and maintain a truce if they want to share in the cabin and her limited resources. They obey, and several of the soldiers contribute some of their own food supplies to the shared Christmas dinner. (Frau Vincken is played by Linda Hamilton, the lead actor in the Terminator movies, so she does tough very well.)
The movie added extra drama to the facts. It also has a framing story where an elderly Fritz meets the grandson of one of the American soldiers. In real life Fritz became an American citizen and wrote about the incident in an award winning story for Readers Digest. He continued to publicize the event as an example of humanity in war time.
Here is a Wikipedia link that describes the origins of the movie.
But no need to worry about which part is real and which part is invented. The movie is lovely and satisfying and we watch it again regularly.
What are your favorite movies? I’d be happy to discover more favorites!
Mary Jo
Delightful post, Mary Jo. When I saw the post was about Christmas movies, the first one that came to mind was Die Hard. I also have fond memories of Miracle on 34th Street. And also The Bishop’s Wife. I don’t observe Christmas. (It’s the first night of Hanukkah.) But if I did, I’d want the uber-elegant angel Cary Grant to wave a hand and magically decorate my tree. Just sayin ‘…
Oh yes Binnie! One of my favorites scenes in the movie! The other one is at the Professor’s apt when he keeps magically refilling tge wine glasses and then the bottle!
It is a wonderful movie!
Binnie–one can’t go wrong with Cary Grant doing anything!
I am afraid I am a sap for holiday movies . I have many favorites which i watch every year. Among them are The Bishops Wife, Miracle on 34th St(the original 1940’s version),
White Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas(the animated ine with the hilarious dog), A charlie Brown Chrustmas, Home Alone, the Santa Clause, the Polar Express, the Juggler of Notre Dame, the Family Man and various versions of the Christmas Carol(including a wonderful $musical version with Albert Finney). They are by turns, funny, charming, moving, touching, and fill me with warmth and good feeling. Some of them also have good music. I love sitting in my jammies with a cup of tea or hot chocolate and immerse myself in the magic of the season.
What a wonderful addiction, Jane A! Of the many versions of A Christmas Carol, our favorite is the one with George C. Scott. He does Scrooge so well!
Oh definitely! My favorite as well! ( though i must admit to a nostalgic attachment to Mr Magoo’s Christmas Carol)
I saw IT’S A WNDERFUL LIFE on TV when I was a kid and for many years it was my favorite. But there are so many good ones out there that it is had to say which I love most. I guess I would now choose A CHRISTMAS STORY because so much of that movie reminds me of my own childhood. The black smoke coming from the chimneys, the younger brother wrapped up in his snowsuit, the box of Oxydal sitting on the kitchen sink all remind me of my own childhood.
But truth to tell I love them all.
Mary T, it’s hard to beat A CHRISTMAS STORY. My husband particularly relates to all the little boy stuff!
A Muppet Christmas Carol is so much fun. And for those who like really old movies there is The Thin Man. It isn’t about Christmas but takes place at Christmas.
Mary, I’d put Die Hard in the same category as The Thin Man: not Christmas stories as such, but set at Christmas, which adds another layer to the movie.
Also love “The Holiday” ! Last night watched another old favorite, “Fred Claus,” has a great ending similar to The Holiday. Merry Christmas everyone.
Hmm, Baby Yoda. I’ve not heard of Fred Claus, but maybe I should hunt it down!
The musical, “Holiday Inn” shows up on TV around this time of year. Great dancing and cast.
Thanks, Patricia. That’s a classic I haven’t seen, but it sounds like I should hunt it down.
Combine it with White Christmas, also great dancing, songs and cast.
A couple of newer favorites of mine are The Man Who Invented Christmas (also fun as a movie about a struggling writer) and Red One, which really gets into the fantasy side of Christmas. And While You Were Sleeping takes place over the holidays, so I count it as a Christmas movie,too.
Kathy, I also enjoyed The Man Who Invented Christmas; what author wouldn’t? I also enjoyed While You Were Sleeping, but I’m not familiar with Red One. I need to look it up.
The Holiday is a definite favourite in our house and I also love Miracle on 34th Street which is a bit odd because I’m quite cynical really!
I also like a movie that could be Hallmark or not and the name escapes me but it’s about a girl from New York who visits a small town that goes over the top with Christmas. Her mother had loved her visit there and always told her about it. Managing a book shop for the holidays is included in the plot. It’s very enjoyable and I’ve watched it a number of times.
Teresa, this TOTALLY sounds like Hallmark! Though it could be produced by others with a similar vibe.
Love Actually tops my movie list, followed closely by Holiday Inn, White Christmas and Christmas in Connecticut. We always start our holiday viewing with The Snowman, the animated version of the wonderful children’s book by Raymond Briggs.
As for books, I agree that Mary Jo’s Christmas Revels (all of them!) are a must, as is The Last Chance Christmas Ball! Also, Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher; Trisha Ashley’s Twelve Days of Christmas; and Grace Burrowes’s Lady Louisa’s Christmas Knight!
Constance, we have similar tastes! I’m listening to the audio of Trisha Ashley’s Twelve Day of Christmas in my car–the audio was only released only a week or so ago, and it’s a new way to enjoy the story, which is one of my favorite holiday stories. I’m glad that you like my Christmas Revels as well!
So happy to know Twelve Days of Christmas is out on audio, Mary Jo! That may have to be a gift for myself!
Constance, when I decided to buy the audio of Twelve Days…, I was surprised to find that there was no audio edition. And I was even more surprised to see that one was about to be released in two days! It was a good surprise–I’m listening to it now in the car.
I love all Christmas movies & books. Love Hallmark movies. Love Actually, It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Holiday Inn – all favorites! There are a few tv movies I really love- the 2 little Dolly (Parton) ones – the 1st is Coat of Many Colors. Can’t remember the 2nd one’s title. The other is One Special Night with Julie Andrews & James Garner. Oh my! I’ll have to see if I can find it for tonight!
Jeanne, I hope you found it!!!!
I love The Holiday. The first Christmas movie I watched this year was White Christmas (with Bing Crosby & Danny Kaye). The other day I watched Christmas on 34th Street (the 1994 version). I had dropped my very basic cable tv – saving $80/mth and was watching less & less news – do miss PBS, but may pick up the paid app. There a lot of Hallmark like romance movies on the free Roku app channel. And there a few other free apps that I can look for some favorite like Home Alone & Love, Actually.
Diane, you’re wise to curate your viewing choices. With so many streamers out there, it’s too easy to go overboard!
I don’t watch many Christmas movies, but Home Alone is a good one. Another lesser known film from 1947 that I’ve enjoyed is It Happened on 5th Avenue. Two homeless men move into an empty mansion(the wealthy owner is in Florida for the winter). It’s quite charming.
For reading, I like to revisit some of my favorite Christmas novellas. Anna Campbell has written quite a few. They are different from her full length novels which tend to be spicier and more angsty, but these are mainly sweet escapist fun. Elizabeth Essex’s The Scandal Before Christmas is another favorite. And I see she has just released another one, A Rogue’s Christmas, which I’ll definitely snap up!
Karin, thanks for adding to my search list!
My favorites Christmas movie is “Love Actually.” After watching it, I can’t get the Mariah Carey song out of my head! I also enjoy both the older and newer versions of “Miracle on 34th Street.” In the newer version, Mara Wilson is so adorable as the little girl. “The Polar Express” is also wonderful. Then there are the animated Christmas movies for children, but the only one that tugs at my heart is “The Little Drummer Boy.” There actually have been a few good Hallmark Christmas movies (of the non-silly variety), and even more offered by rival Great American Family.
Patricia–you’re giving me even more things to look up! Thank you.
I’m not much of a movie watcher, but there are three movies that my husband watches every Christmas season: A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott version), the Snowman, and A Christmas Story.
Kareni, I imagine that you’ve picked up those movies by osmosis if not quite directly!
I can’t remember when I last watched a movie but every Christmas we like to watch the British sitcom ‘The Christmas Good life’. This is the episode where Margot finds that her delivered Christmas tree is a few inches too short and she sends the whole Christmas delivery (including food and drink) back for re-delivery. Unfortunately there are no more deliveries, but Tom and Barbara come to the rescue with hilarious results. I’m grinning in anticipation already!
Quantum, I’m not familiar with that tv show, but it sounds like Margot is an idiot! Of course comedy needs idiots.
Yes, but a loveable idiot – played perfectly by Penelope Keith.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0077x05
I used to love that show! Thank you for reminding, must look up that episode!
Penelope Keith always played that type perfectly, didn’t she? In the US, we watched her in To the Manor Born for years! I’m so happy you sent that link, Quantum – thank you!
I watched Your Christmas or Mine for the 1st time the other night on Prime due to your recommendation & LOVED IT. I founds they’ve made a 2nd one, too & was able to watch that. All the same characters except grandma but still very funny …never heard of these movies except through the wenches. Thanks always for the book tips but now the movies, too!
Thank you Cathie, so glad you enjoyed it (and the sequel too)! I think it’s great 🙂