12 Christmas movies to watch this December

whether you celebrate Christmas or not, December is the season for watching holiday films. in a past life, I would curl up in my big chair in front of the fireplace, snuggle in with my cat and some spiked cider or cocoa and watch one of these films. now... well there's no cats or cocoa or fireplace, but I have to get my spirits in holiday mode somehow.

this year I decided that to combat the expat holiday blues, I wanted to watch every Christmas movie that we own. obviously, we own a lot of our favorites. but this is not necessarily a list of "the best Christmas movies ever." I think you can tell by this list that we grew up in the 80s/90s and also that we don't always go for the traditional holiday movies. but I hope that some of these are on your favorites list too.

and because I'm not doing a full-on tree post this year, here's your obligatory photo of my $8 tree in all its glory:

A Christmas Story

I'll be honest, I was never into this movie growing up. but we watched it the other night and I realized the appeal. it's a fantastic depiction of life as a kid, and everything was SO DRAMATIC that it was funny. and the part where the little brother hides in the cabinet is pretty much how I still behave from time to time when upset. [only Husband usually brings me coffee or water, not milk.]

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

this was always my Dad's favorite, and my holiday doesn't feel complete without this tradition. just don't even try confusing the animated original with the live action [which I refuse to watch.] short and sweet, no one can feel grinchy after watching the "you're a mean one" montage and seeing Max with his antler.

Love Actually

if you don't cry while watching this movie, you might not be human. is it completely cheesy and unrealistic and possibly anti-feminist according to some people on the internet? yes. but if you are in need of a good happy cry and some feel-good fluff, this movie has got you covered with at least one of its 57 storylines.

Gremlins

my siblings and I loved this movie when we were kids. watching it as an adult, I realize it's actually more of a scary film that takes place during the holiday season... but it still counts. as a bonus, we also watched Gremlins 2: the new batch, because it's even better than the original. even if it has nothing to do with Christmas.

Nightmare Before Christmas

it's a stop-motion musical, love story, horror and holiday film all in one. I admit it's a little wierd. a singing skeleton who dresses up as Santa Claus? definitely not traditional. but this one is good for easing yourself into the season after Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Die Hard

wait, hear me out. this is a Christmas movie. sure it's a hostage situation cop-gone-bad action film full of snappy one-liners... but it takes place during a Christmas party. besides, watching Snape I mean Alan Rickman as the bad guy bantering with Bruce Willis [back when he had hair] would get anyone's spirits up.

A Muppet Christmas Carol

yet another favorite from my childhood - the heartwarming musical Muppet interpretation of a [kindof dark] classic story. we used to watch this every year while assembling and decorating our Christmas tree. this is another I-have-to-watch-or-it's-not-Christmas film for me. a warning though: you'll be singing these songs until March.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

this is the slapstick exaggeration of the all-American Christmas experience: crazy family, uninvited guests, and over the top decorations. I'm not always into this brand of humor. but. it can be good to laugh at the myriad of disasters that befall the Griswolds, and realize that whatever goes wrong with our own holidays can't really be all that bad.

Bad Santa

what does a mall Santa do after hours? some really terrible things, actually. this one is not for kids. in fact, this one is not for people who are easily offended. but if you're into inappropriate humor, Lauren Graham from Gilmore Girls, or sandwiches... you might enjoy Bad Santa.

The Holiday

ok. I really don't like Cameren Diaz and I even more do not like her character in this film. BUT somehow I own this on DVD. Kate Winslet gives a less-than-Titanic performance, but she's still relatable for anyone who has been in a heartbreak around the holidays. the story is a cute idea and it's good for a light and sappy feel-good ending romance.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

a classic. Charlie Brown is sick of all the holiday commercialism, and decides to search for the true meaning of Christmas. and if you can't get behind that idea, at the least you can enjoy Snoopy's antics and feel better about the state of your own tiny expat Christmas tree.

Home Alone

let's just ignore the bad parenting by the adults and the bratty behavior by the kids and appreciate the moral of the story: no one's family is perfect, but if you can't all get along then you miss out on spending an amazing Christmas in Paris. this movie is full of cheesy but quotable one-liners you can't help but love. and admit it - as a kid you tried setting up some kind of booby trap obstacle course in your house after seeing this movie.

what holiday movies do you watch each year? did I miss any of your favorites?

my Taiwanese dinosaur disco Christmas tree

it's December. I'm pretty sure you all have realized that. if not from your calendars, then from the overwhelming amount of holiday being blogged and pinned and instagrammed all over the place.

living in a country that is not predominantly Christian has had some serious effects on how I celebrate the holidays. one major way - my ability to find Christmas decorations. I have found them. but not the selection I was used to in the states. and certainly not always the quality or style that I would prefer.

seeing everyone else's perfectly styled and color-coordinated trees on the internet has made me feel a little Charlie Brown. it's hard not to compare. but even though my tree is skimpy on the branches, heavy on the lights, and has no theme other than "here's the best I could do" or maybe "dinosaurs and disco balls"... I love it. in all its lopsided glory.

partially because it only cost me $8 US. but mostly because... it's mine.

and just so you know: under the presents is a Transformers pillowcase we use for a tree skirt. we have a beautiful handmade one that my mother-in-law gave us... but it's back in the states in a rubbermaid bin along with all of my christmas cookie cutters and our beautiful glass ornaments [the ones that wren't broken by the cats, at least.]

we have ornaments that were sent to us by family [the grinch was handmade by my nephews] along with that giant pile of presents sent to us by loved ones. yeah, we've got it pretty good.

last year I made yarn pom pom ornaments to decorate out tree, and created these dino ornaments from keychains we picked up at the Taichung science museum. this year, I found some plastic rainbow disco balls. I think they go better with the dinosaurs.

celebrating holidays while living abroad can be hard, but we do the best we can to keep the expat holiday blues away. Christmas in Taiwan isn't what we grew up on, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. I think our tree is the perfect representation of the blending of "home" and "here" that our traditions have become.

[linking up with Belinda and Bailie for the Expat Q&A]

merri xmis: an expatriate holiday story

this sign is hanging on our recycling building next to the school. I'm not sure I could have found a better way to express what celebrating Christmas in Taiwan is like... bright, colorful, well-meant, but just not quite the same as you expect.

I accepted a while ago that this would not be a traditional holiday. and tried to embrace it. hence the tree decorated in yarn pompoms and plastic dinosaurs. [not pictured is the Transformers pillowcase that Husband fashioned into a tree skirt.] and while these aren't our traditional traditions... maybe they can be new ones.

Christmas Eve, one of our friends organized a dinner at the fancy hotel down the road. gathering with 20 friends and co-workers for a multicultural buffet is not the same as eating a home-cooked meal with family... but it's not bad way to celebrate. and while the Taiwanese people don't quite seem to get everything about Christmas, they try. throughout dinner there were carolers [singing songs we had never heard before] and of course Filipino Santa distributed candy.


my camera battery died on me partway through dinner. and then I pulled out my iPhone instead and... that died too. so I tried to take it as a sign that I should just relax and enjoy. the meal was actually very good... they had sushi and steak and turkey and pork chops, a table full of shellfish I avoided, and tons of tiny desserts. I am not ashamed to admit that my meal mostly consisted of cheese and caesar salad. [which had REAL caesar dressing - a rarity here.] and for dessert I lucked out in the gluten department: tiny macarons!

Husband and I came home and opened presents after dinner. our amazing friends and family sent us so much of home, it was almost like being there. many of our gifts were Michigan State or state of Michigan themed. oh, and the food. we are now up to our ears in kind bars, gluten free mac + cheese, and sriracha hot sauce. [and that's a good thing!]

Christmas morning I woke up to the sound of Husband making breakfast... my sister-in-law sent gluten free pancake mix and maple syrup! it was heavenly. sadly, Husband had to go into work, but he returned at lunch with some flowers for me from a school fundraiser.

while Husband was working, I skyped with my parents and brother... and Beaumont! so I got to spend time with family on Christmas, even if it was through a screen. I got to see snow, and watch the fireplace, and Beau going crazy over his new laser pointer.




I lounged in my new Spartan pajamas for a bit, painted my nails with the festive polish my Mom sent me, and then it was off to the kitchen to make cheese olive tarts. [don't worry, there will be another post full of nail pictures of this awesome glittery red]

after Husband came home from work, some friends came over and we watched the most essential of Christmas movies [in my opinion]: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and A Muppet Christmas Carol.

during which we has a feast of olive tarts and chili cheese dip and assorted chocolates and candies, A&W root beer and Dr Pepper. and maybe a little scotch.



and that's the story of our first expatriate Christmas. a little different, but all in all a pretty good Christmas I'd say. I hope that all of your holidays were just as happy.

so for now I'll leave you with our tiny tree and a little scribble I made with my new iPad stylus [thanks, Husband!]

merry christmas, happy holidays

it would be all too easy to slip into Grinch mode this Christmas. between being sick, subbing, and the sunny + 70F weather... holiday spirit has been difficult to come by.

our celebration this year has been quite unlike any we've experienced, but that's not to say it was bad. though we couldn't see our families [in person at least] we did not have to brave a 12 hour drive through the snow or worse - Newark Airport. sure, my camera batteries died last night at dinner. but not before I got a picture of us with Filipino Santa Claus!

I think especially in moments like this... a holiday meant for celebrating with family at a time where you are far from home... it's most important to not be defeated by your circumstances. to make the best of what you have, enjoy the good of how things are, accept the unexpected, and maybe even start some new traditions in the process.

all in all, our Christmas has been pretty great. and it's not over yet. I'm not going to make promises as to when I'm going to catch up on pictures and blogging... it could be tomorrow and it could be a month from now... but rest assured my camera batteries have been recharged and I have much to share.

and for those of you just starting your celebrations: Merry Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

[photos from a few years ago... Beaumont being [mostly] a good sport. one of the many reasons I miss Target is because you could always find some little gem like this pet antler and jingle collar set for $5. ah, retail therapy.]

DIY yarn pompom ornaments

with only 3 days until Christmas, I figured I better post this tutorial. in early November I stumbled across a trove of artificial trees at our local hardware store. I lucked out that the tiniest tree was only $8 US and I happened to have some spare cash from subbing that week. the decorations they had for sale were... not to my taste, shall we say? so I decided to stick with the thrifty theme and make my own ornaments. 

the idea for yarn pompoms came from this tiny pompom curtain tutorial [it's in French.]

I wasn't entirely confident that I would be successful. so, I picked yarn colors I felt I could use for other projects [what projects exactly I have no idea.] I also didn't want to have the obvious red and green color scheme. Husband likes to have a tree that doesn't look too... planned. and I of course want to plan everything down the position of the last branch.

I started by making a pompom on a fork, like in the tutorial above and elsewhere on the internet. I was frustrated because it seemed too small and it was difficult to slide the yarn off the fork. so I dug around in my kitchen drawer and realized that my potato masher would be just the right size I wanted. you just have to be sure to wrap around an even number of... prongs? loops? squiggles? whatever they are... so you can slide the bundle off at the end.

1. wrap the yarn into a bundle around your potato masher [or fork] a good 30 to 40 times.
2. tie some yarn loosely around to hold the bundle together and slip off the masher.
3. tighten the yarn as much as you can and knot securely. tie the ends off to make a look to hang.
4. cut the loops around the bundle to open up your pompom. trim if needed.

and that's that. you have a yarn pompom, with a convenient loop to use it as an ornament! I repeated the process using different yarn color combinations to make an army of little pompoms for my tree. if you use only one color at a time, just wrap it twice as much so the pom pom is still full and fluffy.

we have also added a few other interesting ornaments to our tree, including dinosaurs and a lion... but that's another story. [which does not involve a potato masher.]