Monday 29 November 2021

Let's Get Festive and Tingly...

It's time to pause theWeekly Update format once again for a proper stream of consciousness. Brace yourselves for an outpouring. Ready? Good. Because this month I'm sharing some essential seasonal information. On Wednesday we dive headfirst into December so the timing is perfect. Please get comfy and enjoy my Christmas Viewing Schedule for the Rest of the Year. (Catchy, right?) For all your viewing needs!

This is a guide only. A comprehensive, expertly thought-out guide nonetheless, but it will withstand tweaks. If I've included a film you cannot bear (or have no access to) by all means replace with something of your own choosing. Just click the links below to see the relevant trailers - an amuse bouche before the real thing. Season's Greetings! Enjoy! Let's get festive and tingly!


Lily, of Dash and Lily
DECEMBER 2021
1st - Home for Christmas  2019 (s1 ep1-3) 
2nd - Home for Christmas  2019 (s1 ep4-6)
3rd - Home for Christmas  2020 (s2 ep1-3)
4th - Home for Christmas  2020 (s2 ep4-6)
5th - Dash and Lily 2020 (ep1-4)
6th - Dash and Lily  2020 (ep 5-8)
7th - 'Hercule Poirot's Christmas' (Poirot 1994, s6 ep 1)
8th - 'Ghosts of Christmas Past' (Midsomer Murders 2004, s7 ep7)
Kevin McAllister, of Home Alone 
10th - Let It Snow (2019)
11th - Nativity (2009)
12th - A Bad Moms' Christmas (2017)
13th - Trading Places (1983)
14th - Home Alone (1990)
15th - Home Alone 2 (1992)
17th - 'Carol of the Bells' (Ted Lasso 2021, s2 ep4)
Buddy and Michael, of Elf
18th - Elf (2003)
19th - Happiest Season (2020)
24th - It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
25th -  A break for roast potatoes
26th - Time for cheese and/or sleep
Charlie Brown and gang,
of A Charlie Brown Christmas 
27th - Knives Out (2019)
28th - Eddie the Eagle (2015)
29th - Downhill (2020)
30th - Little Women (2019)
31st - When Harry Met Sally (1989)

So there's your month of viewing pleasure based on my own from last December. (This year's Ted Lasso notwithstanding.) Hurrah. What's that? You feel a little overwhelmed? You think that's a hell of a small-screen commitment to make when you could be out and about, and living life? I see. Bless you, but I think you've forgotton where we were. Last year we were juggling lockdowns. December - indeed Christmas itself - was a feat of mental ingenuity. By planning to Christmas-film the hell out of the month, I managed to have a lovely time. Looking back, December 2020 was quiet, chilled out, and relaxed. This year, assuming there are no more announcements in the pipeline, I'll be back to festive socialising once again. I guess that might beg the question, do we even need a jam-packed month of scheduled screen time, to fill a void that's no longer there? Well, do we?

Travel the world from the sofa!
Hmmm. I think we do. But I'll caveat that by saying that this list should be viewed flexibly; it contains vague suggestions rather than set-in-stone rules. December needs no extra pressures. Last year, however, these TV programmes and films got me through the lack of anything else. They provided me with a focal point to every evening and a way to live vicariously through the shenanigans of others. By watching the teen exploits of Dash and Lily, I was taken to a snowy, festive NYC for a few hours. By curling up with Home for Christmas, I went to Norway and experienced a new set of Christmas traditions. Hercule Poirot and Tom Barnaby were like old friends that pop by every year, when real-life old friend could not. The fact that the family scenes of Happiest Season (released last year so no nostalgia involved) made me feel all warm and tingly despite the stressful - and some might say problematic - premise of the plot, has GOT to be due to my lockdown-ed state of mind. Surely? I hoovered up all the Christmas viewing I could find, and let it transport me to random and far-flung locations. That was much more satisfying than simply denting the sofa in front of the telly every night. It's all about the framing.

So let's agree that the list is optional. This year, I'm looking forward to pints with friends, Christmas lights during late-night shopping, and reasons to apply sparkly eyeliner beyond sitting down to watch Elf. This year, I can be picky. I can be selective. I can even allow a December day to pass when I don't watch TV at all. Can you imagine? But should I need an instant glow when I've no plans, energy, or inclination, I only need to revert to my emergency schedule. How marvellous it is to have choices.

Have a lovely week, folks.

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