Post-Christmas Satisfaction

Christmas Day was most excellent. Since we tend to buy what we want during the year–and already have more than enough stuff–Mr. W and I generally don’t exchange more than a token gift or two, because it’s still fun to open a package on Christmas morning. I gave Mr. W a print of the 101st Airborne Division paratroopers jump during Operation Market Garden, signed by Sgt. William Guarnere (Band of Brothers). Mr. W gave me two scale model cars: a Horch 853 A Sports Cabriolet (1937-1939) and an Audi Type A Phaeton (1910). The Phaeton is pretty, but the Horch is gorgeous.

We spent the rest of the morning (after breakfast) sipping mimosas and watching Love Actually. It’s my second favorite Christmas movie after White Christmas. Mr. W suggested watching The Quiet Man, but we decided to save that for New Year’s Day (maybe).

Dinner was a success. Rather than having more turkey, I broiled New York steaks (USDA Prime–yum!). Baked yukon gold potatoes, a tossed green salad, and a bottle of Vitis Ridge’s Fab Four rounded out the menu. And I made a pumpkin pie for dessert. I’m cooking a similar menu for New Year’s Day, substituting Prime Rib Eye steaks in place of the New Yorks.

I hope you all had a wonderful day!

Favorite Christmas Shows

I suspect most people have a list of favorite holiday programs, some of which they may or may not confess to watching. For me, that holiday is Christmas, and I’ll freely admit several of the shows on my list are fairly…cheesy–or maybe sappy is a better description–in point of fact. I don’t care. I’m happy to own my list. Because when it comes right down to it, most of these shows are tied to happy memories, and that’s why they’re my favorite holiday viewing. They either take me back to my childhood or they remind me of good times later in life.

The first part of the list are the theatrical movies I associate with Christmas. Some of them aren’t Christmas movies, per se, but they make me think of Christmas–maybe because they’re set during the Christmas season or they have a Christmas scene that somehow fixed them forever in Christmas for me. It’s funny that doesn’t happen with all such movies. For instance, The Thin Man is one of my all time favorite films and it’s set during Christmas, but I’ve never once thought of it as a Christmas movie.

Anyway, here’s part one of my list. The first movie is my favorite Christmas movie of all time, but the rest of the list is in alphabetical order.

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