BLOGMAS 2025 ~ days 4 and 5 ~ CHRISTMAS MOVIES & MUSIC ~ BLOG 365.335B

Today’s category is USUALLY an easy one for me. It’s also one that really doesn’t change much from year to year. UNTIL a couple years ago when I decided to make it my mission to find and tape the best Christmas movies from the 1940’s. I’m still at it.
My list for the search was; those in purple I actually found and watched – those in blue were added this year to find. The search will continue this year and every year until I see them all. They are harder to find than you would think.
  • 3 Godfathers (1948) with John Wayne
  • The Bishop’s Wife (1947) with Cary Grant and Loretta Young
  • It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) with Jimmy Stewart
  • Christmas in Connecticut (1945) with Barbara Stanwyck (though she is NOT my favorite actress)
  • Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) with Judy Garland
  • Holiday Affair (1949) Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh
  • Cover Up (1949)
  • Shop Around the Corner (1940) with Jimmy Stewart
  • Remember the Night (1940) with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck
  • I’ll Be Seeing You (1944) with Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten
  • It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947) with Don Defore, Gale Storm and Alan Hale Jr. (the Skipper on Gilligan’s Island)
  • The Apartment
  • The Honeymooners Christmas

BTW, Die Hard IS a Christmas movie!

I start DVRing Christmas movies on Hallmark as soon as they air so I can watch them ALL year long. I’m a sucker for a happy ending and let’s face it, Christmas movies have happy endings. I watch them while I’m decorating and working through the house.

It’s a toss up for me about whether White Christmas with Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen and Danny Kaye or It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart, Lionel Barrymore and Donna Reed is my absolute favorite, but I think I’m leaning towards It’s a Wonderful life!
Which Miracle on 34th street version (the original with Natalie Wood or the remake with Richard Attenborough) is the best? BOTH versions of course!
The Santa Clause with Tim Allen quickly became a favorite – who could resist visiting the North Pole every year?
Now Home Alone is just silly, as is Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase but, they never fail to make me laugh! A newer favorite is the Christmas Chronicles with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn.

I really enjoyed the 4 hour reel Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom shared a couple years ago, but so many of the songs are so old and odd, that I finally had to move on to some more contemporary tunes. I never even thought to look it up again.

  • What are your favorite Christmas songs?
  • Do you have a regular playlist? I do! I still use a CD player with my disc changer and leave it on shuffle if I’m working at home.

I’m all over the place with Christmas music – it really depends on the day, the occasion, my mood, what food we’re eating, are we at home or listening on the radio in the car? – there are just sooooooooo many factors!

BUT, I do like to wait until at least the day after Thanksgiving!

I LOVE so many of the old standards, but I also love a country Christmas and Mannheim Steamroller. I also LOVE Christmas carolers, not that you see many these days. Many years ago I was even part of the hand bell choir at church for Christmas programs.

As for some of MY favorite songs I have a few that top the list, including a few newer artists:

  • It’s Beginning to Look A Lot like Christmas
  • Silent Night
  • Hark the Herald Angels
  • White Christmas
  • Jingle Bell Rock
  • Last Christmas 
  • Born on Christmas Day
  • Winter Wonderland
  • Frosty the Snowman
  • Little Drummer Boy the version with Bing Crosby and David Bowie
  • The Twelve Days of Christmas
  • Deck the Halls
  • Baby It’s Cold Outside
  • Hard Candy Christmas
  • Come All Ye Faithful
  • It Came upon a Midnight Clear
  • We three Kings of Orient
  • Joy to the World
  • Rudolph the Reindeer
  • Do You Hear What I Hear
  • The Most Wonderful Time of Year
  • It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas
  • Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
  • This Christmas by PJ Morton
  • Oh Santa by Mariah Carey
  • Christmas on the Square by Dolly Parton
  • Carol of the Bells by Lindsey Stirling
  • Believe by Josh Groban
  • Underneath the Tree by Kelly Clarkson
  • Merry Christmas Baby by Hunter Hayes

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *