12 Days of Christmas--Day #1--Five favorite Christmas movies

Hey all! Welcome to .  .  . "The 12 Days of Christmas"!! a Christmas blogging link-up hosted by the amazing Faith @ Stories By Firefly! 

Yep, every day from now till Christmas, Faith will be posting on her blog, and there are a number of us who will be posting on different set days. I, also, will be posting everyday, so be sure and check back! Lots of fun things planned!

Today I decided to kick everything off with a post about Christmas movies . . . because who doesn't love a good Christmas movie?! There are so many that I love, but I'll do my best to keep the number around 5 or so . .  . ;) 

In this Irving Berlin musical, Jim (Bing Crosby) and Lila are members of a performing trio who plan to quit and run a country hotel. When Lila says she has fallen in love with the dancer in the act, Ted (Fred Astaire), Jim leaves town with a broken heart. After turning the inn into a holidays-only live entertainment venue, Jim winds up booking -- and falling for -- Linda (Marjorie Reynolds). But when Ted shows up at the place after being dumped by Lila, he too sets his sights on beautiful Linda.

Hehe, okay, I realize that this sounds super .  . . romantic. And it is a bit, but... *sighs* It's just so sweet and old fashioned and beautiful! And Bing Crosby plays in it. *grins* He's a great actor . . .and singer. xD

I watched it for the first time last year, and loved it so much! The only warning I can think of, was in one of the scenes the girls were dressed in dresses that weren't exactly what would be classified as modest. (Think P&P movie, just with shorter skirts, too) For that reason, just us girls watched the movie. 

It's set around WWII, I believe. It was released in 1942, soo... xD

While recovering in a hospital, war hero Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) grows familiar with the "Diary of a Housewife" column written by Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck). Jeff's nurse arranges with Elizabeth's publisher, Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet), for Jeff to spend the holiday at Elizabeth's bucolic Connecticut farm with her husband and child. But the column is a sham, so Yardley hastens to arrange a publicity ploy by setting up single, nondomestic Elizabeth on a country farm.

*laughs* Oh, goodness. I just love this movie so much! It's so funny and witty, and ahh! It's set in WWII, so that might attribute to my loving it. too.  I can't remember anything on it that would warrant any sort of warning . . . so go watch it. ;) Oh, there was kissing on the end. *shrugs* You can turn the movie off before it gets to that part, though, if you'd like. Everything is resolved before then. ;) 

Fact-based World War II story set on Christmas Eve, 1944, finds a German Mother and her son seeking refuge in a cabin on the war front. When she is invaded by three American soldiers and then three German soldiers, she successfully convinces the soldiers to put aside their differences for one evening and share a Christmas dinner.

This is such an amazing movie, and an amazing story! The tension between the two opposing troops is evident, yet, I love how, as the evening progresses, the two sides are drawn together by a common day--Christmas. From singing "O Christmas Tree" in both English and German, to sharing stories of traditions and days gone past, and even getting to the point where they an jest with one another, this movie seems almost magical. And it really happened. We watched it the other night as a family; it's so amazing!

There are a few curse words spread throughout the movie, but I literally hardly noticed them. xD And there were few enough that all of our family watched it together. I'd definitely recommend it! 

George Bailey is a small-town man whose life seems so desperate he contemplates suicide. He had always wanted to leave Bedford Falls to see the world, but circumstances and his own good heart have led him to stay. He sacrificed his education for his brother's, kept the family-run savings and loan afloat, protected the town from the avarice of the greedy banker Mr. Potter, and married his childhood sweetheart. As he prepares to jump from a bridge, his guardian angel intercedes, showing him what life would have become for the residents of Bedford Falls is he had never lived.

Can we just all agree that this is one of the best Christmas movies ever?!?! We watch it every year more than once, and always on Christmas eve. It's the sweetest, most beautiful story ever! If you haven't seen it, what are you still doing here?! *shoos you off to library website* 

No one is inside that boarded-up mansion on Manhattan's ritzy 5th Avenue, right? Wrong. Its secret inhabitants include a philosophizing hobo and some GI families who are unable to find apartments during the post-World War II housing crunch. They set up residence in the posh brownstone while the owner, the second richest man in the world, winters in Virginia. Except the owner isn't in Virginia. He's there in disguise... and discovering a lot about how the average Joe and Jane think and live. "It Happened on 5th Avenue". And it happens with a talented cast and an Oscar(R)-nominated tale set during the holidays. Make yourself at home and discover why this is a yuletide delight to discover. 

Like "Holiday Inn", I discovered this movie last year, and it is so awesome! ^_^ It's a comedy/drama, and it definitely kept you watching to figure out when everything would be figured out. It's a sweet, delightful movie, and I can't wait to watch it again this year!! As for warnings, I think there may have been a kiss or two, but that's all I remember. ;) 

Well, there you have it, folks! My five favorite Christmas movies! (I actually managed to get only five up there...wow!) and I just now noticed they all take place during or around WWII . . . that just couldn't be my favorite time period... xD  

Have you seen any of these movies?

Do you plan to? 

What is your favorite Christmas movie? 

Will you be back tomorrow? :D