I started decorating. [A Very Merry Holiday Movie Guide by Rachel McMillan]
Are you a holiday film fan? If so, you’re in good company. Fellow made-for-TV movie buff Rachel McMillan invites you to skip the office Christmas party, put on your coziest pj’s, and crash on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate in one hand and your remote in the other to watch the movies that have become the “hallmark” of the holiday season.
This one-of-a-kind illustrated guide features 15 themed celebrations featuring customized viewing lists, fun suggestions for starting new traditions, and festive facts about the happiest season of all. From baking to books, romance to royalty, and more, Rachel has put together a picture-perfect selection of holiday films to suit any interest.
A Very Merry Holiday Movie Guide is an ideal gift or stocking stuffer for the Christmas movie lover in your life or a welcome addition to your family’s holiday traditions.
I thought I wasn't a Christmas movie binger. I really did. For at least the past year. But yesterday, upon further reflection, I remember the days I cherished in my dorm room, spent binging seasonally themed holiday movies. This was back before Hulu was a paid service, back when Freeform was still ABC Family (yes, I'm old). Corny, themed movies and shows were uploaded free of charge, for all who wanted to binge. Last year I binged the A Christmas Prince franchise and some other films on Netflix. I even started watching Norwegian series Home for Christmas (Hjem til Jul; I have some episodes left which I plan to soon and happily pick right back up).
I'm not the biggest fan of romance plots (unless done extremely well, with all the dramatic tension and stakes), but I do, in theory, want to be of the tribe of Christmas romance novel readers. I'm not there with regular romance novels, so I don't know that I ever will be with the holiday-themed variety, but I think that's something to aspire to or at least to try once. But Rachel McMillan's A Very Merry Holiday Movie Guide is right up my alley. Especially because it's not about the Christmas romance, but the spirit of being in the mood for Christmas romance. All the cheesy holiday nostalgia vibes that the idealized Christmas movies evoke, the perfection reached if only for a few days of justice and joy, of bright lights and warm food. It's the mood that we're after.
My relationship with Christmas is interesting. As a child, yay, presents! As an adolescent and an adult, why am I celebrating this inaccurate, pagan rooted holiday? But also, presents and food. So while I don't really try and celebrate it, I am ever in straits trying to extricate myself from the seasonal spirit. I tried to stop listening to Christmas songs, but so many of them are so good. So I allow myself the movie binging, and non-descript decor. I'm generally trying to shift to Three Kings Day (or Epiphany, as I had never heard it called before but learned that it's also called thanks to this book). But there's something about the end-of-year season that inspires family gathering and warm food. At least in North America.
And that brings me to my main issue with the book, it's very narrow in it's Christmas experience. Anyone can celebrate Christmas, no matter how many seasons they experience, but can't we just accept the holiday for the commercial hodge-podge it is? The popular image, too often promoted in Christmas movies, of the middle-class white North American getting to overindulge in capitalism at the end of the year with their loved ones, historically, is not always super comfortable, as a non-white person. The same way I can't enjoy Holiday Inn (I don't recall PBS ever showing the blackface scenes), the same way the little acts of Christmas kindness come off as selfish acts of saviorism - there's always a weird dark side to that vision of holiday cheer, and it's never really addressed. But maybe, probably, that's more innate to the holiday than anything. And that's not to say the book is racist or pushes this image, but the indulgent mood it curates, that idealized family setting, can't help but to innately reflect those issues.
But let me not lie. Let me not ignore the fact that as I read the first tenth, I was also inspired to hang a bag of scented pine cones. In my mind I've made plans for seasonal cookie tins. I started crocheting a sweater, finally, for this season. There were a bunch of fantastic ideas provided that got me in the mood for the season. And I actually really enjoyed this book. The context relating to holiday movies was near perfection. I just can't fully accommodate myself to the dream of Christmas put forth. 4 stars from me.
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