Welcome back to the Virtual Advent Tour, where I’m today’s host.

Whether you’re looking to chill while addressing Christmas cards, mindlessly get in some knitting, or actively enjoy some family time, Christmas-themed films can be a nice way to get into the holiday spirit.

Today, I thought I’d share ten short reviews of Christmas features from the 20th century I recommend. (I’m your Virtual Advent Tour host for several days this year, so you’ll get some recommendations for 21st-century Christmas movies later.)

These are in no particular order:

1. Miracle on 34th Street (1947): Retiree Kris Kringle takes a job as Macy’s Santa Claus in part as a campaign to change the hearts of a seven-year-old nonbeliever and her disillusioned working mother. When he ends up committed, an idealistic young lawyer must convince a judge to free Kris in time for Christmas Eve.
2. The Bishop’s Wife (1947): An angel is sent down to New York to help answer the prayers of an Anglican priest who is working to build a cathedral — and also his wife, who misses spending time with her distracted husband. While on assignment, though, he may blur the line in protocol. Superbly acted by Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven.
3. Christmas in Connecticut (1945): America’s favorite domestic columnist gets an unexpected surprise when her media tycoon boss invites himself and a heroic soldier to her Connecticut farm to celebrate Christmas with her family. The only problem? She lives in a walk-up in Manhattan, isn’t married, and can’t cook. A mismatched boyfriend offers her an out — she (and her chef friend, who’s been giving her his recipes) can decamp to his country home, but only if she agrees to marry him once there.
4. White Christmas (1954): Two soldiers (played by Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) become hit vaudevillians. After checking out a sister act (Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen) at the start of the Christmas season, they end up on a sidetrack trip to Vermont, where they encounter their beloved former general, who now runs a failing inn.
5. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946): A mild-mannered pillar of the community despairs of his life after a mishap with legal implications, and a hapless angel must be dispatched to help him.
6. The Thin Man (1934): A young woman begs Nick, a former gumshoe-turned bon vivant husband, to find her missing inventor father just before Christmas in Depression Era New York City. Nick’s heiress wife, Nora, hopes to help, but is routinely thwarted as both the elite and the criminal elements of society barge repeatedly into their hotel room. This film, which I like to describe as slapstick film noir, is the first in a series of seven.
7. Christmas Eve (1986): In this remake of a 1947 film, a wealthy widow helps the homeless of contemporary New York City, but her bitter son wants to protect the family fortune. When a judge grants her until Christmas to present another member of the family who will attest to the soundness of her mind, she hires a down-on-his luck P.I. to find her three estranged grandchildren.
8. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992): Gonzo as Charles Dickens presents an adaptation of his most famous holiday tale. Starring Kermit as Bob Cratchit, Robin as Tiny Tim, and Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, the movie includes songs by Paul Williams, but they are less of a draw than
9. While You Were Sleeping (1995): A Chicago “L” toll-taker saves the life of a man she’s been crushing on just before Christmas but then, through a misunderstanding with a nurse while the guy’s in a coma, gives his family the impression that she’s his fiancée.
10. The Santa Clause (1994): A divorced dad accidentally startles Santa Claus, who falls to his death. After his son, who has witnessed this event, convinces his dad to step in to keep toy delivery on schedule, the man learns he must permanently assume the role in order to keep Christmas functioning properly.

See you back here tomorrow for our next holiday surprise!

Want to join in the fun of Virtual Advent Tour? Leave me a comment and I’ll help you get signed up!

Welcome back to the Virtual Advent Tour!

Day 2 will take us to The Ravell’d Sleave, where Bridget has a post for us about honoring tradition.

We’ll see you back here tomorrow!

Want to join in the Virtual Advent Tour fun? Leave me a comment and I can help you get signed up!

Welcome to this year’s Virtual Advent Tour!

If you stop by my blog every morning (~6 a.m. EST) between now and Christmas, much like a traditional Advent calendar, you’ll find there’s a door to open for a holiday scene of some sort. Many of them will be links to other folks’ blogs, where they’ll share a bit of holiday fun with you — maybe something about how they celebrate Christmas or their winter holiday of choice or a selection of favorite holiday movies or the like — and the rest will be shared here. We hope you enjoy them, and welcome your participation, should you want to join in the fun. You can find signups here, or leave me a note in the comments.

Without further ado, let me send you off to your Dec. 1 Virtual Advent Tour destination: Compassionknit, where kathy b has some suggestions for easy holiday cooking for you.

And I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

This shot is through the front window of my folks’ place. They get some very pretty sunsets.

The sun has set on Thanksgiving, and we’re moving on to Christmas. My parents picked out their trees today, and I’ll go see if I can find one tomorrow.

The Virtual Advent Tour kicks off tomorrow. Have you signed up for a date yet? We’d love to have you join us!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Here are three beautiful things from my past week:

1. The drive home to Connecticut (which Rudi did most of) was pretty uneventful Wednesday night. We got a late start, but the roads were mostly clear.

2. Corey was very snuggly this week after my absence and his night on his own.

3. Our table was full, and we got to talk to the most important people who were absent from it today. We have roofs over our heads and a way to pay for necessities and a few luxuries. We are healthy. And even if the country is not currently functioning the way most of us would like it to, we live in relative peace and can work to make our government better in the future.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

Sign-ups are open for the Virtual Advent Tour, which starts Sunday. We’d love to have you take part!

It’s been nearly three months since I started this new job, and I’m finding it a struggle to achieve the work-life balance that’s previously been mostly effortless for me. While I haven’t missed a volleyball game yet (yay, physical activity!), my knitting and recreational reading have been at all-time lows.

With only 13 more days in the office this year, I don’t foresee making any radical changes before the holidays, but I do think I could probably make some incremental changes:

T’is the season for Christmas movies, which do not require much brain power. Sock knitting also does not require much brain power and I think if I reach for one of my socks-in-progress, rather than my phone first when we start up a film, I will actually stick with it long enough to make some noticeable progress.

I also think that if I set aside 15 minutes when I get home to decompress with a book I’ll be a happier camper. Finally, I need to finish The Library Book, because it’s detracting from all the lovely fiction I want to read, so I’ll make that a priority while I’m in Connecticut for the holiday weekend.

If nothing else, the new job is making me good at developing actionable plans for accomplishing tasks, right?