December 21, 2005

Christmas Movies

Tammi has tagged me with the 5 Christmas Movies Meme, with the expectation that I will have a surprise or two up my sleeve no less ... but I don't think have any surprises left on this one.

ELF is the only Christmas movie I can remember watching in the last 5 years. That has to say something for it. It means you just have to laugh... "Hello, this is Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"

But, you see, I usually change the channel with Christmas movies come on TV. I'm not much of a Christmas kind of gal ... there's not another season that leaves me more disappointed and depressed. At some point, I end up off in a corner somewhere crying, every year.

I love doing things for others, buying them gifts and making them cookies, making other people feel valued and loved ... but I do that whenever I can, not just Christmas. The exchange of wish lists and poorly thought out gifts that do not reflect any real relationship between the giver and the receiver leaves me cold inside. It cheapens the idea of gift giving as a whole, it means no one really knows a thing about each other ... and the whole season has become nothing but that empty trade ...

I'm not upset over the commercialization of Christmas because people have to choose to participate in commercial activities. If people want Christmas to be religious and/or spiritual, they will experience it that way in their own personal way. That is the nature of faith, personal choices, experiences, and relationships ... ones that no one could ever take away from your heart where you live them the most deeply.

I grow increasingly frustrated by the multitude of people who talk the talk of acting in the spirit of Christmas and are so proud that they have been nice to others during the month of December. Where were you the rest of the year? Are you really proud of yourself for dropping a couple of nickels in the Salvation Army bucket when you've ignored every other charity all year long? Are you really proud of yourself for smiling at the person in the next car over a couple of extra times when the rest of the year you'll probably cut that person off four times that amount? The mass of hypocrites and fair weather good Samaritans is enough to make me skip Christmas all together.

And then there are my personal Christmas experiences... lets just say my family is full of those hypocrites - the ones that get on your case for the way you are behaving, that tell you to live in the spirit of Christmas, and then go behave worse than they do the rest of the year. Christmas has always meant fighting. It has always meant a lot of alone time, abandonment, and a lack of love. As an adult, it grew to mean egregious betrayal was in the works. Those that I love and trust are the most hateful at Christmas.

Every year I try to start fresh, to love the season, to be cheery, to spread joy and happiness ... but it never seems to work ...

I'm just not much of a Christmas kind of gal

Posted by Princess Cat at December 21, 2005 11:29 AM @ 11:29 AM in All About Princess // Permalink | TrackBack
Comments

Maybe if you had watched better Christmas movies, things would be cheerier. Elf is not exactly the Citizen Kane of holiday flicks. You should definitely watch Christmas Story, a heartwarming tale of lust for BB guns. Also, Bad Santa, which despite its vulgarity, violence and buttlove is also in its own warped way a heartwarming tale. And as a bonus, one of the funniest movies I've seen in years.

Posted by: buckethead at December 22, 2005 10:12 AM