Perhaps I'm alone, but the holiday season tends to bring out some of the worst behavior in the general public. Everyone is rushing or in some sort of hurry, and everyone seems to think they're the only ones who have somewhere to go, or obligations to meet. This impatience and general ill-temperedness may peak on Black Friday, but that doesn't stop it from remaining in full force until after the first of the year.
That's not to say that I am this wonderful ball of joy, embracing everything good the holiday season has to offer. As it turns out, my "bah humbug" moments usually surround Christmas Carols. The songs are the same, year after year. No, it doesn't matter that Bowie is singing The Little Drummer Boy, or that Justin Timberlake is on that Christmas album. The truth is, there are only so many times one can hear a song, and though that limit is different for all, I reached my limit for Christmas Carols quite some time ago.
Rather than lament the things I dislike about the holidays, and allowing that to permeate everything I love about life, I prefer to embrace the holiday-related things I do like ... and I also share those with my children. We do this in the form of holiday movies. While we do have a few tried-and-true standby movies we watch annually, like Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) and A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), it's nice when we are able to add a new movie to the holiday season rotation.
Rise of the Guardians was released in time for the 2012 holidays and my children loved it — all except for the part where the elves don't make the toys. In the movie, the toys are made by The Yetis rather than the elves. The elves are present in the movie, but they are depicted as inept, and also as a bit of a punchline. My wife and I found this highly amusing, but my five-year-old daughter, in particular, did not care much for this.
That's not to say that I am this wonderful ball of joy, embracing everything good the holiday season has to offer. As it turns out, my "bah humbug" moments usually surround Christmas Carols. The songs are the same, year after year. No, it doesn't matter that Bowie is singing The Little Drummer Boy, or that Justin Timberlake is on that Christmas album. The truth is, there are only so many times one can hear a song, and though that limit is different for all, I reached my limit for Christmas Carols quite some time ago.
Rather than lament the things I dislike about the holidays, and allowing that to permeate everything I love about life, I prefer to embrace the holiday-related things I do like ... and I also share those with my children. We do this in the form of holiday movies. While we do have a few tried-and-true standby movies we watch annually, like Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) and A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), it's nice when we are able to add a new movie to the holiday season rotation.
Rise of the Guardians was released in time for the 2012 holidays and my children loved it — all except for the part where the elves don't make the toys. In the movie, the toys are made by The Yetis rather than the elves. The elves are present in the movie, but they are depicted as inept, and also as a bit of a punchline. My wife and I found this highly amusing, but my five-year-old daughter, in particular, did not care much for this.
One day, shortly after we had first seen the movie, my wife told my children, "you both had better behave or The Yetis will not make you any toys for Christmas."
"The Yetis don't make the toys!" My daughter interjected.
"Yes they do," my wife reiterated.
"No they don't," my daughter said quite adamantly.
"Of course they do!" My wife responded, "didn't you see, Rise of the Guardians?"
"Mama!" Exclaimed my daughter in an exasperated tone, "that's just a MOVIE! It's PRETEND! The Yetis don't make the toys! The ELVES do!"
Of course they do.
Of course they do.
