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24/11/2023 0 Comments

Why are Christmas movies so comforting?

In the 20 years since Love Actually was released, I've rediscovered a love of Christmas movies.

Part of me harks back to watching White Christmas with my Grandmother. Cuddled up on the sofa, sipping proper cocoa made with jersey milk. It would be so thick you could use it as grout, but it was rich, creamy and made, as with everything my Grandmother did, with love.

Last year, I started my Christmas movie a day, epic. And once again, this year, I doing the same. Watching schmaltzy films and horror movies and action movies. But all come with Christmas featured in them.

We can argue whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie, but other action films, such as Fatman definitely are.

Earlier this week I witnessed a small argument at work:
It is
No, Die Hard is not a Christmas movie
It is, you know
No, it's not
Yes, it is ....

Watching White Christmas and all the other films from the 50s that my Grandmother loved, let me sit and snuggle down into the happy memories that she and I made together.

But there is another side of watching a film again and again and again.

The familiarity of the film allows you to let it wash over you. You see things that you had forgotten and get that jolt of happiness from the memory of when you first saw it.

However, for me, it's being able to have it, almost, as background to creating a new memory that you now attach to the film.

I'll often have it own when I'm knitting or baking. The feel of the yarn, the small of the cookies, then become intertwined with the film, the music, the memories of previous years.

It is almost as though you can make a memory even bigger and brighter and more wonderful by adding to it again and again and again.

I try to sprinkle in, new films, some of which will become favourites and others are to just to pass the time.

A Castle for Christmas was watched the year it came out because I knew one of the ladies who had dyed the yarn for the movie. It is now the first film that I start my watch days off with.

Then today, watching another Hallmark film (yes, you can joke that they all have the same plot) I was struck by something.

These films are not just feel good films.

Yes, the women in these films are normally successful, confident women. Yes, they always find that they have lost touch with life and find meaning through some wonderful handsome man.

But there is one thing that is refreshing in these movies. These women are always middle age. They are at least 30 if not early 40s. They are attractive but that is secondary to the skills that they have in the films. They are lawyers, CEOs, chefs, you name it. They are financially independent (mostly) but have often isolated themselves from everyone.

Yes, they often fall for the guy, but often they fall for finding friendship with other great women.

For me, it is this last thing that I find the most fulfilling with these films. Connections, relationships and friendship.

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23/11/2023 0 Comments

Is it still worth sending physical Christmas cards?

I’m down to just three physical Christmas cards a year now. Gone are the years when I would make 20th or so cards.

Now, both of my parents are gone. Hubby’s family don’t exchange cards (apart from one sister) and my Niblings are environmentally conscious. The last bastion of of physical cards was the office but the move to remote and hybrid killed that too.

I first started to make Christmas cards back in the late 80s.
This was out of necessity. I was suddenly living on my own and had very little money.

Christmas cards were expected. A social handshake where you would sit at the start of December and start to write them out over two or three nights.

The first year I made simple lace from Christine Springett’s Lace for children of all ages.

Another year it was folded ribbons to make stars. Often, it would be whatever workshop my local lace group had arranged.

In previous years, different online lace groups would run a Christmas card exchange. I’d make a decoration and attach it to a card like the one here.

Then, I realised that it wasn’t that the work I was putting in wasn't getting any praise, it was that it was being ignored. If someone has taken the time to make you something, even if it’s not to your taste, you should at least acknowledge it.

One year, I made 14 of these lace decorations.

Each took an evening to make.With work and other commitments, this was a month of my spare time.

My brother, my sister and hubby’s sister all thanked me. My mum gave me a hug.

But no one else acknowledged them.

When I brought this up to my mum she said how people loved them. Yeah but they couldn’t take 2 secs to even tell me the cards had arrived.

Some years, if there just isn’t time, I will buy a card room a friend or artisan and send that.

So now, I just make 3 cards.

My brother and sister in law
My sister and brother in law
Hubby’s sister.

Today, I went to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust for their printing workshop. We saw it advertised back in August and I think I was the first person to book.

The day was run by the wonderful Louisa Hare of First Folio Cards.

First, I drew a sketch of a wistful cat looking at trees and the moon then cut it into the lino. Then I printed a blue background followed by the lino print. The idea was to create the idea of a dark sky, at night.

Finally, ‘Merry Christmas’ was printed inside in a fancy font.

I have one print which is just black and I’m going to frame that one and out it in my office.

So, let’s look again at my question; Is it still worth sending physical Christmas cards?

My answer is that it’s just the same as it it with making handmade gifts for Christmas?

Some people are craftworthy. For them, I’ll make anything. For all the others, then an e-card.

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22/11/2023 0 Comments

Schrottwichteln or Scrap Gnomes

Today, was a Spa day, a present from work for our team after completing a massive project.

I was all warm and relaxed from my massage, snuggled in my complimentary robe, knitting and doing my other favourite activity, in these situations; listening to snatches of conversations.

The two ladies, opposite we’re talking about Christmas and work secret Santas. One of them asked if the other if they knew of this German tradition where you take a nice, unwanted gift, wrap it and then you play a game to see who will get which gift.

Rules
I found these rules on a German language blog

When all players are sitting at the table and all the gifts are in the middle in front of you, you set a time for how long you want to play. Then the dice are rolled in turn. Each number rolled then has its own rule. First, everyone has to roll a six - because whoever rolls the six gets to choose a present from the middle (don't unwrap it yet!)

6 : You choose a present from the middle and place it in front of you (do not unwrap it!). If you already have a gift in front of you and you roll another 6, you can unwrap your gift.
5 : You can exchange your gift with another player (whether he wants to or not and regardless of whether you have already unpacked or not)
4 : Everyone passes their gifts clockwise.
3 : You must exchange your gift with the player to your left.
2 : You must exchange your gift with the player to your right.
1 : You get to decide which players have to exchange their gifts.

Of course, there is nothing stopping you from creating your own rules to fit who you are playing with.

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20/11/2023 0 Comments

It's that time of year again

The 15th of November has come round and it's time to kick off my annual Christmas movie a day marathon. Ok, so not really annual as it's only the second year I've done this.

Last year I managed to watch 62 movies (18 in November and 44 in December).

This year I'm introducing my yarn🧶rating of how good it is to watch multiplied by the ability to watch whilst pursing your favourite yarn / thread / string activity.

36 = Total Watched To Date
22 = November
14 = December

I want simple films where there a strong, independent woman goes to a small town, meets a wonderful man (usualy a widow with an adorable child; extra points if he is able to carve things using a blunt spoon), she saves Christmas for the town from evil conglomorate / spiteful woman / machinations of nasty person, there is a confusion over something so she and wonderful man fall out, but it comes together at the end and everyone is happy.

Or a violent film where things get blown up.

I'm happy with either.

November - The List watched so far:

Wednesday, 15th November - A Castle for Christmas (Netflix) 🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶- worth watching it includes knitting
Thursday, 16th November - Best Christmas. Ever. (Netflix) - 🧶🧶🧶those pesky Christmas brag newsletters come back to bit two familes
Thursday, 16th November - A Cinderella Story, Christmas Wish (Netflix) - 🧶🧶teen comedy musical but good enough fluff to watch with cocoa and a biscuit
Friday, 17th November - Chateau Christmas (Hallmark) - 🧶🧶a world renown pianist receives a scathing review and her Christmas concert is canceled due to issues with the buildin so what can she do but return to Chateau Neuhaus with her family. She reconnects with her ex-boyfriend who just happens to be putting on a Christmas concert with no star. A case of let's do it right here!
Friday, 17th November - A Cookie Cutter Christmas (Amazon) - 🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶two school teachers have been rivals since childhood. I liked this so much, when I watched it in 2021, that I actually bought it to watch last year.
Saturday, 18th November - Last Train to Christmas (Sky) - 🧶Michael Sheen travels through time as he goes back and forth between the carriages on the train to Nottingham. Watch out for the hair styles included Cary Elwes with a red wig!
Saturday, 18th November - Christmas in the Highlands (Amazon) - 🧶🧶🧶Captain Kirk's brother is the Earl with a perfume to die for whilst an American perfumier tries to get closer to him and the scent as she films a fake documentary. Filmed predominately at the late Queen Mother's childhood home, it's an opportunity to enjoy the magic of Glamis Castle.
Sunday, 19th November - Christmas at Castle Hart (Hallmark) - 🧶🧶🧶🧶 What could possibly go wrong when two out of work waitresses from New York tell an Irish Earl that they are famous party planners? Well not the party because that is a hit until the planner they are impersonating turns up.
Monday, 20th November - Falling for Christmas (Netflix) - 🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶Linsey Lohan trying to put on a fitted sheet. Classic.
Tuesday, 21 November - Holiday Date (Hallmark) - 🧶🧶🧶🧶When you break up with your boyfriend just before Christmas and think it's a good idea to take a actor home to pretend to be him. The actor is researching 'small town living' for his next role, your parents are obsessed with Christmas, he is too ... but it turns out that's because he's never celebrated it as he's Jewish. Lost one yarn ball in my rating because the 'it's all going to go wrong' was a little too much for me. I can't do any films or tv shows where you know something is going to happen and they make you wait for it (it's called Checkov's gun). This is different to a suspenseful movie, think of it like this; I can watch a film noir such as Key Largo but I could never watch Some Mothers do 've 'em, as a kid.
Wednesday, 22nd November - A Christmas to Savour aka Serving up the Holidays (ITVx or Amazon) - 🧶🧶🧶🧶A chef is forced to add Christmas inspired dishes to her menu in order to keep her restaurant open. So she goes back to cookery school to find out the true meaning of Christmas food ... and love.
Thursday, 23rd November - A Christmas Retreat (Paramount+) - 🧶🧶🧶🧶A women whose boyfriend has broken up with her and a man who has been passed over for promotion both go on a Christmas Retreat and learn that there is more to life than working every hour.
Friday, 24th November - A Glenbrooke Christmas (Paramount+) - 🧶🧶🧶When the stress of being the CEO of a multinational company becomes too much, an heiress goes to Glenbrooke for one last Christmas where her childhood memories were made. Of course, there is a hansome Fire Chief!
Friday, 24th November - Christmas in Washington (Paramount+) - 🧶🧶🧶Watched this last year so now it's time to rate it and give some feedback. When she gets the gig of a lifetime, decorating an embassy, a designer finds that she needs to teach the new Ambassador what Christmas truely means.
Saturday, 25th November - Violent Night (Sky Cinema) - 🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶Do not, and I repeat, do not mess with Santa. I've always liked David Harbour as an actor and it's good to see how well he carries this film.
Saturday, 25th November - Christmas in Evergreen (Hallmark) - 🧶🧶🧶🧶I first watched this last year and realised that there are now four Evergreen set movies. They are perfect for chilling out to and knitting. Not to be confused with 'An Evergreen Christmas'.
Sunday, 26th November - Christmas In Evergreen: Letters To Santa (Hallmark) 🧶🧶🧶🧶Amongst all the other themes of this film, I was struck by the search for where a key fitted. It's only a small part of the story but the idea that it's as much fun to look as it is to find.
Sunday, 26th November - Christmas In Evergreen: Tidings of Joy (Hallmark) 🧶🧶🧶🧶For once, a Christmas film where the two people that it centres on admit that staying in the small town all year isn't for them.
Monday, 27th November - Christmas In Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing (Hallmark) 🧶🧶🧶🧶Finally Hannah gets to be the centre of the action when she has been the one helping everyone else. And there is knitting and she says it helps to quieten her mind.
Tuesday, 28th November - Christmas on the Coast (Amazon) 🧶🧶🧶🧶What could go wrong when you use all your friends as characters in your books?
Wednesday, 29th November - Next Stop, Christmas (Hallmark) 🧶🧶🧶🧶 Groundhog day meets sliding doors. What could have been and what should have been.
Thursday, 30th November - Nantucket Noel (Sky Cinema / Hallmark) 🧶🧶'Evil' real estate developer will ruin Christmas by builing a waterfront building ... just days before Christmas. I had hoped to be blown away by views of Nantucket but it turns out this was filmed in Canada.
Thursday, 30th November - A Muppet Christmas Carol (Disney) 🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶 An obvious 5 yarn rating. This film is not only a great and faithful retelling of the classic Christmas story, it was the Muppet movie to be made after the death of Jim Henson (creator) and Richard Hunt (performer). The only real deviation is that there is an extra ghost - there are two Marley brothers played by Walfof and Statler. And it also has Michael Caine. What more could you want.

December - The List watched so far:

Friday, 1st December - A Very English Christmas (Paramount+) 🧶🧶🧶 Been together 9 years so let's get married in 2 weeks just in time for Christmas and drag your half sister from the US to plann it.
Saturday, 2nd December - Genie (Sky Cinema) 🧶🧶🧶I'm giving this a begruding 3 yarns score as it's more a 2½. This script, by Richard Curtis, is a retelling of his 1991 TV film Bernard and the Genie starring Lennie Henry and Alan Cummings (the later makes a cameo appearance). I'm not sure if it's because I have seen the previous version, or because the story or style feels a little Déjà vu, but it does feel a little tired. However the scene where Bernard allows his family to each have 3 wishes is well done and they, quite literally, try to send each other to hell.
Sunday, 3rd December - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Disney+) 🧶🧶🧶🧶I'm teniously adding this in as Christmas is mentioned and Father Christmas appears but it's still tenious because, in Narnia, as Lucy says, 'it's always winter, but never Christmas, think of that!' Sumptiously filmed, this is a story from my childhood, read each night, before bed. I still have the box set that I was given for my Seventh birthday. The teenage me saw the obvious Christian symbolism in it, and replaced the stories in my heart with Shadowlands. But now, nearly 40 years since I first read it, once again, I can enjoy it for what it is. Now, where did I put that Turkish Delight?
Monday, 4th December - Family Switch (Netflix) 🧶🧶🧶This is very teniously a Christmas movie as it's set at Christmas but doesn't really have any references other than songs and the first scene. Had it just been done as non Christmas movie I'd have give it 4 yarn score. Freaky Friday with a twist that it's the whole family.
Tuesday, 5th December - Catering Christmas (Netflix) 🧶🧶🧶This one is more a 3¾ yarn symbols for knitting and a 3 yarn symbols for movie story. A caterer mistakes the nephew of a famous philantropist for her temp chef but still gest the job (and the fudge).
Wednesday, 6th December - The Fabric of Christmas (Paramount+) 🧶🧶🧶🧶An almost perfect Christmas film. It has a dashing fire chief, snow, a Christmas Wedding and quilting. What more could you ask for.
Thursday, 7th December - Open by Christmas (Hallmark) 🧶🧶🧶🧶No, it's not a great movie but it is one to sit and knit by. So this is kind of a 3¾ yarn symbols for both knitting and story so I'm giving it 4. A Christmas card that has lain unopened for 20 years. But who sent it?
Thursday, 7th December - Candy Cane Lane (Amazon) 🧶🧶🧶🧶This year's Amazon Christmas movie with Ed Murphy, who gives a really good performance in this. An evil Christmas Elf, Pepper, Godmothered's Jilian Bell, is tricks Ed Murphy into signing a pack where if he doesn't find five golden rings and defeat Pepper, he and his family will be turned into living figurines in Pepper's shop, just as others had been, before him. As Pepper says; What's Christmas without a little terror!
Thursday, 7th December - Four Christmases (Amazon)🧶🧶I had fond memories of this film and was looking forward to revisiting it but boy has it not stood the test of time. We all know that the key thing about Christmas movies is that people decide that love is what matters the most but underneath all of the storylines is the fact that people deserve to be happy. Watching this film again and you realise that none of the people in it, let alone the two main characters, are very nice. They are all bullies and narcisists. Sometimes, it's better not to revisit old favourites!
Friday, 8th December - The 12 Dates of Christmas (Amazon) 🧶🧶🧶🧶Of course she isn't stalking her ex a year after they broke up, again and again and again. Ground hog day meets Christmas. What makes this film work is that with 12 reruns of the day, Kate finally gets to experience minor successes and major messups. It's of a similar vintage as Four Christmases but has worn better with time as the characters do have redeming features.
Friday, 8th December - Noelle (Amazon) 🧶🧶🧶🧶With the wonderful Anna Kendrick as Kris Kringle's daughter and her brother, Bill Hayden having an existential crisis, what could go wrong? And it has Shirley McLaine in it too!
Saturday, 9th December - Charming Christmas (Hallmark)🧶🧶🧶🧶The thing that struck me about this film is that it's all about listening to people and understanding what they truely want. Yes, we have the successful women who gets with the right guy, but along the way, people talk and those that love them listen.
Saturday, 9th December - Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane (Amazon)🧶🧶🧶🧶It's not Christmas without an Alicia Witt Christmas movie! This was one of the first ones with her that I watched. It also has the Sheriff from Eureka in it. What is there not to love.
Saturday, 9th December - Spotlight on Christmas (Amazon)🧶🧶🧶🧶Perfect for knitting (infact, that's exactly what I was doing). Redemption comes in giving back is one of the messages but the other is how people value you for who you are.

On the list:

Love Actually (Amazon) - always the one for Christmas Eve
It's A Wonderful Life (Apple TV)
The Shepherd (Disney+) a new telling of the Frederick Forsyth Christmas Ghost story
The Santa Clause (1, 2, 3 and clauses) (Disney+)
Arthur Christmas (Amazon)
Christmas with the Kranks (Amazon)
Christmas Eve (Amazon)
Last Christmas (Amazon)
The Santa Claus (Amazon)
The Christmas Chronicles 1 & 2 (Amazon)
A Christmas Candle (Amazon)
The Bishop's Wife (Amazon)
Godmother (Disney+)
A Charlie Brown Christmas (Apple TV)
Sound of Music (Disney+) OK I know it doesn't have Christmas in it but its always on at Christmas ... maybe I should add the Great Escape too.
Bell, Book & Candle (Amazon)

Want to see some inspiration? Then check out this wiki list of Christmas films

Tried but failed:
None on the list yet but if you want to see what I didn't get through last year, well here is the link (scroll to the bottom of the page)

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Back to the Christmas Lace Notes

Why the Christmas Lace Notes?

2023 has come along and this is the second year of my lace notes. All kicks off on 15th November with the first of this year's Chrismas movies. One a day, every day until Christmas.

YOUR CART

The Christmas
Lace Notes

Why are Christmas movies so comforting?

Is it still worth sending physical Christmas cards?

Schrottwichteln or Scrap Gnomes

It's that time of year again

Why the Christmas Lace Notes?

Archives

Categories

YOUR CART

The ChristmasLace Notes

Why are Christmas movies so comforting?

Is it still worth sending physical Christmas cards?

Schrottwichteln or Scrap Gnomes

It's that time of year again

Why the Christmas Lace Notes?

Archives

Categories

The Christmas
Lace Notes