Pencils to Puppies, It's Christmas

Holiday movies recs, how-to family traditions, and my fav books of 2023

Hi, hello, happy almost last email of the year!

It’s that whacky and wild time again and I am hurtling towards it with the same wide-eyed, wide-mouthed expression as most grown-ups.

me realizing we’re less than 2 weeks to Christmas.

I both treasure this time and abhor it, equal parts giddy anticipation and quiet dread.

It’s the gift giving that brings me down. My teen created a Pencils-to-Puppies scale that we use to manage her anticipation of a gift. On a scale of 1 to 10, a pencil being a 1 and a puppy being a 10, how good are the prezzies? For me, I’d love to hit a solid 8 to 8.5 every year. No more, no less. Some years gifts here are a 6.5 to a 7 and some years, or at least the year she got tickets to see Hamilton, it’s an 11. Clearly, I struggle to find balance.

But we’re not at gift giving yet so let’s focus on other pieces of the Christmas spirit! And in case you aren’t subscribed yet, let’s make that easy for you.

Holiday Movie Recs

I have two, one that you might see coming and one, I expect, you won’t.

The Family Stone: This movie has shifted from my favorite Christmas film to top three favorite movies of all time. And while it definitely takes place over a few days at Christmas, it isn’t pointing you towards Christmas cheer, Christmas spirit, or a let’s save Christmas mentality. No. Absolutely not. Instead, Christmas is a supporting character, heightening the emotion and setting a pitch perfect tone for the story of an adult son bringing his girlfriend home to meet his large and tight knit but challenging family. It’s funny, swoony, sad, and might make you consider having more kids than any one family probably needs. But they sell you on it, they do.

Last Holiday: Don’t sleep on this holiday timed classic! When an unexpected diagnosis sends her on the hero’s journey to live her best last days, Queen Latifah experiences a self-created Pygmalion story, that happens to be around Christmas and New Year’s. This movie is funny, charming, and not at all sad. Queen Latifah lights up the screen, a hilarious and stunning delight. Plus, there’s so much visual eye candy by way of the Grandhotel Pupp, where the story plays out, and L.L. Cool J as the love interest. So many pretty things to look at!

me every time I finish Last Holiday

How-to Family Traditions

I’m sharing pointers here because, honestly, I’ve gotten pretty good at this and mine don’t cost a fortune.

Instead, we rely on timing and repetition for a good time.

• Strategically placed movies. Have a great holiday movie you’ll watch at key moments during the season and do it the same way every year. For us, my daughter and I watch The Family Stone every Thanksgiving night to kick off the holiday season. We also put Elf on while we decorate the tree as a family.

• Whenever you bust the tree out of the box or chop it down from the tree farm, make it a significant time. Always the weekend before Thanksgiving! Always the second Saturday in December! Always the first Monday after Halloween! Basically, train your elf senses to kick in at the same time, every year, for tree time. And this applies to putting up outside decor and festooning the house as well.

• Have a family holiday playlist that you can all access. Prepare to only listen to the five Christmas songs your children prefer.

• Speaking of tree chopping, that’s been a tradition for us since Jim and I started dating. He, Dorothy, then an elementary age kid, and I cut down our Christmas tree and we’ve done it every year since. Until this year. Now, we did try. We spent over an hour at a Christmas tree farm but were unable to find a tree that wasn’t either reminiscent of a Charlie Brown Christmas or the Griswold tree from Christmas Vacation. In the end we got a store tree. But we attempted and sometimes that’s the best you can do.

My thoughts are, make a few traditions that rely more on presence and timing than money because we’ll all be broke by the end of this season, no need to speed the bus up. And looking forward to certain events at certain times is a magic unmatched by a gift in a box.

me if we could just have holiday traditions without gifts

My Favorite Books of 2023

Congratulations, the Best is Over!: for the folks in your life with a wicked sense of humor, a concern/curiosity about the future, and an appreciation of thoughtful, excellent writing.

Hello Stranger: for the romantics with depth!

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches: for your more festive Hallmark-minded folks, with some well-placed f-bombs and a bit of sexy times spice to keep it interesting.

and

Then Comes Marriage! Of any book I read repeatedly this year it was this one. And even after writing, editing it approximately seventeen and a half times, and reading it many more times than that, it holds up! I recommend it. If you or a loved one would enjoy a clean and comical swoony love story, this book would be an excellent choice.

And, if you have read Then Comes Marriage, or my first book, First Comes Love, and wanted to leave stars and/or reviews on Goodreads or Amazon, please know, this is how it would make me feel.

Thanks so much for showing up to this chatting and book-talk this year. I so appreciate your time and reading.

I’ll be back around the New Year with book plans and reading hopes for 2024. See you then! And if you’re so inclined, leave a Christmas book or movie recommendation below. I’d love more ideas.

Take care,

Emily