The Greatest of All Christmas Traditions
Everyone has their annual holiday traditions. Opening presents on Christmas morning, dinner with the whole family, maybe traveling instead of spending the holidays at home.
One of my favorite traditions starts around 7:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve and continues, non-stop, for 24 hours. Of course I am talking about TBS’s marathon run of A Christmas Story. Its one of the greatest Christmas movies ever made (a very, very close second to Christmas Vacation). How can you not enjoy 24 hours of it. The secret is not to watch it all the way through.
Say you have multiple locales for receiving gifts on Christmas Day. You start watching the movie and are just getting into it when, all of a sudden, it is time to leave and go to another house. No problem, just turn the TV back on an hour or so later and you can pick right back up where you left off. How much better can it get!
For those in the Birmingham area, the Alabama Theatre is running their Holiday Movie Festival. Closing out the festival this year is, you guessed it, A Christmas Story. It is showing Wednesday night, and there is no better way to spend an evening that watching a movie in such a historic theatre.
December 21st, 2004
I must agree with your assessment of A Christmas Story. My wife and I love watching it every year around this time. My favorite scenes (and it is hard to pick just one) are wehen our star goes ballistic and beats the crap out of the freckled bully in a fit of tears and snot.
My second favorite scene is probably when he crawls back up the slide to recoup his ill fated attempt to tell santa what he wanted for christmas. After telling him that he will shoot his eye out, Santa ever so softly nudges his forehead with the sole of his boot, sending him back down the slide.
December 21st, 2004
The tongue-to-flag-pole scene is classic. The legendary Triple Dog Dare. The break from the set standard of building up to the Triple Dog Dare.
Brings tears to my eyes.
December 21st, 2004
I have to admit… I am getting a bit tired of that movie. It’s great to have it on for 24 hours - so you can always “pick up where you left off,” but I am still tired of it.
It’s sorta like the radio, where all you hear are the old Christmas songs - over and over and over. There are hundreds of current artists that have Christmas albums - why not play those!? (Royalties, I know…)
But “A Christmas Story” is still a classic. And who knows, despite my pessimism, maybe I’ll appreciate it this year.
December 21st, 2004
Fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra raaaaaaaaaaaaa!
December 21st, 2004
I love that movie. It’s full of quotes that you can use all year:
FRA-GIL-E — Must be Italian.
I can’t put my arms down!
NOTAFINGA!
Momma’s litte piggy! (really only works if you have kids)
December 22nd, 2004
Jeremy,
You’re right, this is a classic piece of Christmas nostalgia. Unlike Matthom, I’ve yet to get tired of it (although I’ll bet that little kid must hate his life as an adult now)
December 22nd, 2004
Oh how I always forget about that movie until December. I’ve watched it almost every year since I was about 6 or 7 years old. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it (unless I actually sat there and watched all 24 hours of the marathon maybe!).