#I JUST LOVE THE WHOLE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT ! it’s the best ever <3

[garoujo]

Timezones really are wacky. I’m sitting here at 4 am and your in the afternoon 👁️👁️ time is a lie it’s a conspiracy. I too am very hype for Xmas! Tbh I just wanna eat all the foods bc it’s always yummy. Gifts are cool too but FOOD.

omigosh yes i agree they are sooooo wild !!! i literally love christmas SO MUCH like it cant come quick enough i swear >< i can’t WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS FOOD !!! i’m gonna eat sm it’s so goood <3

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

VHSCC OH MY GOD

(no spoilers)

Starkid nation, you aren't ready.

So let's start with the obvious. Look, I spent thirteen years growing up with Starkid. That initial Michigan gang are deeply special to me and I will always miss Dylan, Brian R., and Corey in any show they aren't in. And this one's no different. But just as Janaya came in and took over Belle from Britney so flawlessly, Curt, Brian, and AJ were all WONDERFUL in their new roles. The gentle-but-high-energy, truly decent, romantic himbo charm Curt brought to our Springsteen boy Jim (you all are going to LOVE Jim, I promise) perfectly offset the defiant, sneering anger of Young Scrooge in "That Scrooge." Brian's reactions (particularly to the "rather take my own life" line) were so funny and some of my favorite parts of the show. And AJ... this is now my favorite thing AJ has ever done. And that's saying something. The smaller casting shake-up moments (Joey as Fezziwig, other little line re-distributions) were so fun as well!

The new act 1 is PERFECTION. I was actually surprised by how absolutely hysterical it was? Like, I won't tell you what was up with that clip on Instagram of Brian, Lauren, and Joey doing a freak-out dance, but I can tell you that their whole Act 1 deal threatened to steal the show every. Single. Time. I already mentioned Curt as Jim, but you will also love Della, who is so funny and real and truly carries us through the start of the show (Janaya is a STAR and she Curt have brilliant chemistry). Ali did a terrific job of balancing the sadness and hope that are both at the center of the devastating little Match Girl. And Jamie's Grandma... well, honestly I have no idea how to talk about Jamie's song without giving stuff away.

But the real star of the show in Act 1, as he should be, was our man Clark. I can't emphasize enough how much he nailed the writing of this whole new act. I mentioned that the new stuff is hilarious, but it's also deeply heartfelt, and also sad exactly when it needs to be. Like, the transition after Jamie's song? I can't really talk about it yet, but what that moment does with emotion is unreal. And, as expected, every song is a banger! My one complaint about this show, and it IS a big one, is that there is no cast recording of the Act 1 songs. I want to listen to them all the time.

But the good news is, I CAN listen to Christmas Carol as much as I want! The classic that started it all is back, with so many people reprising the hell out of their truly iconic roles (God I love the VHS Cratchits), and better than ever. I traditionally hate change, and I love the version of VHSCC Live! we already have so much, but I think I somehow loved this version even more? The staging is alive and clever and there are some additions and changes, particularly in "Final Ghost"/"Christmas Day," that frankly blew my mind and somehow managed to elevate the material even further. I can't wait for the digital ticket to come out so that I can talk about them. To put it simply, James Tolbert mastered his Starkid directorial debut like you won't believe. I'm so proud of him and grateful for the larger role he's taken in Starkid since they moved base to LA.

Also, the Ghost of Christmas Past is extra unhinged this year? Jaime pulled out all of the impish stops and it was the BEST.

Basically, everyone more than delivered. I haven't talked about Meredith yet but she rocked it in the band and continued to validate the hell out of my opinion that "3 Spirits" is the dark horse best song in the show.

And a special shout-out to June Saito for continuing to be a costuming GENIUS. I always love her work and this production is no exception. I honestly wanted to give the return of the Bob Cratchit costume its own round of applause.

You know, the world is a mess and everything is pretty much terrible. It's been a hard year in an impossible decade. But every once in a while you come across some art that takes all of that, acknowledges the truth of it, and somehow pulls back the curtains to harness the joy and hope that's still there under the rubble. To me, Starkid in particular has always been about finding and holding onto the hope and the beauty and humanity that allows us to endure an existence that can so often feel bleak. And VHSCC is maybe the most perfect encapsulation of that idea.

So thank you Clark, James, Meredith, Brian, and everyone who worked so hard on this little bit of magic. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Let's make a little light.

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Part 2 of this (diavolo & lucifer being very gay in canon) because I ran out of space in the first one

1. The entire Devildom thinks Diavolo & Lucifer are dating/in love;

2. It just sounds cute okay

3. Diavolo apparently notices when Lucifer's pupil dilates by 2mm 😐

4. Diavolo probably has a 500pg book about how great Lucifer is

5. Remember how much Diavolo gushed about Lucifer's butler uniform, took a lot of pictures of it etc? Apparently he saved that uniform or had a new one made, then took the first chance he saw

6. Cottagecore?

7. Diavolo finds Lucifer sneezing cute😬

8. Diavolo prioritises Lucifer over everything, even his own kingdom & the way Simeon keeps poking at it & Diavolo keep avoiding directly answering him + Simeon later teases Lucifer about Diavolo liking him in S3👀

9. The snow sculpture which looked incredibly realistic and had absolutely nothing to do with Christmas

Can't have more screenshots so here's some important conversation word for word:

10. Diavolo, after meeting Lucifer for the first time, Lucifer tries his best to act like an ass to make Diavolo hate him but Diavolo still treats him kindly. Lucifer despises Diavolo at the moment because he's a Demon who according to Lucifer & the Celestial Realm can't even have a "well-ordered society". Diavolo somehow in a single night manages to form a crack in Lucifer's prejudices & make him doubt his Father who he holds in very high esteem. Diavolo also uses chess to prove his point about creating peace and a balance between the three worlds. This is the conversation that follows:

Lucifer (an angel): I see. ...Diavolo. Your strategy truly is fascinating. Do you think we could get together sometime? I'd like to learn more about it.

Diavolo: Are you talking about chess now? Or the nature of our relationship?

Lucifer: Heh...

^The ambiguity Lucifer uses when talking gives that old queer feeling of: Our relationship (whatever it may be) is very forbidden and anyone catching wind of it will be bad so for plausible deniability I'm going to tie the true meaning of this conversation to something more innocuous

11. Conversation they have after this^ flashback/particular conversation:

Diavolo: ...That's when you finally held out your hand to me, and we shook. The way you radiated charm as you smiled at me. I still remember it like it was yesterday. When I saw the look on your face I was convinced. You were fair and righteous, someone who would be able to lend an ear to anyone, to listen to what they had to say. Someone who had a truly beautiful spirit.

In other words Diavolo has the worst case of rose-tinted glasses, specially considering Lucifer was choking Mammon & trying to rip his arm of while Diavolo said all this.

12. Diavolo (in demon form): Back when he was an angel, he was so divine, so awe-inspiring that it was intimidating. But now he's attractive in a different sort of way. He draws your eye toward him and then doesn't let go. He truly is worthy of the moniker "Morning Star"! Even steeped in the darkness of the Devildom, he shines just as brilliantly as ever!

Lucifer (in demon form), blushing: ...Diavolo, could we change the subject, please?

Lucifer (in demon form): I've told you that it embarrasses me when you shower me with such excessive praise in public.

Diavolo (in demon form): Afterall you're already beautiful enough as it is!

a.) This is Gomez Addams level of devoted jfc

b ) Diavolo was straight up reciting poetry at one point

c.)......What's with "in public"....so it's fine in private?

d.) Diavolo gushing about Lucifer has the same energy as Mammon gushing about MC

e.) What do I have to do for someone to be this in to me?

13. Diavolo has multiple copies of Lucifer in a swimsuit saved in different places (not the swimsuit he wears around MC & his brothers btw but the one he wears around Diavolo which is actually just trunks and & an open hoodie/shirt)

14. Diavolo might actually have a whole file of rare pictures of Lucifer? He's got the butler ones, the swimsuit ones and the candid glasses one that he threatened some poor guy to delete after saving a copy for himself

15. The ship in a bottle that Diavolo gave Lucifer, that he loves so much he keeps it in a place where he can always see it

16. Lucifer: No, that scream was far too vile to have come from Diavolo.

....so you know what he sounds like when he screams and you think it sounds good...?🤨

17. Diavolo gives a flustered Lucifer a piggyback ride around RAD

[anincompletelist]

rwrb christmas recs! ❤️

hi all! :D i wanted to rec some festive fics for the holidays for fic rec friday this week!

I'm sure that I've missed some and that some are still to be posted, which will be included in the january rec if so! but here are a few that I've particularly enjoyed reading this month -- the holidays can be a difficult time for many of us and fic - both reading and writing it - can be such a wonderful distraction!

I hope all of you are doing well and being kind to yourselves and to one another this season. happy reading, and as always be sure to spread the love with a kudos, comment, or reblog if possible. enjoy, and happy christmas! <3

+

fell apart (in the usual way) by @hypnostheory (E, 12k)

Henry is a mess around the holidays, and he's expecting to have a tremendously horrid time without Shaan. Fortunately, Alex has plans to make his Christmas both merry and bright. (Bodyguard!Alex Part 2)

When I Think About You by @clottedcreamfudge (E, 36k, wip)

Dream sharing is absolutely not a thing, even though Alex would very much like it to be. The magic of soulmates, however, means that someone you’ve never met – someone whose soul is tied to yours, in whatever way that manifests – can appear in your dreams, like an extra character who keeps popping up over and over again. They won’t be having the same dream as you, and you won’t actually meet, but whatever you remember from the dream can start to take shape in your waking hours; you can figure things out, bit by bit, dream by dream.

Gonna Give You Something (So You Know What's On My Mind) by @affectionatelyrs (E, 4k+)

With the help of a white elephant gift, Henry learns that maybe the whole being-in-love-with-his-roommate thing isn’t as one-sided as he thought.

Every Day's a Holiday (When I'm Near To You) by bleedingballroomfloor (E, 30k)

I know this is a long shot, but if anyone’s going to Texas/anywhere south for the holidays and is crazy enough to drive there instead of fly, I’m looking for a road trip buddy. We can split gas money and snacks if you pick good ones. DM me if you’re interested. And Henry knows he's about the make the most idiotic decision he's ever made in his life. [Or, Henry impulsively tags along with Alex on a road trip to Texas with absolutely no plan. Surely this won't backfire.]

The Christmas Guest by @omgcmere (E, 17k)

Alex is looking forward to a relaxing winter break catching up with his sister after her semester abroad, but June's gone and ruined everything by inviting her insufferable international student friend to stay with their family for a real American Christmas experience. Henry is irritatingly gorgeous with a completely obnoxious superiority complex, and Alex is prepared to hate every single second he's forced to spend in his presence. As Alex starts to get into the Christmas spirit, however, he finds that maybe there's more to Henry than meets the eye - and maybe, just maybe, this will actually be the best Christmas ever

❤️ and if you finish all of these or don't see something you like, be sure to check out this wonderful collection!

New Traditions: A Red, White & Royal Blue Advent Calendar Event

featuring so many beautiful and lovely works by @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @adreamareads @lizzie-bennetdarcy @whimsymanaged @raysletters @sparklepocalypse @thinkof-england @littlemisskittentoes and more!

❤️ as well as a few rwrb holiday fic roundup posts I've seen floating around:

cricketnationrise's holiday fics / @cricketnationrise chamel's holiday fics / @cha-melodius railmedaddy's holiday fics / @rmd-writes allmylovesatonce's holiday fics / @three-drink-amy clottedcreamfudge's holiday fics / @clottedcreamfudge

❤️ and, last but most definitely not least, a wonderful and thorough rec from @roseharpermaxwell (thank you for all you do!)

RWRB FirstPrince Holiday Recs

+

happy reading friends! :D

xx

[morallygreyyn]

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

introducing the 12 part series of scenarios coming this holiday season featuring my three favourite idiots \(*v*)/ here is what you can expect to get you in the festive spirit!

On the twelve days of Christmas, my true loves gave to me...

Twelve grand days Eleven mistletoe kisses Ten christmas movies Nine songs carolled Eight drunken games Seven snowballs fired Six blades on ice Five gingerbread houses Four ugly sweaters Three fools decorating Two thoughtful gifts And a whole lot of idiocy 

pairing: illumi x reader x hisoka (best friends or lovers, take your pick)

genre: fluff, crack

status: ongoing

authors note: this is going to be the stupidest thing i've ever written i just know it...

masterlist

day 1: team ugly sweaters assemble

day 2: christmas shopping fiasco

day 3: coming soon!

[live-laugh-lenney]

i extensively think about george having a swiftie gf and not only does he sit and listen to her explain the backstories behind each song and the parallels in lyrics but he surprises her with eras tour tickets and his ig story the entire night is just videos of his girl having the time of her life screaming the lyrics to lover to him <3

this is so cute, oh my-

in the weeks leading up to the show in london, she's preparing outfits for them.

she's scouring the internet for inspiration, saving ideas on a pinterest account that she made specifically for her eras show she was going to attend with george, looking on every single website she can find online when she had a spare moment to get an idea for more than 1 outfit. sending screenshots to george to see what his opinions were, what he was planning on wearing and whether she could alter his outfit so it seemed fitting to the theme of the eras tour.

and when the day comes, it's like a second christmas day for her.

she's up early in the morning so she could enjoy the whole day, she's blasting taylor swift songs around the flat which wakes up the rest of the boys which they couldn't be mad at, for too long, because she was having so much fun singing and dancing around the kitchen as she made breakfast and she was so excited for the show that night that they could dampen her spirits, speaking about nothing else but the night to come.

george has a whole day planned out for her, too.

they spend all morning getting ready together. she plays her music during her shower (which george shares with her because it's the one thing he enjoys doing knowing the boys can't really hear them over the sound of the water), she laughs when george sings along to some of the music because he had definitely been learning a few of her songs so he didn't seem out of place at wembley, and she even goes to town on decorating his face with glitter and some fancy patterns so he really looked the part. and once they're dressed in their almost matching outfits, lots of sequins glistening in the sunlight filtering through the windows and a cowboy hat for both of them on their heads, they get arthur to take photos of them before they disappear out the front door for the day.

they go out for an early dinner where they consume cocktails and she posts it online because she's really having the best day of her life with the one guy she truly loves. the one guy she wanted there with her. in her eyes, he had truly given her the best gift and she was thankful for the effort he had put in to make sure she had a great time. so by the time they're in wembley, they're a little buzzed and she's even more excited when she realises he's got floor tickets for her... which was more than she ever imagined.

and people recognise them, once they're seen inside of the venue, of course!

so lots of friendship bracelets are shared and exchanged with his fans and photos are taken; she even agrees to be a part of someone's tiktok video that george finds absolutely hilarious to witness. where yn wasn't someone well-known or on social media as often as he was, it felt ironic for him stand back and watch his girlfriend take his place on the app. and it made yn feel loved and included amongst those who love george for his content.

there's one photo posted between the two of them...

... and it's on george's instagram. a photo of yn with her back to the camera, arms in the air, as she's mid-dancing to one of her favourite songs playing on the setlist. a photo that george wanted to keep forever because she was in her element. and he felt pride to know she was truly enjoying herself.

"that was the best night of my life," she cries softly, cheeks absolutely sodden with tears of happiness once the show had finished, standing in the middle of the almost empty floor space with confetti littering the floor, her arms wrapping around his neck as she presses a kiss to his cheek, "thank you, george."

"you're welcome, rascal," he grins widely, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her close to his chest, her cheek resting on his clothed shoulder, "i'm glad you had the best night, babe."

"it was even better spending it with you," she admits and looks up at him, "seriously, i have no idea how i'm going to top a surprise for you."

"i'm not expecting anything in return, silly girl," he laughs and shakes his head, "just seeing you happy is enough for me, yeah?"

she nods and looks around as the fans around them start to make their way to the exits of the venue, "we should start heading home. as much as i'd love to stay here all night, i can feel my throat has been ripped to shreds."

"let's go," george unravels his arms from her waists and slips his fingers between hers, "plenty of tea for you over the next couple of days." xx

[kalims]

hello ! may I request number 3, 7, 8 from the Christmas prompts for Floyd? thank you in advance <3

‎˃ ᵕ ˂ . . "YES YOU MAYYY"

prompts,

twisted holidays

ukiyo — to be fair you had no idea when winter arrives in twisted wonderland, it's cold so you just resort into snuggling to your lover out of nowhere.

serene — their gift is in their front door, catch is it's you wrapped around hazzardly in wrapper meant for presents. there's no better gift than you duh!

not so lonely — you returned to your world and it's a christmas they'd have to spend alone. well they thought that way till you showed up on their doorstep with a bouquet of flowers!

character. floyd

ukiyo

on a range from 1 to 10 his happiness would probably break the scale (as well as your spine probably from how hard he was hugging you) you're well aware of floyd's tendency to 'squeeze' people, more or less his favorite being you but it doesn't take off the suprise every time he does it.

^ well atleast when he just does it out of nowhere. usually? he's pretty easy to read whenever his actions point to a future squeeze.

the definition of: 😊 meanwhile you're: 😨 because what the fuck he's cold and you were trying to find warmth in him not even more cold!

he just hugs you tighter, giggling and stuff ignoring or just completely oblivious to you struggling in his arms trying to get away from his freezing skin.

"floyd please!"

"what's wrong shrimpy? i ain't done squeezing you yet."

"ITS COLD."

"deal with it." *proceeds to laugh at your pathetic attempt to get away.

sleep with both of your eyes open,, actually you will cause now floyd likes to invade your space and its no different during bed time.

you only allow him to sleep with you if he didn't kick away your blanket as well.

serene

"this is the best gift ever."

"careful floyd. you don't want to break your new present." jade grins, watching floyd practice haul your (still wrapped in.. wrapper..) self to his room.

congratulations. you've dug yourself an early grave and a wedding.

floyd is spouting all about how this is the best gift he likes the most and for some reason only let's you remove the ribbons and other stuff after he's finished practically displaying you to azul and bragging.

"so you didn't get a gift like this did you? figured."

"floyd get out."

asks you to give him the same gift next christmas and wont accept anything else if you refuse. he's like a child, huffing and looking away but you know you'll win the ignoring game cause he never lasts two hours.

yes he literally just picked you up, regardless of your size with his monstrous strength and carried (ran) over to his room like a child taking a gift under the tree and choosing to unwrap it in their room.

though you never seem to escape the endless remarks jade quips.

"hm. floyd liked your.. present during that time. he'd be quite disappointed with this.. picture."

"jade. it's a polaroid and can you please stop doing this?"

"doing what? 🙂"

not so lonely

looked pathetic ngl he was just staring at the aquarium of the dorm with a tiny little santa hat on his head (courtesy of jade who claimed he needed to have atleast a little spirit) didn't even want to answer the door but when jade called him he just begrudgingly walked over.

screamed your name (in happiness) so loud that he actually woke up azul. don't wonder why he walked out of the dorm looking disgruntled and rubbing his ass.

is insanely happy but I worry that he'll actually throw a fit like last time if you ever try to leave again. mc you're too cruel to just come back and leave again don't do this I'll be sad again 🥺 *grips you tightly* lowkey guilt tripping you tbh

like floyd loves the flowers but stuff but you're the real deal here and he might've actually cared about them more if you sent them through long distance or something.

wow hes so glad he wore the santa hat.

"we're matching! 🥰" he points to the hat on his head and then to yours unable to keep his arms away from basically encasing you whole.

you missed floyd and his hugs even if it might be a little crushing sometimes <3

[astra-nomy]

[001] EVERY DAY IS CHRISTMAS (manifesting & shifting talk)

hi loves! with the christmas season coming up i wanted to make a little holiday-themed post for funzies. I think the Christmas spirit just gets me in the mood for manifesting and shifting and livin and thrivin and AHHHHHH I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!! Merry Christmas and happy holiday, I love you all so so so so so so so so much, you guys are the best Xmas present I could ever get <3 love love love love you all MWAH

When it comes to manifesting, every day is Christmas. I'm serious. You know that feeling of waking up on Christmas morning and you can't wait to go downstairs and open presents with your family? That's what it feels like you wake up with all your desires. You feel happy, you feel young, you feel nostalgic, and most importantly you feel joyful. Now I know that it can be easy to forget that feeling when the chips are down and you feel like life is being a bit of a Grinch. So, if you're in a bit of a tough situation, here are some ways for you to get that manifesting spirit back!

☆ Make yourself a Pinterest board: now I think we know that I looooove a good Pinterest board. They're a fun, interactive, and aesthetic way to get clear on what you want while having the time of your life. And the best part about them is that whenever you're feeling down or spiraling or feeling yourself sinking back into the old story, the board will still be there to remind you of the things that excite you. I used Pinterest for help with manifesting my ideal face, body, and relationship. But other than that, I just use it for manifesting help, because look at the adorable little posts!

☆ Make yourself a manifesting playlist. Fill it with all the songs that make you feel powerful, gorgeous, and remind you that you alone hold the key to your dream life. Dance around, sing, do whatever makes you feel empowered. Music is great for inducing emotions, so use that to your advantage! I cannot count the amount of times I've danced around my room like a crazy person, just feelin confident and awesome and gorgeous.

☆ Get out of your room and go do something with the people you love. It can be friends or family, just get up, get off social media, and just sit with the people you love. I recognize that that's a lot easier for me because I'm a quadruplet and there's usually always someone in the house to talk to, but even then, just take a walk around your house! Don't get bogged down in one vibe the whole day because you will get tired of it and start feeling negatively towards manifesting and shifting. This is one I know from experience.

☆ If all else fails, take a break. A break can never hurt, no matter where you are in your shifting/manifesting journey. Take a step back and relax. And who knows? Sometimes loosening the reins and letting go is what brings all your desires to your doorstep. Just relax and enjoy the season, star. You've earned it.

I hope this post helps you! Happy holidays my lovely lovely stars! Xx, Astra

[raindancejodi]

Halloween Movie Watchlist

Hi guys! It's spooky season so I'm trying to come up with a list of horror movies and Halloween movies to watch to celebrate! I want to watch one movie a night, and I want to watch mostly movies I've never seen before!! I've got a small list of the classics/my favorites:

Hocus Pocus - if you're American (or I guess just acitve on Tumblr) and have been paying attention to Halloween media at all in the last decade, you've definitely heard of this one! In case you haven't: a teenager accidentally reawakens 3 child-eating witches and must stop them before they eat the youth of every child in town. Sounds a bit scary like that, but it's one of the absolute best family Halloween movies around

The Conjuring - my favorite horror movie ever! So scary, so well acted. The actual story is a bunch of scammers (with the Warren's being the biggest liars/scammers of them all), but the movie's great! Synopsis: a family moves into a new house and scary/supernatural things begin to occur, seemingly focusing on the mother.

Halloweentown - back to the realm of 'family friendly', this is another absolute banger from my childhood. A teenage girl learns she's a witch and must use her new powers to save Halloweentown, a magical place where Halloween is 24/7

The Vigil - I watched this fairly recently and I was very impressed! A Jewish horror movie about a young man who must sit watch over a dead body (which is a Jewish custom I'm forgetting the name of), but supernatural forces begin to haunt him

The Nightmare Before Christmas - back to the more fun ones, this movie is probably the most quintessential 'Halloween movie' in my mind, I think I've watched it every year since I was born! Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween, grows weary of celebrating the same holiday over and over. When he discovers a portal to Christmastown, he gets filled with excitement over something new and decides to try his hand at being king of that instead

The Possession - another Jewish horror story about a Dybbuk box, a box containing a malicious spirit, that finds its way into the hands of a young girl and begins terrorizing her family. Based on a true story! Based here being the operative word, but the owners of the box do seem to consistently say they were genuinely afraid of the box (although no deaths have been attributed to it as far as I know)

Fear Street 1994, 1978, and 1666: technically 3 movies, but all part of a series based off of the books by R. L. Stine. Phenomenal movies, I loved everything about them and want to own them on DVD. This story follows a group of mostly teens as they uncover the truth of the curse of Shadyside, a town where serial killers seem remarkably common. Also has excellent LGBTQ rep (sapphic) and genuinely some of the best storytelling and 'unraveling' I have ever seen (in my opinion)

The Exorcist - a cult classic for a reason, the movie that kicked off the exorcism movie craze that continues to this day (The Exorcist: Believer, anyone?). A young girl begins to display horrifying changes in personality and her mother is desperate to find answers, so she reaches out to a priest. I like this movie a lot, but it may seem kinda hokey to those more used to the more 'modern' special effects. I also love this one because they don't let themselves get bogged down on the specifics of the 'why' and the 'how', bad things happen to good people for no reason all the time (the explanation at the end of Hereditary really undid the whole movie for me)

Halloween - it's literally called Halloween, how could I not include it? This one is my favorite of the franchise because I, personally, really dislike gore (specifically painful body horror like in Saw and later installments). Not that there's anything wrong with those types of movies, just not my personal cup of tea. This movie is much slower and much more thriller type than you might expect if your only knowledge of the franchise is the latest (2020 +) movies, but it is masterful in its suspense and its overbearing, black, ominous, foreboding feeling it evokes.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - can't have Halloween without Dracula! This is my favorite of the adaptations, I love the music, the sets, the casting, the costuming. It's beautiful and grandiose and suffocating and terrifying (and not totally SFW so maybe look up some details before watching with kids) and also a bit long so keep that in mind. A real estate agent travels to remote Romania to settle a land deal for a wealthy recluse, only to find his life and the lives of those around him irrevocably changed when the mysterious man takes a keen interest in his fiancé

That's 12 if you count Fear Street as 3, or only 9 if you wanna watch them all together (as I usually do, I really love those movies), and I'm gonna work out a specific order if I get a few more suggestions. Please add on and give me your ideas! I'm trying to focus more on Halloween movies - some connection to the holiday or more 'traditional' Halloween monsters like vampires, witches, werewolves, and ghosts - but there's more than a few non-Halloween movies on there so don't be afraid to add your fav scary movie too!

[lopez-richter-fangirl]

So I haven’t really posted anything actually spoilery yet but this will be!

Musical daddy Clark truly unreal. I love the opening number so much. I love how much dancing Lauren got to do this show, the joy on her face alone makes me want to cry. She and James had a bit in the opening number we love that duo. She and Joey also have a part in that choreo where they’re looking at each other and that was the moment I was really like oh god this is their first married SK show. Also I know I already brought this up but Joey wearing his ring for Bob is one thing, him wearing it from the very top of the show is NOT okay. I also shouldn’t be allowed to sit close to Lauren because I always get distracted, before it’s been her scars and her ring this time it was her sparkly eyeshadow fun! Also istg Lauren seems smaller every time I see her and the height difference between her and Joey seems worse.

Gift of the magi made me CRY. I forget how good Curt’s voice is and Janaya’s we KNOW is phenomenal and they were just so sweet together. And guys I cannot stress enough how amazing and hilarious this Joey Lauren Brian trio is like it MAKES act 1 for me. The whole song of that part Meredith posted on her story is SO funny. Also I’m fucking in love with Lauren’s costume in act 1 but even more so after the show she accidentally threw it off her head in that part.

L/J/B open little match girl and that song will not get out of my head. I’m not sure between Brian and Joey if the choreo was ever 100% perfect but we all know it adds to the charm. Lauren had to nudge Brian into the right place one show which was v cute. Ali is incredible and I’m so so happy to have her in a full length SK show again (but Lauren understudied match girl and ngl I would kill for rehearsal footage to hear those songs in her voice). This story was such a good showcase of how well SK combines the humour and the emotion.

Scrooge makes a little cameo in both of the stories which sets it up so well, and then the act 1 closer sets up for christmas carol.

I absolutely loved watching Meredith in the band and it’s so special how happy and proud she looks of her friends.

AJ’s scrooge is great and he brings a lot of fun little things to the characters, I think I just have a soft spot for Dylan’s scrooge because I have a soft spot for him that I don’t have for AJ.

The night Curt forgot his very first line in Bah Humbug and just said “yeah!” after Janaya was too funny and Joey put a hand on his back like “it’s okay” they’re all very cute. Honestly though that was probably the biggest fuck up. Joey is just like so so good as Bob obviously it’s perfect casting but it’s perfect casting.

3 spirits was even cooler the way it was staged this time.

Jaime’s I’m the ghost choreo was even funnier. Also nothing can compare with the Brian/Lauren siblings (finally!!) but Lauren was little sister again and was even cuter than last time, she had a little leg pop that was adorable and funny and then a little giggle at the end. And I remember being excited for Joey’s Fezziwig and then being like but he literally has one little part in that song, but he really did have fun with it and he had a cute interaction with Clark and Mere.

I love that scrooge with Curt and even after the 2021 show I’m still in disbelief over Janaya’s voice.

Christmas electricity is just the best fucking thing to see live the energy is so good. I did miss Lauren and Brian starting the song off (Clark was back to singing more of the interludes and we love Clark but there were a few I missed). AJ really was funny in this song. James slays so fucking hard. Lauren was wearing the black boots which I’m obsessed with. But she left early to make her quick change and THAT was when it hit me that I was about to experience the first married priceless.

And truly what to say. There were some ways it wasn’t as bad as previous versions, “this soil is rich” certainly no longer had THOSE implications. But literally just the fact that they *are* married and Joey’s wearing his wedding ring just got me even harder than I thought it would. There was also an EXCESSIVE amount of hand holding. And you’d think I’d be okay after the spin in the 2021 show but they did it in their slow mo section this time which was worse. And if that wasn’t enough, in the last show he spun her TWICE more in the last chorus in a way that definitely was not choreographed which you could see in Lauren’s face and I just. We KNOW they’re both phenomenal actors but we know even more that every bit of that is *real* and I will never recover. I say it every time but I cannot thank Clark enough for writing such a beautiful song for them. And at the end of the song Joey leaned his head on hers and I just looked at him and was like, that is a man who could not be happier performing with his wife. Also I absolutely think he tried to kiss her head the first show but she walked away. He was also the last to leave the stage at the end of the song and he was very proud husband/dad about it all. Jamie and Brian both *consistently* made Lauren break though which is always funny. Also in the first show there was someone in the front row who I think was not participating in cratchit family sing along so Lauren went right up to them and was singing right at them and then Janaya also shout-sang “priceless” at them. Which reminds me I do love that they got their hand mics back for this song. Also the last night Joey fucked up the part where they’re leaning out and wasn’t looking at Lauren when she was looking at him so she was acting offended but then when he did look at her they giggled and I love them endlessly.

Jim and Della became the couple in final ghost which was perfect. The decision to have Joey come out for the cratchit part holding tiny tim’s care bear was fucked up. Lauren leaning on his arm, also fucked up.

There was a new section in christmas day for Jim and Della which was really sweet, and a match girl appearance with an extra couple lines. It did mean we had to lose turkey boy which is kind of a tragedy because it means we’ve never *properly* gotten it live, but I do love love that they tied all the stories together like that and the emotional payoff was so good. We had Lauren donation man and her and AJ were really funny in that bit. Lauren had an entrance while the Bob and Scrooge bit was happening so watching her wait there like a proud wife for him to come and take her arm was 🥺

All that to say this is such a special show and the new additions are perfect and you should absolutely get a digital ticket!!!

[awigglycultist]

Random How the Grunch Cribbed Christmas thoughts/fav things/live blog/ect. Look you know the drill probably.

"Jinkles Christ what an embarrassing way to start!"

"shake your asses!"

Also Esther with the lights on them djdjjd

*farts into mic* "L'Chaim"

Why is Gwen flossing oh god

The applause sign nddbbd

Esther showing everyone a qr code for everyone to give them money ndjdn

"I can't believe you trust the internet with your money, I keep mine where its safe, irl in the unlocked glove department of my van parked out front... Theres cameras! Jesus Christ!"

"in your hometown where you would revice no attention or fame :)"

"and we're out!" "glad I don't have to listen that" "oh you know what sorry now we're out"

"I got an appointment out back with Jolly Ol Saint Dick"

The whole bit with Scrags interrogating Rudy nfjdd

"she knows we have a special bond. And I think her husband knows that too"

"Keith Swanson you puckish imp!"

"yeah we all agree she's trying to pig out on that Keith beef in thr sheets right?"

I think I would die if I was Ace

Poor Scrags

"it's also a waste of my stage time"

There he is. There's the grunch.

"I do not want to look like one of those amateur shows where there's a long blackout and people judt stumble around like idiots"

Ah yes non denominational Santa

"how old are you supposed to be in this song?" "six" "six?"

"Santa" "what?" "boner" "fuck"

Buddy they seem like they wanna fuck you bc of the song

"baby J, papa G, and... The third one"

"or join us on the naughty list" "I totally fucking will" "Keith"

"project"

Esther not being able to read the card is so funny

I love how fucking excited Esther is the moment they see Kirk

Rip Scrags

"my absolute. Best. Friend."

The Esther and Kirk handshake is incredible

I immediately absolutely love Kirk also so I get where Esther is coming from

"happy... Christmas everyone!"

Orlando's entrance is absolutely wonderful

"oh hey uhmm" "it's like the reindeer" "reindeer"

"and that's my childhood trauma.. Being privileged."

"do what my family did, celebrate both" "pft okay. You can do that!?"

"aren't you a sight for whore eyes"

I'd love to know if this would take place before or after ep1 of sisbib bc of Rhoda's Ark being one of the sponsorships

The absolute tension between Gwen and Lisa

"move on!"

Scrags has no idea what he's doing

"will the squad ever come to Florida?" "absolutely not"

"as the only Christian in the squad uhm... It me" "okay, holy spirit doesn't equate to holiday spirit dipshit" "oh my god can Christians just come out on top for once?"

Omg Nick Gage could write an awesome rock song about Christmas

The bit where Esther is on the floor seemingly about to fall asleep only to go right back into the song is great

Honestly incredibly rude if the grunch to knock everything over after Scrags just cleaned up, I don't even care about him stealing presents or....pissing into the diffuser

"if Gwen was giving anyone a handjob I would know about it!"

"do we have any fuckable singles in the audience?"

"I'm joking! I'm half joking"

So who's gonna do the math to figure out how many lawsuits he has against him and how many years he was in prison

I love Orlando

Also. I shout this out all the time but absolute shout out to the background acting in this show

Are they allowed to use this song?

Keith absolutely ROCKING OUT

Scrags screaming omh

"oh I don't know maybe a vengeful monster wHO WE JUST BEETLEJUICED INTO EXISTENCE"

"OH YEAH EAT SHIT ACE!"

Ah finally. Brian playing a women

"multi-generational ogies with the neighbours"

No he's right Pirates are super cool

:( Scrags <3 beloved poor guy

Joey saying bye to that person getting up in the middle of a song djdndkdb also that person left for the bathroom at the wrong time. Like they left right around the start of the song and then came back at the very end of it when everyone was absolutely going crazy applauding for the song, they really missed the best song

We definitely need more Joey and Corey duets

"what do you want Scrags?" "DAAADDD"

"Scrags what were you thinking?" hey it's not his fault you went live right as he had an emotional song with Orlando about his daddy issues

Omg didn't know Brian could play violin

Scrags just. Sulking. In the background.

Scrags putting up the applause sign for the show getting cancelled ndkdndnd

Keith having these signs prepared to ask for a threesome. Omg.

Brian quick changes!!

Honestly tho what a fun uplifting song

Their step forwards djdndn

"to get over this whole sad boy routine..."

"a threesome with her and who else?" *gets down on one knee and presents himself*

"this is a really long black out"

Joey nearly knocking over the mic sjdndj

"hide your kids hide your wives hide your presents!"

"maybe finally this year the grunch will finally take me and this nightmare will be over"

"he thinks moses is like the Santa of Hanukkah and I thought it was too funny to correct"

Yeah this really is terrifying

Keith you idiot

Yeah go off Gwen

Scrags and Esther doing hand motions in the background for the notes and make faces while Gwen misses her notes kdnddn

"his stink glands you see... We're.. So... Fucking bad"

Wonderful accent Scrags

The slow no fighting ndjd

Oh boy there's three grunches now!

Scrags finally held the sign up right :)

How dare they not give him a song

"Orlando, you remember!" "absolutely not."

Keith yelling "this is what I do when I'm happy!" when Esther tells him to stop flossing sjdbdn

Rip Rudy

YEAH WOO ESTHER

"some random y2k spy wear I had lying around"

"EFFECT ALTRUISM BITCHES" FUCK YEAH ESTHER

YEAH THEY SURE ARE THE MIRACLE

The fact Keith's first wet dream was too one of Esther's parents....

"yeah I got a lot of guilt" "ah yethe one thing you Catholics and us Jews have in common" "pretty sure the Jews call it 'gelt'" "nah that's chocolate coins" "no it's not"

"how many nights of Hanukkah are there??"

Reprise time!

WOO ACE!!

This show really is great and I Iove the music and really wish more people were watching it and talking about it

[simonlynch]

Dropping something off for you <3,, happy holidays Mischa!! - @solban ---- Eyyyy Reagan, baby, how are you doing? Obviously if you can’t tell it’s Beetlejuice! It’s that time of year again, you weird little humans go nuts about sometimes. All the flashy lights, the snow, singing, blah blah blah. The whole Christmas thing. We don’t really do that in the spirit world or more less I ain’t ever done it but this year, you and me, we definitely should have a lot of fun. I won’t cause too many issues or a lot, we’ll just see. I got you a little something too as well. I think you are going to absolutely love what I got for you, had to get a little help from Adam and Barbara for this one. They do the living thing a bit better than I ever could but honestly I like being what I am doesn’t mean I won’t try to figure your little human holidays out either. Now I know this is short but I had to get something to you while I got a whole plan set in motion or something. Not gonna be spoiling that for you. Now don’t go crazy on me, know the holidays can be something else, I’m the only one who should be running you in circles anyways. You are gonna have the best Christmas ever this year!! - BJ

MY BABYYYYYY i absolutely cannot fucking wait to spend the holiday with you 💚 my cutiepie sweetie my cuddlebug, i can only imagine what you have planned ;3c

[saveourskinship]

15 Questions/15 People

Rules: answer these 15 questions and tag 15 people

Unrules: I don’t actually know 15 people. So I’m not gonna do that. I also might not actually answer the questions but just ramble instead.

Thanks for the tag @akorah  I’m procrastinating so this is perfect.

1. Are you named after anyone? Names are so weird, aren’t they? We don’t get to pick them and they just hang around for the entirety of your life and if you decide you want to change it for any reason there is so much PAPERWORK. I am partially named after someone who no longer knows who I am or even who they are half the time. 2. When was the last time you cried? Today because I accidentally created a painting spirit by being too in love with someone and then had to abandon said love to hunt the painting spirit down (it kept putting people into comas). The spirit trapped me and my love in a mirage and tried to burn us alive but my love saved me but he remained stuck inside the mirage for three whole years. We finally reunited at the Festival of Lanterns and it was beautiful. Tears of Themis is wild y’all. 

3. Do you have kids? No, I live in a tiny apartment. If I ever own a cottage though, I will buy a couple to eat the brambles around my hedge-witch lawn.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? I used sarcasm to type that question. So no, of course not.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people? If their eyes match their expression. Followed by where their centre of gravity is.

6. What’s your eye colour? Line 1, Verse 2 of Christmas Day by Dido.

7. Scary movies or happy endings? Is this boiling down to Marlon Wayans versus Damon Wayans Jr? I’ve definitely seen Scary Movie’s more often but have been thinking I should give Happy Endings another go.

8. Any special talents? I can put my leg behind my head and can glide down a flight of stairs absolutely beautifully. Not at the same time though.

9. Where were you born? In a hospital room with ten very disappointed training doctors who all thought I was going to be what they called an ‘abnormal’ birth. They were rather put out I came out ‘normal’. If they’d just waited twenty or so years...

10. What are your hobbies? Writing, reading, board games, video games, tabletop rpgs, assassinations, lying to people on the internet about how dangerous I am.

11. Do you have any pets? There is a cat which resides in my house but I live in fear she will get offended if I call her a pet. 

12. What sports do you play/have you played? That is a very long list and I don’t find it terribly fascinating. I would like to invent a sport, but... owning a team is weird, too, isn’t it? Like, owning people who run and jump and get concussions for you? You take their best years and they earn you money? It’s all very crossroads/brimstone vibes, huh. But if I HAD to invent a sport, I think I would combine the Running Man name-tag rip off game with handball except you have to play in bare feet tand the scoring area is covered in acupuncture mats (the goalies are allowed shoes).

13. How tall are you? 1 cat and 78 dice ranging from d4 to d20 in varying sizes. I tried doing dice only but the cat wasn’t having it.

14. Favourite subject in school? This does not specify which school so it’s a toss up between Look After The Penguin Chicks from pirmary and Sex and Sensuality from university. 

15. Dream job? The job I have most often in my dreams is being a pirate captain but my boat only sails through wheat fields. The hull (for whatever reason) is made out of sponge cake so stale is has turned rock hard, however whenever I try to sail my ship in water, the sponge cake softens and my ship begins breaking apart.

Tagging @they-call-me-megs 

[mickgaydolenz]

@tantamount-treason tagged me to list my top 10 favourite movies (thank you so much dude fr 💖🥹!!)

so i’m going to go a bit crazy here and get into why i like these 10 movies as much as i do because today i am feeling extra passionate about movies. so buckle up bby because i’m about to get hella long winded ✌️😔 (p.s these are in no particular order except for the first two which are forever and always my all time favourite movies💖)

1. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - i could literally go on for YEARS as to why this is both the BEST and the most UNDERRATED WWII movie of all time (no literally i could i made a whole slideshow presentation and write up to convince my irl friends of this very thing) but i’ll keep it short and simple here. why i think this movie is so spectacular is because it purposefully undermines the glorification of war and violence while simultaneously retaining a very human narrative. Nagisa Oshima, as a japanese director, does a particularly phenomenal job of critiquing japanese societal views on the war, which at the time (the 80’s) were still largely sanitized or skewed to view japan’s participation as a relatively harmless one, by simultaneously highlighting the hypocrisy and humanity of japanese soldiers through their engagement with british POWs.

2. Labyrinth - the movie that got me into David Bowie 💖😔. the nostalgia i have for this film is off the charts and i love it with my whole heart. my twin and i watched this movie so many times we wore out the vhs. i can quote this movie in my fucking sleep 😴. it has such a feel good vibe to it, and i have a particular fondness for classic puppetry (a dying art form in my humble opinion) and practical effects which i think are major highlights of this movie!! just overall a great time

3. Death by Hanging - another film from Nagisa Oshima that i adore. i’ve only seen it once, but it captivated me right away. it’s a film that, on the surface, deals with a group of people that have to decide what to do after a man sentenced to death survives his execution. beyond that it’s a fantastic critique of the japanese death penalty, police corruption, and japanese prejudice towards korean people.

4. Mishima a Life in Four Chapters/Patriotism - so i’m cheating because these are two separate films, but they both deal with Yukio Mishima (an author i am unhealthily fascinated by). the first film (Mishima a Life in Four Chapters) is a really interesting blend of fact and fiction as it details the events leading up to Mishima’s suicide with intersecting snippets from his various books to better contextualize the viewers understanding of Mishima as a person and his ideologies. the second film (Patriotism) is a short film adapted, directed, and starring Mishima himself based off a short story he wrote. it is a super interesting example of everything Mishima wanted to embody as a person, and ironically serves as a near blueprint for how he’d later kill himself.

5. The Game - this is one of those movies where i don’t even really know why i like it as much as a do, but there is something about it that just does it for me. it’s an interesting psychological thriller about a man who starts participating in this game that quickly gets out of hand. it’s mind bendy and the first time i saw the ending i spent a good five minutes afterwards just going 🤯

6. Perfect Blue - the most perfect psychological thriller ever made hands down. i love this movie SO MUCH!!!! a fantastic peak into the super sketchy, super skeevy world of japanese idols and all the exploitative, disgusting hoops they were expected (and still are expected in some cases) to jump through in order to further their careers beyond the idol realm.

7. The Spirit of the Beehive - actually just rewatched this today, but a super atmospheric movie with beautiful visuals. it’s a spanish film set in the 1940’s about two young sisters that are greatly impacted after watching frankenstein for the first time. this film deals a lot with death and how children come to internalize the conflicting concept of mortality. (it also deals with the franco rule/regime in spain but i am woefully uneducated in that area and am unsure exactly to what extent that is present in the film)

8. Head (1968) - duh.

9. Kiki’s Delivery Service/The Cat Returns - two of my other childhood staples! both of these ghibli movies were big comfort movies for me, and i still enjoy watching them if i just want to have some nice cozy viewings :)

10. Interview With the Vampire - trash. i know. and yet this movie is one of my best friends <3. in general i just love the little bitch ass that is lestat de lioncourt and his sad little drowned rat lover louis de pointe du lac 😔🙏. oh. and antonio banderas as armand is simultaneously the funniest and BEST casting choice anyone has ever made. (also this is probably the only movie i’ve seen where tom cruise actually does a decent job acting).

wow sorry that went on forever. anyways i tag @reignoerme @tomvorikandharry @repurposedmeatlocker @vintagecocacolainthesun @birdie-hop @kuryakincore @distortedfractals @rollingthunderevue and @kvetchs (as always no pressure and feel free to ignore if you do not want to do this 💖✌️😔) i also tag anyone who wants to do this fr!!!

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Fantasia 1940

If there was one old Disney film that I really wanted to see in full as an adult, it would be The Great Mouse Detective, then Valiant, then both Fantasia films. I'm surprised this was the 3rd film Disney ever made and I'm even more surprised they never made this more of a tradition. Now I don't want a Fantasia every other year or so, but I'm amazed that they never considered one for its centennial anniversary because I doubt anyone would've been against Disney making a theatrical animated concert celebrating 100 years. Maybe we'll get one for Fantasia's 100th anniversary.

Anyways this was a good movie and I decided with this review to rank the segments from least to greatest. Now while I rank this as the least good, it doesn't mean I hated it. None of these are horrible, but some elevate their presence better than others and the segments are equally great in terms of production and the synergy they have with the music. With that said, let's start the show...

Number 7, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite

Now to me, I always considered the Nutcracker Suite as a Christmas-themed composition; it was a ballet for Christmas Eve. So when they just made the animation about the 4 seasons in general, it just felt generic. Not that it had to strictly be about Christmas, but more could've been done with the concept. The dances are good, but not really memorable especially when there's a later piece that's better conceived. Fantasia I felt was about developing a theme that complemented the score's origins and I still don't think the animation fits what the song was going for. Not insulting or the like, but not memorable.

Number 6, Mussorgsky's Night on the Bare Mountain/Schubert's Ave Maria

This'll be a controversial take because I know so many people considered the Chernabog segment a very dark moment for a Disney film; literal demons and spirits dancing among the world. However, and this will be stupid I know, I wasn't feeling that part because while it fits the music perfectly, I was somehow reminded of Beavis and Butthead Do America and the desert trip scene. That did the idea of demonic chaos better in my eyes where yeah it wasn't operatic like this, but it stood out better. I remember Chernabog's presence more than I do anything else that happened. Thankfully, Ave Maria makes for the best closure you could have for this concert as a whole. Again, not a bad or even forgettable time but the other segments strike better to me.

Number 5, Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor

This is generally here because it's a strong start to the film and basically exists to flex the studio's handling of mickey mousing, an animation concept made by Disney themselves for when the animated movements match the exact rhythm of the music. Otherwise, there's literally not much to this segment because you might as well say it was the earliest version of a screensaver. This is where the music was what got this so high on the list.

Number 4, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring

This segment was what got me into watching the film and is what I was talking about with The Nutcracker segment. If you're gonna warp the original interpretation of the composition, at least do more with it in terms of concept. Just saying, dinosaurs & the natural chaos of the universe go well for what is to be a dissonant piece. There's a more memorable flow with this, running nicely with Stravinsky's piece which was ironically about the Spring season. The fact it's the longest segment in the film makes for how I was engaged with it the whole way through. Maybe I love dinosaurs more than I let on, who knows...

Also bonus points for Scrunklo.

Number 3, Dukas & Goethe's The Sorcerer's Apprentice

A jolly good story that I'm glad was the genesis behind this overall concert. I felt like Mickey's never had a real theatrical movie though I can see where he works best with shorter stories like this. We get a mischievous-sounding piece that follows this Tom Sawyer-esque fable perfectly. Yen Sid's presence alone makes this as great as believed. Also, Yen Sid spelled bac-

Number 2, Beethoven's The Pastoral Symphony

Zeus is an asshole per usual. Otherwise, this might musically be my favorite piece. I was torn between this and Rite of Spring, but the angelic and softer look of the world in this warmed my heart more. I love the beginning and the party with Bacchus especially. There's such a cute, consistent joy all around even when Zeus shows up to be his typical self. And I saw the edited version which, yeah not missing much even if you know.

Number 1, Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours

It's a very Merrie Melodies/Silly Symphonies affair that's the most bonkers and embraces the music the best here. Animation-wise, it was my favorite hands down. I'm all for Fantasia being more operatic and less zany, but when it truly got to be cartoonish they reveled in it here. I'm unsure if this was the best one to be the penultimate segment, but at the same time, this stuck out in the best way anyways.

Overall, I give this an 8 out of 10. I was very satisfied with this even if it wasn't a consistent banger concert. I'll see the 2000 film soon enough to wonder if it was as mixed as many say. If you've seen Fantasia before, what was your favorite segment? I'm Monkey Makaveli and I look forward to hearing from you.

[sleepykittypaws]

Best and Worst of 2022

Remember last year when I thought 183 new Christmas movies were too many?

Well, the joke is most definitely on me, because this year there were so many more. 243 to be exact, a 33% year-over-year increase, and that's just across broadcast, cable and streaming. If you add in new holiday titles available via digital purchase/rental, DVD and/or theatrical-only, the total jumps to 316 all-new Christmas movie offerings for 2022, the bulk of which premiered in the final 9 weeks of the year, across a record 53 linear networks and streaming platforms  (see below).

Hallmark-43

Lifetime-26

Tubi-21

Netflix-14

GAF-14

UPtv-12

Hulu-10

BET/BET+-10

Prime Video-6

HBOMax-5

Crackle-5

PureFlix-5

ION-4

VH1-4

Discovery+-4

FoxNation-4

CBS-3

AMC+-3

UPFaith&Fam-3

Roku-3

Freevee-3

ViX+-3

TVOne-2

OWN-2

Showtime-2

Starz-2

Shudder-2

Xumo-2

Vudu-2

NBC-1

CW-1

Bounce-1

Paramount Network-1

Comedy Central-1

Cartoon Network-1

Nick-1

LMN-1

BYU TV-1

AppleTV+-1

Disney+-1

Epix-1

Britbox-1

Pluto-1

Plex-1

Pantaya-1

Chicken Soup for the Soul-1

OctaneTV-1

DivaBoxOfficeTV-1

Full Moon Features-1

Arrow-1

Fandor-1

QVC+-1

TBN-1

Amidst all that content we got some real gems. Not only did I watch more new movies than ever before—in large part because my kids told me they were getting too old for our annual animated special advent calendar (sob)—and once again ranked them in real-time as I did so, but found more I loved than ever before, too.

After 2021 saw zero made-for-TV movies I felt were truly "four paw" worthy, this season saw 3 debuts that I felt strongly enough to include in my all-time favorites list, the most since 2018, and a record 11 movies that I'd give my personal highest 🐾🐾🐾🐾  rating to.

Since I never, ever strived to watch everything new, even when there was a lot less of it, my picks below aren't meant to be the unequivocal best or worst of all that’s out there, just the new holiday fare I managed to sample this season. And even though I watched almost no non-festive content from November 6-December 25 that was still only a drop in the bucket considering the absolute avalanche of Christmas content that now drops annually.

Since I only watch what I hope to enjoy, there's a whole lot of holiday dreck never even considered sampling, as well as plenty of stuff I was interested in that I just never found time for. But of what I did watch in 2022, here's what I liked most, and least this holiday season…

Best Made-for-TV Holiday Movie

With the trips to theater more rare than they were pre-2020, and streaming services having more widely varying budgets than your average cable channel's "movie of the week" model, this category can be a little hard to contain, as it's not really fair to compare even a mid-budget streaming title with shot-in-15-days Hallmark fare, but for my head-to-head comparison purposes this category consists, broadly, of movies with a no more than a 7-figure budget, and shooting schedule of a month or less.

There are definite quality variations within that range—you will for sure notice the budget differences between a $1 million and $6 million production, or 10 versus 25-day shoot—but it at least feels fair to rank those movies against each other, rather than, say, the $100,000,000 estimated production of something like Spirited.

My favorite of the season ended up being not only my first watch of the year, but one that had premiered in 2021 in the U.K.. The Sky original, A Christmas No. 1 (a.k.a. A Christmas Number One), which quietly made its U.S. debut on Tubi in early November. Starring Frieda Pinto and Iwan Rheon, the story of a music exec desperate for a holiday hit, and a musician who doesn't want to sell his song to her cheesy boy band, took turns I wasn't expecting based on that basic premise. Knowing little going in probably helped sell this one for me, as did the high-caliber acting, some genuine laughs, and really good original music. Not without its own well-worn formula, A Christmas No. 1 just felt so much more like a "real movie" than your typical U.S. made-for-TV holiday title, even if they were awkwardly attempting to hide Pinto’s obvious real-life pregnancy.

My second-favorite of the season was also somewhat unexpected.

VH1 entered the holiday movie fray in 2021, with forgettable results in terms of both ratings and quality, not to mention the baffling decision not to stream titles on Viacom-owned Paramount+, so was somewhat surprised to see them putting out more movies in 2022, but they finally made a good one in All I Didn't Want for Christmas, one of the few VH1 holiday titles that didn't rely on existing VH1/MTV talent and/or IP.

Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe was fantastic as a woman frustrated with her stagnating life and career who writes Santa a drunken letter, Loretta Devine great as her well-meaning, but overbearing, mom and Kel Mitchell charming as the elf sent to help her. All I Didn’t Want for Christmas was funny, heartfelt and a truly original ride.

Sidibe has fantastic comedic timing and this story offered a rare fresh take on a classic Christmas set-up. A shame that just as they're finding their Christmas movie feet, VH1, which underwent a massive corporate shake-up in early November, is unlikely to produce any further originals. Glad we at least got this gem and hope to see Sidibe in more holiday movies.

No. 3 on my list is Hallmark's big swing, Three Wise Men and a Baby, starring Andrew Walker, Tyler Hynes and Paul Campbell, who also co-wrote the script with Kimberley Sustad.

This was a laugh-out-loud funny comedy that even cleverly carried over Margaret Colin, here playing the adult sons' mom, from its Three Men and a Baby inspiration. Just a joyful holiday watch that both played with the Hallmark formula and reveled in it.

Others worthy of extra mention from Hallmark, Hannukah on Rye, their first truly good Hanukkah romance (to my mind anyway), the almost-great Ghosts of Christmas Always, which I enjoyed very much  as is, but could have been an all-timer with a different ending, and Hallmark's first-ever lead, same-sex holiday romance, The Holiday Sitter.

In just a few years Hallmark has gone from a network whose fare I found ever more bland and uninteresting, to dominating my top 10 of the season list. Every one of which I would, by the way, wholeheartedly recommend to fellow Christmas movie fans.

A Christmas No. 1, Tubi

All I Didn't Want for Christmas, VH1

Three Wise Men and a Baby, Hallmark

Hanukkah on Rye, Hallmark

Haul out the Holly, Hallmark

Ghosts of Christmas Always, Hallmark

Falling for Christmas, Netflix

Reindeer Games Homecoming, Lifetime

Lights, Camera, Christmas!, Hallmark

The Holiday Sitter, Hallmark

Worst Made-for-TV Holiday Movie

It wasn't all accolades for Hallmark. A Holiday Spectacular was reportedly Hallmark's most expensive movie ever, and while it looked relatively lush, filming in the real-life Radio City Music Hall and filled with period cars and costumes, the whitewashing of the Rockettes’ shameful racial history more than just took me out of the story, it ended up making me actively angry.

Hallmark has made so much progress in the past three seasons, to see them running cover for what was once called “one of the most racist organizations in American entertainment,” made me queasy.

Discovery+ started making holiday originals in 2021, and their first effort, Candy-Coated Christmas, was one of my least favorite movies of the year. This year they delivered four originals, and while I had higher hopes given the talent involved, bowed out of two others before (barely) making it through Designing Christmas. A charming cast really couldn't save this very rote, and oddly infomercial-feeling, home design story, that felt like you were watching an extended commercial for other HGTV programming.

As Hallmark rises in my estimation, Lifetime falls. Once a reliable provider of my holiday favorites, Lifetime's last three seasons have been subpar, at best, with this being their worst-ever. Stopped watching so many of their movies this year, eventually just gave up on the network altogether. Only Reindeer Games Homecoming stood out as being worthy of what was once my holiday go-to network. Even their marquee movies with bigger stars no longer provide a reasonable expectation of quality. Didn't make it much past the 15-minute mark for either A Christmas Spark or Santa Bootcamp, despite strong casts, and while I watched all of Steppin' Into the Holiday, couldn't exactly tell you why, since the Mario Lopez-Jana Kramer joint was painfully lifeless and ultimately dumb, as well as boring.

Netflix also had some real clunkers this season, including Christmas with You. I was really looking forward to the streamer giving us a bigger budget, Latino holiday story, but should have known when they changed the name from Christmas Quinceanera to something this boring, the movie would follow suit. Chemistry free, nonsensical story with lifeless performances from usually charming leads. Snooze.

Best Theatrical Holiday Movie

This category could more accurately be called “bigger budget,” as higher-end streaming productions tend to dominate this category now. Though most of my 2022 faves did get a theatrical run, that’s just not where I personally saw them. And, as I said in the made-for-TV category, as streaming originals start to dominate the Christmas movie conversation, the distinction between what is "made-for-TV" and what's "theatrical" can start to feel a bit arbitrary, especially when you're comparing movies that cost $100 million to make, with those that filmed for $10 million, but still far exceed a typical Hallmark or Lifetime movie-of-the-week budget.

In total, I saw 10 holiday movies this year that I think mostly fit into the "theatrical" category, even if only half of them played in theaters. (Being the homebody I am, I saw them all from my sofa.)

Spirited

Violent Night

This is Christmas, Sky/Epix

Your Christmas or Mine?,  Prime Video

Something from Tiffany's, Prime Video

About Fate

Spoiler Alert

Bar Fight, AMC+

A Christmas Story Christmas, HBO Max

The Noel Diary, Netflix

Spirited was not only my favorite of the season, but one of the best modern musicals I've seen. Watched it twice this year, and anticipate it becoming a regular part of my annual Christmas movie rota, as it's already one of my all-time favorites.

The unexpectedly entertaining Violent Night brings together gruesomely cartoonish violence (not usually my thing), humor and Christmas cheer in a completely unique package, despite it cribbing from, and even actually name-checking, so many other holiday classics—altogether an extraordinary and impressive feat. Think David Harbour can now claim the definitive world-weary Santa with a heart of gold portrayal, at least in my book.

British charmers This is Christmas and Your Christmas or Mine? were both sweet, lovely and a true cut above the made-for-TV fare we usually get on this side of the pond.

This is Christmas, like my made-for-TV favorite, A Christmas No. 1, was a Sky TV original in the UK, but it's slightly bigger budget (as a co-production), and same-day U.S. debut, slipped it into the "theatrical" category for me.

Your Christmas or Mine? had a fantastically fun premise—college students in love each decide to jump off their respective trains home to surprise the other for the holidays, only to each be stuck with the other's families instead—that wasn't pulled off quite as well as I'd hoped, but was still lovely and fun, with a great cast.

Also mostly liked About Fate. The New Year's-set remake of Soviet classic, The Irony of Fate, wasn't perfect, but Thomas Mann and Emma Roberts are winning enough to make it work, and I can definitely see myself watching this again in the future.

Even the middling Bar Fight had its moments, thanks mostly to its great, game cast—and that it wasn't a romance (the opposite, as it's a break-up movie) was a refreshing holiday twist.

Worst Theatrical Holiday Movie

So, that leaves my picks for “worst” as the mundane, fan service-laden A Christmas Story Christmas, which made little sense and had far too little of the humor and heartfelt moments that has made the original a lasting classic.

But even worse than that mostly dull sequel was The Noel Diary, which has convinced me that Richard Paul Evans isn't just the Nicolas Sparks of Christmas movies, they might be one in the hacky same. Poorly edited, woodenly acted, and a plot so dumb it made me want to throw things at the screen. Not quite bad enough to be "fun bad," but very bad indeed.

Best Stealth Christmas Movie

Bily Eichner’s big screen, R-rated rom-com Bros was my favorite rom-com of the year, and it's pivotal Christmas scenes, plus constant name-checking of "Hallheart" movies, makes it a stealth Christmas movie.

If you’re unfamiliar with the genre, that’s what I call a movie set during the Christmas season, or containing key holiday scenes, that isn’t specifically thought of as a Christmas film.

The holiday heavy Spoiler Alert, and more lightly holiday The Good House, which has significant Thanksgiving and Christmas scenes, are also well worth a watch.

Worst Stealth Christmas Movie

I must pick The King's Man. Yes, it came out in late 2021, but I watched it in 2022, and this franchise spin off is awful enough for its Christmas-scented stench to pollute two years. Even the lesser-than Kingsman sequel looks like a masterpiece next to this dreck.

Best Animated Holiday Special

Apple is doing a fantastic job preserving Charlie Brown’s legacy, and this year's new holiday shorts collection Happiness is a Gift Worth Giving, part of season 2 of The Snoopy Show, are absolutely in line with the heart and soul of the original Peanuts specials.

Honorable mention to the Autumn of Mickey Mouse, the latest in Disney's series of retro-look, seasonal specials that, like The Snoopy Show, really hew to the original ethos of the characters and all are smart, funny and sweet.

In case anyone wants to be a stickler and not count either of the above for being, respectively, not-Christmas centered, or part of an animated series, CBS gave us the amiable Reindeer in Here which was an original story with a good message, that I can see being added to many family’s annual rotations. Far from groundbreaking, it was still a pleasant, festive watch.

Worst Animated Holiday Special

Cannot say the same for the much more popular, Mickey Saves Christmas, which ran on ABC and striped across the Disney Channels and is now on Disney+. The story is almost non-existent, and even the animation seemed sub-par, a mix between low-budget computer generation and stop-motion.

Little kids liked it enough to make it pop in the ratings even after endless repeat airings, so I'm sure we'll see it again and again forever, but Disney knows how to do this so much better, and it feels like they just didn't bother here.

Best Live Action Holiday Special

We go from something Disney did poorly, to something they did quite well, the Marvel one-off Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. This James Gunn-written and produced mini-movie was so much fun, and even gave us two great new original songs for the holiday canon.

Did Chris Pratt frequently look like he’d rather be anywhere else? Sure, but Mantis and Drax’s capture of a very game Kevin Bacon more than made up for Pratt’s pout.

Honorable mentions here to Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery. The improvised offshoot of Will Arnett’s Netflix series paired the comedian with his Smartless podcast partners Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, as well as Maya Rudolph.

It's very silly, often veering into stupid, but I laughed a lot. Would probably have liked it even more if not for the third act Pete Davidson appearance. Luckily, Davidson did very little. Per usual.

Also enjoyed Showtime’s tongue-in-cheek Matt Rogers: Have You Heard of Christmas? This parody of an old-fashioned musical holiday special, featured Rogers singing hits from his fictional holiday album. A good enough singer to make the comedy songs work, Rogers has impeccable timing and style, and between this special and Fire Island, as well as his hit podcast Las Culturistas, had one heck of a 2022.

Worst Live Action Holiday Special

Disney’s streaming original Best in Snow was a weird combination of competition and storyline. While this could have been interesting as strictly a snow building competition, Titus Burgess' commitment to his weird “mayor” character, a handful of seemingly unrelated animated segments, and truly bizarre pacing made this a mish-mash that simply did not work.

Best Holiday Series

The past few seasons have left us spoiled for choice when it comes to holiday series. This season saw a dearth of new, specifically holiday-set series to explore—with the caveat that I never quite found time for Per-Olav Sørensen's Storm for Christmas on Netflix—but season two of Starstruck, the lovely British rom-com on HBO Max, both incorporated the holidays and was one of my favorite watches of the year.

Worst Holiday Series

The Disney+ series sequel to the The Santa Clause movie trilogy, The Santa Clauses, was unfunny, unfestive and absolutely unnecessary. This tired Tim Allen vehicle filled with “jokes” sourced straight from Fox News held no appeal, even though I slogged through two episodes hoping it would get better.

The Santa Clauses has already been renewed for season, so clearly people are watching, but to say this isn’t my cup of cocoa is putting it lightly, so to feel free to pencil season two in as my worst of 2023 already.

Best Holiday Reality Series

FOX’s Lego Masters: Celebrity Holiday Bricktacular paired past LEGO Masters players with celebs competing for charity for a fun family watch that, at just four episodes over three nights (two regular episodes, and a double-length finale), didn’t have time to wear out its welcome.

And, though it wasn't as prominent a tribute as I'd hoped and expected, it was also still very nice to see Leslie Jordan being his hilarious, amazing, and charming self, one last time, following his untimely October death.

Worst Holiday Reality Series

Silos Baking Competition: Holiday Edition, on HBO Max, is the latest entry in the constant self-promotional churn of the insufferable Chip and Joanna Gaines, who I don’t recall hating before they turned themselves into a 24/7 brand. This dull as dishwater "competition" was a basic retread of better baking shows and barely even qualified as Christmas-y, despite the title.

Best Holiday TV Episode of an Ongoing Series

Abbott Elementary is the best show on traditional broadcast TV, and their “Holiday Hookah” episode delivered a sweet, holiday tale that also pushed forward major ongoing plot points, like the will they/won't they flirtation between Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams, with Janelle James predictably stealing the show.

Worst Holiday TV Episode of an Ongoing Series

Animation voice work is clearly a sweet celebrity gig, so I don't blame folks like Lisa Kudrow, Clea DeVall and Nat Faxon for cashing the checks, but both new Housebroken holiday episodes on FOX, my first brush with the series, left me seriously underwhelmed. Lots of poop "humor" and exceedingly little heart, even in what should be the most sentimental effort(s) of the season. Sad that so many talented people are making something so uninspired.

Felt like there were fewer holiday series episodes in general than in year’s past, probably in part due to smaller season orders leaving less time for holiday hijinks.

Best Christmas Advert

Watching these bite-size servings of holiday joy has long been a part of our family’s Christmas tradition. We now have a fairly well established list that we revisit annually, just like any other beloved Christmas special. Though there were plenty of note, overall 2022 seemed like a lesser year for the corporate Christmas mini-movie, though there was at least one that made me sob like a baby…“El Ruso de Rocky,” from Spanish company J&B, shows a grandfather modeling acceptance in the most selfless, nurturing way possible.

Honorable mention to Kroger’s Up inspired “The Magical Cookbook,” which poignantly captured the connection between holiday meals and memories.

Worst Christmas Advert

Old Navy’s endless variations on their hyperkinetic “Matchy Matchy” ads were a true waste of the great Jennifer Coolidge. But good for her for getting that holiday green, though.

Best New Christmas Song

2022 wasn’t quite as quite as strong a year for new holiday tunes as 2021, but I still found plenty to add to my ever-growing "Christmas Favorites" playlist.

“Night Before Christmas,” Sam Smith

“Here it is Christmastime,” Kevin Bacon and the Old 97′s

“The More You Give (The More You’ll Have),” Michael Buble (Listen, the man has an endless well of holiday originals inside of him, and will release one annually till the earth's core melts)

“I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (But Christmastime Is Here),” the Old 97′s

“Almost Too Early for Christmas,” Dolly Parton and Jimmy Fallon (Is it unbearably cheesy? Sure. But, c’mon, it’s Dolly)

“12 nights,” Sia

“Snow in L.A.,” Noah Cyrus and PJ Harding

“So Much Wine,” Phoebe Bridgers

"This is Christmas,” Annelise Cepero (Didn’t see Holiday Harmony, but the song ended up in my playlist anyway.)

“Naughty and Nice,” Sia

With an honorable mention to the new-to-me music from A Christmas No. 1, especially “Christmas Morning,” in both its Iwan Rheon acoustic and Scurve versions, which were probably the tunes I actually listened to most this season.

Worst New Christmas Song

Jeff Goldblum’s “The Christmas Waltz” felt like a parody where he wasn’t in on the joke, unlike his much better, actual parody holiday gig.

Best New Christmas Album

Spirited was the soundtrack I just couldn’t stop humming. Hard to pick just one standout, but did I dance around singing "That Christmas Morning Feelin'" into a candy cane on December 25th to the embarrassment of my family? 100%. And I regret nothing.

Worst New Christmas Album

Alicia Keys’ Santa Baby, while not terrible by any means, was a disappointment. I expected a standout from someone with as powerful a presence as Keys. The original, "December Back 2 June," was meh, and the standards didn't really stick either. A very ho-hum effort from a singer who is usually anything but.

Best Holiday Book

Lindsay Kelk’s cozy and romantic The Christmas Wish was my favorite holiday read of 2022. Sweet with just enough edge to make this Groundhog Day take interesting. (And, yes, my 2021 favorite read was another stuck-in-a-Christmas-time-loop tale, Holidazed, so guess I have a type.)

Best Holiday Podcast

Going to sound like a bit of a broken record here, because while the hosts changed, my holiday favorite podcast did not. Deck the Hallmark continues to be my holiday listening go-to, maybe because they put out so much content I don’t have time to try and tackle anything else 😝

Of course, always make time for the ladies of All the Feels and their holiday movie bracket, as well as Alonso Duralde’s “Christmas Movie Minute” on Maximum Film.

Favorite New-to-Me Holiday Content

With so much new this season, didn’t get to sample too much I’d missed from the past, but Hallmark’s 2020 Project Christmas Wish, starring Amanda Schull and Travis Van Winkle, was one of the more actually romantic Hallmark romances of recent years. We got to see the characters fall in love, rather than just go from "hating" each other to "being in love" in an instant. Just a well-done entry in the genre I’m happy to have caught up with.

Top 10 Non-Holiday Movies of 2022

Glass Onion, A Knives Out Story, Netflix

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Hulu

Hustle, Netflix

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Bros

The Sea Beast, Netflix

Top Gun: Maverick

Confess, Fletch

The Valet, Hulu

The Good House

Though there are plenty of awards contenders still haven’t managed to see, making this list subject to future amendment, Rian Johnson’s return to the world of Benoit Blanc was smart, funny and a whole lot of fun to watch.

Top 15 Non-Holiday TV Series of 2022

Trying, Apple TV+

Hacks, HBO Max

Derry Girls, Netflix

Starstruck, HBO Max

Peacemaker, HBO Max

Heartstopper, Netflix

Reservation Dogs, Hulu

From Scratch, Netflix

Barry, HBO Max

Julia, HBO Max

The Crown, Netflix

This is Going to Hurt, AMC+

Reboot, Hulu

Single Drunk Female, FX

Abbott Elementary, ABC

As with movies, there are a long list of series I still need to catch up on, but even with those viewing blind spots, could easily have made a list twice this long with shows I really loved (for instance, ran out of room for things like my beloved Never Have I Ever, and very good The Best Man: The Final Chapters), but no show made me laugh, or cry, more regularly in 2022 than Apple’s absolutely brilliant Trying. By the way, Trying’s regular director, Jim O'Hanlon, also made Your Christmas or Mine?

Worst Non-Holiday Movie/TV of 2022

No movie I watched all the way through in 2022 stunk worse than Netflix’s execrable Purple Hearts. The reason I kept watching is because I mistook it for the kind of cheesy, sentimental military romance I usually kind of enjoy, instead of the just plain awful, poorly acted and seriously stupid story it actually was. Literally laughed out loud at the ending. If it was slightly less polished, this one almost tips over into The Room-like cringe that could make it almost fun, but, alas.

In bad TV, Hillary Swank’s achingly earnest Alaska Daily, with its bonkers depiction of journalism-ing and overwhelming white savior narrative, made my eyes roll so often I thought I might have sprained something.

Favorite Advent Calendar

Those who follow me on Twitter, know I have a slight advent calendar obsession, particularly beauty advent calendars, so now that I’ve opened my [redacted number] of 2022 calendars, thought I’d share my favorite of the season…The 12 Days of Harrod’s Fragrance calendar contained several bottles that were each worth more than the calendar’s cost. No tiny samples here, all purse size or larger, truly high-end scents to more than sample, simply but beautifully packaged.

Honorable mention to my favorite beauty calendars, which included the companion 25 Days of Harrod’s Beauty and Liberty London, both of which featured a lot of seriously high-end skincare products, many of them full size.

And while I’m not sure I would want to monetize my Christmas movie musings, even if I could, I am open to anyone who wants to send me luxury beauty advent calendars to review in 2023 😜

Best Holiday Network

Hallmark Channel has gone from my worst to first in just three years. Their new Peacock ad-free availability meant I watched more of their movies than ever before, and they were mostly quite good.

Hallmark's newfound diversity, forged under new leadership, not only in casting, but storytelling too, means that the 43 movies they made this year actually have distinct differences from one another, instead of identical copies of the same story retold every weekend of the season. It's a breath of a fresh air and, honestly, given the quality and quantity of the content, paired with increased streaming availability, there's probably never been a better time to be a Hallmark Christmas movie fan.

Worst Holiday Network

Great American Family spent most of the year not making movies—broadcasting from early February to the end of August with zero new or original content—instead opting to fiddle with their name, after realizing the acronym GAC sounded like a cat trying to get up a hairball, only to change it to GAF, which sounds like either a mistake (gaffe), or R-rated shorthand (as in IDGAF) that doesn’t seem in line with the network’s stated "faith, family and country” theme.

But naming confusion was just the tip of the iceberg for Great American Family’s issues, many of which were unforced errors, like CEO Bill Abbott calling convicted felon Lori Loughlin, "Someone who has a track record of doing the right thing in the world at large." and “America’s Sweetheart.”

To pulling one of their holiday movies just days after announcing it, saying it didn’t “meet their standards.” Or endlessly changing their Christmas schedule, which they claimed contained “18 originals,” but actually featured movies that had debuted years ago they renamed and passed off as new, as well as several that dropped on free streaming services before coming to GAF.

But GAF’s biggest, well, gaffe of the year came when Candace Cameron Bure accidentally said the quiet part out loud to the Wall Street Journal, and admitted Great American Family’s main mission was pretending queer people don’t exist—at least not in front of the camera. Of course, when everyone acted properly horrified by her hate speech, Cameron Bure blamed “the media” even though she’d been perfectly happy to repeatedly promote the WSJ story on her own social media…Right up until she realized it wasn't going well for her online.

The good news is that Great American Family’s ratings remain absolutely dismal. The network finished 103rd out of 159 Nielsen-tracked TV networks, averaging a meagre 79,000 viewers, behind every single other Christmas movie-making network. GAF’s so-called “signature franchise” Christmas movies averaged less than 225,000 viewers and a paltry .02 (that’s point 2) in the all-important 18-49 demographic. Their highest-rated movie to date, Christmas at the Drive-In, only managed 482,000 viewers and a .04 in the demo. Just all around disastrous ratings for an ad-based network that doesn’t even have On Demand or streaming options to boost their viewership.

Of course, rock bottom ratings didn’t keep Great American Family from rolling out a “Mission Accomplished” press release that, at best, fudged the stats.

With just 7% of Hallmark’s average viewership, it’s long past time for reporters to stop credulously reporting that GAF is Hallmark’s Christmas “competition.” And shout out to Decider’s Brett White for making that point with a lot of math.

Anyway, yeah, Bill Abbott, marketing genius.

Worst Holiday TV Trend

TOO MUCH! For real this time.

Since I felt the holiday movie pace was unsustainable at least 100 movies per year ago, won't make any predictions, but does seem hard to imagine how this exponential annual increase can keep going. As cable audiences dwindle, and streamers tighten their belts, we must, sooner or later, see the holiday movie machine contract.

Yes, these movies’ annual rewatchablity, relative low cost, and ad-placement-friendly subject matter is a big part of what made them so popular, and profitable, but at some point, we'll simply run out of places to put them all, not to mention more movies fighting for fewer eyeballs in an increasingly smaller marketplace.

Well, that’s a wrap on 2022!

As for me, since I've talked about abandoning this hobby turned unpaid part-time job for several seasons now, won't make any predications there either, but do know that while I'm still interested in the inner workings of the industry, as well as still personally enjoy watching Christmas content, trying to follow the now non-stop production is way, way too much for me to promise to keep up with. For updates and info you can visit me on Twitter at @sleepykittypaw if you wish, at least as long as that platform is around/usable.

But, no matter what 2023 brings, cheers to you and yours in the New Year, and know that next year’s holiday movies are already just around the corner.