Welcome to Melanie's Magical Christmas Movies! Every day in December, leading up to Christmas, Melanie will present one of her favorite Christmas movies complete with a trailer (and hopefully where you can watch it!)
Day 14 – Four Christmases What do you do when you have 4 families that you are supposed to visit for Christmas but don't want to deal with any of them? You book a nice holiday and avoid them all ..... until all the flights are cancelled and the family you are avoiding see you on the TV! For those that might miss the idea of travelling this Holiday Season with all the Covid restrictions, sit back, enjoy this, and remember that sometimes NOT visiting family can be the best plan. As this is on my magical list you know it will all work out for the best in the end. But enjoy a few laughs, and a few cringes along the way! So what do you think? Stream or Skip it?
Welcome to Melanie's Magical Christmas Movies! Every day in December, leading up to Christmas, Melanie will present one of her favorite Christmas movies complete with a trailer (and hopefully where you can watch it!)
Day 13 – A Christmas Prince Day 13 brings us a familiar story, this time coming from Netflix. Those of you that watched my 10 Must Watch Christmas Movies for 2020 may remember seeing this on the list, and the fact that I would have been quite happy without the sequels. I talk about this movie so much that when Author Susan Harris needed a movie for one of her books, she knew so much about this (even though she doesn't do Christmas), that it made it in there! Any of you know which book it is? This was definitely the first, what I call proper, Christmas Movie from the Netflix collection and it definitely remains a favorite, even though it is 100% predictable! Fun fact - the fictional town and one of the items actually made a cameo in The Knight Before Christmas last year! So what do you think? Stream or Skip it?
Welcome to Melanie's Magical Christmas Movies! Every day in December, leading up to Christmas, Melanie will present one of her favorite Christmas movies complete with a trailer (and hopefully where you can watch it!)
Day 12 – Coming Home For Christmas Day 12 brings a Hallmark Movie, which I said I wouldn’t do too many of, but this is one I mentioned in my video (even though it wasn’t the main one for that number), plus the DVD is on sale right now on Amazon for just $5 – so that’s not too bad. Of couse I might be a little biased because this was the DVD I asked for to go in my stocking last year so I could have it to watch whenever I wanted to. For whatever reason, I LOVE Danica McKellar especially in Christmas movies and this one became a fast favorite since first airing in 2017. The plot is not rocket science, Danica’s character Lizzie loses her job, and ends up working as caretake for a huge house that is being sold, complete with cranky owner still living there, who can’t stay but really doesn’t want to leave her home. You have a great blend with 2 brothers, who are complete opposites, a heartwarming story, (but nothing to make you cry), a fabulous setting, and of course, a Hallmark ending! I Love it! For those that have the Hallmark Channel through their cable set up (NOT Hallmark Movies now – the Hallmark Movies now is completely different) this will be on at various times over the next few weeks. For others, I don’t think $5 is too bad! So what do you think? Stream it, (Buy it) or Skip it?
Welcome to Melanie's Magical Christmas Movies! Every day in December, leading up to Christmas, Melanie will present one (or in this case 2) of her favorite Christmas movies complete with trailers (and hopefully where you can watch it!)
Day 11 - Daddy's Home & Daddy's Home 2 Day 11 brings two movies, mainly because Em reminded me last night that Daddy's Home 2 is pretty much all about Christmas, but Daddy's Home does have some Christmas in it, and unlike with the Bad Mom's movies, this really works better if watch the first one first. Having raised a blended family, I am a sucker for movies that feature it, especially when you know as a family movie it's pretty much guaranteed to have a good ending. Let me say - I am NOT a fan of WILL FERRELL MOVIES! For whatever reason he generally gets on my nerves, but somehow it works in this. Maybe because the surrounding cast is fabulous? They have the extremely talented (and adorable) Scarlett Estevez as the daughter, who I am sure many of you will recognize from Lucifer! Then for the second movie they grab even more star power adding Mel Gibson and John Lithgow to the lineup! 2 fun, suitable for the family movies, that aren't Hallmark sweet, but certainly embrace the spirit of Christmas! Let me know what you think in the comments - Stream them or Skip them?
Welcome to Melanie's Magical Christmas Movies! Every day in December, leading up to Christmas, Melanie will present one of her favorite Christmas movies complete with a trailer (and hopefully where you can watch it!)
Day 10 - The Christmas Candle Day 10 brings one of my mum's favorite movies. I literally only originally watched this because she nagged me so much one year when she was here, but it is a cute, historical Christmas story and it's set in England, which seems to be a bit of a theme the last few days. Historical fans might recognize Hans Matheson from the likes of The Tudors, but by far the biggest name that was used to sell this originally was Susan Boyle! For those that don't know, Susan Boyle was Britain's Got Talent winner from 2009. I have included her original audition below, which as you can see, was one of those where the judges (especially Simon), was not expecting what happened! An amazing vocal talent, sadly her acting skills don't quite match up in the movie, but I think knowing her history helps me overlook it. This wasn't a singer trying to be an actress, this was a woman thrust into the limelight, and obviously someone thought it would be a good selling tactic. Personally, I think pulling a Smelly Cat video in reverse here might have been a great option. Her vocals, with a different actress. That being said I still adore this movie. Probably partly because my mum loves it so much, but I feel that there are a few Musers out there that will enjoy it too! Let me know what you think in the comments - Stream it or Skip it?
Welcome to Melanie's Magical Christmas Movies! Every day in December, leading up to Christmas, Melanie will present one of her favorite Christmas movies complete with a trailer (and hopefully where you can watch it!)
Day 9 - Christmas Survival (AKA Surviving Christmas With The Relatives) (2018) For some reason when this was released in the US they decided to change the name from "Surviving Christmas With The Relatives" to "Christmas Survival". Personally I think the original title was far more fitting, but either way the movie is the same. This was a random find the other night, and I will confess that a lot of the movie's appeal is because it just all so very English! It's a comedy, but with the humor leaning very much towards the darker side of things. Fans of Miranda will recognize the amazing Patricia Hodge as Aunt Penny, and Game Of Thrones fans may be surprised to see Gemma Whelan front and center in a very different role from Yara Greyjoy. Surviving Christmas with the Relatives is literally the main goal. Throw in a lovely exchange student, and a group of Polish immigrants camping and helping with the house, and the results are just very typically English. If you aren't sure what that mean, I am not really sure of the best way to describe it. Maybe you can ask Greg on live, he has survived my relatives on more than one occasion. Not one of the mainstream selections, definitely not a Hallmark type thing, but definitely something that made me laugh! Let me know what you think in the comments - Stream it or Skip it?
Welcome to Melanie's Magical Christmas Movies! Every day in December, leading up to Christmas, Melanie will present one of her favorite Christmas movies complete with a trailer (and hopefully where you can watch it!)
Day 7 - Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) Whilst this might not sit as a Christmas movie for everyone, considering one of the big things is an ugly Christmas sweater, I feel totally justified in including it. Also, I will confess that Colin Firth in this movie is just the best. Add to that Bridget's amazing entourage of friends and it soon becomes clear why this is a must watch. Perhaps it is because I am English, and so much of this is so relatable that marks it high up on my list, but whatever the reason I don't ever get tired of watching it. Interest was sparked again when the recent Bridget Jones's Baby was released in 2016 with true fans knowing EXACTLY what should happen (even though there is apparently an awful alternative ending - which I will pretend doesn't - I am pretty good at that - same as I pretend there isn't a 2nd movie called Edge of Reason lol). So if you want a British type movie to watch, I highly recommend this. Not one to watch with the kids around due to lots of adult language, and content, but definitely one to watch! Let me know what you think in the comments - Stream it or Skip it?
Welcome to Melanie's Magical Christmas Movies! Every day in December, leading up to Christmas, Melanie will present one of her favorite Christmas movies complete with a trailer (and hopefully where you can watch it!)
Day 7 - The Knight Before Christmas (2019) And just like that we are back to super cheesy holiday smiles. Those of you that aren't Hallmark fans will probably want to skip this one too! A new release last year, this one made my top new Christmas movies when it released on Netflix. It is about as ridiculous and unbelievable as you can get, with terrible special effects for the Time Travel, a very loosely held together premise of a story, BUT I LOVE IT! Time Travel romances are generally on the rather unrealistic side (Kate and Leopold, the new Timeless Christmas movie that aired on Hallmark this year), and they have lots of flaws and plot holes, but none of that matters to me. I knew when I saw the trailer what to expect and I wasn't disappointed! Poldark fans might recognize Sir Cole (played by Josh Whitehouse who played Hugh), and I am sure pretty much everybody will recognize Vanessa Hudgens. There is nothing groundbreaking with this movie, just simple Christmas fun that is suitable for the whole family! Let me know what you think in the comments - Stream it or Skip it?
Welcome to Melanie's Magical Christmas Movies! Every day in December, leading up to Christmas, Melanie will present one of her favorite Christmas movies complete with a trailer (and hopefully where you can watch it!)
Day 6- A Bad Moms Christmas (2017) For Day 6 brings us magic in the form of laughter, especially from Emily, who LOVES this movie. The follow up to "Bad Moms", which already had a plethora of big names on their roster, this introduces some MAJOR star power with mothers including Susan Sarandon, and Christine Baranski, who honestly steals the show for me every time she is on screen. Not suitable for children, this is a movie for all the moms out there who have ever tried to make Christmas special, and felt they failed, but at the end of the day you do your best, and you know what - the kids mostly turn out OK. The trailer actually gives a fair insight into what to expect. This certainly isn't Hallmark, but sometimes the magic is in the crazy laughter, and let's be honest ..... I think this is probably relatable, however much we would prefer it to be the other way round. Let me know what you think in the comments - Stream it or Skip it?
Welcome to Melanie's Magical Christmas Movies! Every day in December, leading up to Christmas, Melanie will present one of her favorite Christmas movies complete with a trailer (and hopefully where you can watch it!)
Day 5- A Very Murdoch Christmas Many of you have heard me mention the Murdoch Mysteries, in fact Greg and I were William and Julia last year for our big Halloween show! Despite this technically being a TV series, the Christmas episodes are actually movies in their own right. They are even released as theatrical DVD's thus making this entry valid, (plus my site, my rules!) Even if you have never watched an episode of the show, a little like classic Agatha Christie stories, you can jump in and enjoy this simply for it being a Christmas movie. There are 3 but I chose this one because it was the first, but also because to me it really brings the magic of Christmas of the days gone by (with just a little murder). Guest star Brendan Coyle will be familiar to many as the lovely Mr. Bates from Downton Abbey, adding another layer to the reasons that you should watch. So take a step back in time, and see if you can solve it before they do! **Note if you are getting it on Amazon it says 2 Episodes - the 2nd episode is behind the seasons so don't be tricked into paying for that unless you want it lol** Let me know what you think in the comments - Stream it or Skip it?
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