23 Days of Christmas

In my house, it’s not Christmas until we watch Love Actually and White Christmas. I have to work up to it, though, so I take a tour through my Christmas videos every year.

This year, I started with The Holiday, starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black, Jude Law, and Eli Wallach. It’s a typical sappy Christmas story, but its twist is somewhat original. Workaholic Diaz and Doormat Winslett both are Losers-in-Love, and on a last minute decision, switch houses for two weeks at Christmas to get away from their loser lives.

The thing I love most about The Holiday is that England is practically a character in the movie. The quaint village that Winslet and her brother (Jude Law) live in is my dream vacation destination, with a Cotswold stone cottage complete with a staircase that requires you to bump your head every time you come down, an under-the-stairs loo, and a sign on the gate announcing the name of the cottage. I wouldn’t be upset if Jude Law came over for a little nightcap, either.

Back in Los Angeles, Kate Winslet’s character and a once-famous movie writer, played charmingly by Eli Wallach, help each other to break out of their downhill spirals. Jack Black is the unlikely hero who charms everyone he meets, including Winslet.

All’s well that ends well, of course, so with twenty-three days left until Christmas, watch a sappy Christmas movie. It will lift your spirits and remind you of what’s right in the world.