Week 2 - Christmas Reading Challenge 2015

The 13^th Gift: A True Story of a Christmas Miracle by Joanne Huist Smith

This story revolves around a family who loses their husband/father.  It also plays on the 12 days of Christmas as someone is leaving them gifts during the Christmas season.  The story is vivid and well written. I am able to feel sympathy for these characters; however, I found it a bit depressing.  I tend to like Christmas stories that are more joyful.  3/5 Stars

The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

Crossed lovers, natural disasters, tragedy, it is all in this book.  I felt it was very reminiscent of the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  There is a few scenes that one can practically overlay this story on top of that one.  It was different enough to keep my interest though.  I did enjoy the crossed lovers storyline.  4/5 Stars

Santa Claus is for Real: A True Christmas Fable…by Charles Edward Hall

Charles Edward Hall plays Santa Claus in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in New York City.  This is a “true” story about how he became Santa.  It is a little out there in points, but it was never boring, that is for sure.  It is a quick read, and I enjoyed this one. Was it well written, eh, not really. But whatever.  3/5 Stars.

Movies:

Elf:  Will Ferrell is the best!!

The Flight Before Christmas: This was a Lifetime movie. I usually don’t watch Lifetime but Mayim Bialik stared in it as well as produced it.  Here she plays a half Jewish, half Catholic woman who takes a flight home for the holidays.  The reason for the trip as well as what happens during the trip make this story well worth the watch.  I love Mayim anyway, and her co-star Ryan McPartlin (hottie) were great together.  4.5 / 5 Stars

The Road to Christmas:  Apparently this is an older movie, but I’ve never seen it. And to be honest it took a while before I realized that the lead was Jennifer Grey.  Jennifer plays a high powered fashion photographer who is trying to get to Vale for her wedding to her Italian fiancé.  Her flight gets canceled and she has to find a way to get to Vale. She comes across a father and her 12 year old daughter and they offer her a ride.  Since this is Lifetime, I don’t have to tell you much about this, and we all know how it ends.  But I did like the interesting twist.  I was REAL bored, and this was on (This was on before The Flight Before Christmas that is why I was on the channel to begin with).  3/5 Stars.

Christmas Movies - 11/23 - 11/29

I'm in school full time and work full time. The only time I can watch Christmas movies is on the weekends.

Week 1

1. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

2. A Christmas Snow

6th Annual Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

http://truexmasspirit.blogspot.com/

This Challenge will run from November 23, 2014 through Wednesday, January 6, 2014

These are the challenges I will be doing 

-Christmas Tree:  read 5 or 6 books 

       

            --Fa La La La Films:  watch a bunch or a few Christmas movies...it's up to you!

Christmas Book #11 / Christmas Movie #13 & 14 / 25 Days of Christmas #20 & #21

Christmas Book #11

The Christmas Candle by Richard Paul Evans - On his way home for Christmas, Thomas needs a light for his lantern. He stops in an old candlemaker's shop and is dismissive of all of the old man's intricate and beautiful candles, buying an inexpensive one. However, as he continues his journey, this simple candle takes on some unbelievable power. By the light of the candle, he mistakes a beggar woman for his mother and gives her his cloak and he thinks a man lying in the streets with no place to go is his brother and gives everything he has to put him in an inn for the night. Though he loses all his material items, he finally arrives home with a new found sense of what family can be.

Very short picture book.  Though it seems like a children's book, it is rather dark, but the message is for all ages.  I am a Richard Paul Evan's fan, so I found enjoyment in this short story.  4 / 5 Stars.

Christmas Movie #13

Max Lucado's - The Christmas Candle (2013)

This movie is based on the book The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado.  

Deep in the heart of the English countryside lies the enchanting village of Gladbury. Legend has it every 25 years an angel visits the village candlemaker and touches a single candle. Whoever lights this candle receives a miracle on Christmas Eve. But in 1890, at the dawn of the electric age, this centuries old legend may come to an end. When David Richmond (Hans Matheson), a progressive young minister, arrives in Gladbury, the villagers discover a new formula for miracles: good deeds and acts of kindness. While David's quest to modernize Gladbury sets him at odds with the old world candlemaker, he finds an unlikely ally in the lovely skeptic, Emily Barstow (Samantha Barks). Now, the fiery candlemaker must fight to preserve the legacy of the Christmas Candle. But when the candle goes missing, the miraculous and human collide in the most astonishing Christmas the village of Gladbury has ever seen.

Though this didn't seem to get very many stars, I enjoyed it and the message behind it.  It is a very Christian movie.  This is the 2nd Lucado movie I watched this season and I've enjoyed them both.


Christmas Movie #14

Scrooge (1951) - This is the Alastair Sim's version, in my opinion the best of them all.  Of course no synopsis is needed and you don't need me to sing its praises either.

God Bless Us Everyone!

5 / 5 STARS!!

 25 Days of Christmas

On my Mantle

#20

Leaving Church During Advent

#21

Christmas Movie #11 / 25 Days of Christmas #13

Christmas Movie #11

Max Lucado's: Christmas Child (2003)- Nine months after the death of his adoptive father, Jack Davenport, a Chicago journalist, obtains some of his possessions which lead Jack to discover his past. Jack receives an assignment to do a story in Dallas, Texas. Jack leaves days before Christmas Eve and decides to stay in Clearwater, Texas, his birthplace. One of the possessions left by his adoptive father was a mysterious photograph of Clearwater's oldest churches, taken in 1963.    My Thoughts:  Pretty good Christmas film, typical acting, but nice story.  Max Lucado is a Christian, but this movie isn't an overly knock you on the head Christian film.  Sort of an interesting mystery aspect as well.  3.5 / 5 stars.

WREATH  #13

25 Days of Christmas

5th Annual Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

 
It's back. Sign up, it's loads of fun!

I'm going for the following Level:
-Christmas Tree:  read 5 or 6 books (this is the fanatic level...LOL!)

  Additional levels:

  --Fa La La La Films:  watch a bunch or a few Christmas movies...it's up to you!

It will all be documented here, books and films.  

Some of the books I might read for this are:

The Mistletoe Promise  by Richard Paul Evans
Christmas Poems edited by  J.D. McClatchy
THe Christmas Mail Order Bride  by Kit Morgan

Of course I have already started reading Christmas books, so I will only count books I read during the challenge dates.

 

Christmas Movie Challenge, Happy Thanksgiving

My Christmas Movie Challenge is going very well. Since November 15th, I have watched 5 out of 10 Christmas movies that I've never seen before. These are movies that have to do more with Christmas than not. I've watched others like "Boys Town" and "Room for One More", that has a Christmas scene or two, and I've not seen those before either, but these listed are very Christmasy. I have posted some reviews of these movies in earlier posts and some will be in later.

A Christmas Without Snow
Home for Christmas
The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue
The Night Before, The Night Before Christmas
Santa Jr.

5 more to go.

Tuesday was our Thanksgiving Mass, it was nice as usual. We are having our holiday's this year in the lower church as they are renovating the main church. We sang our little hearts out.

My son will be home today,, and will leave on Sunday, but will be back at Christmas time for one month.

My mom will be coming over tomorrow afternoon, and spend the night so she will cook some food and I will cook some food on Thursday. It will be nice to be under one roof for dinner, this has not happened since last Christmas.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING