25 Days of Christmas: Day 25

**It’s the last four days of our 25 Days of Christmas! Please also check out one of my staple “watch-every-year” movies today in addition to this movie we are watching: A Christmas Story. Please find it here https://jaidayz.wordpress.com/2022/12/25/25-days-of-christmas-day-25/ or under Menu > 25 Days of Christmas 2022 > Day 25**

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

PLOT SUMMARY: An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.

WHERE TO WATCH: Prime

JAIMEE’S NOTES: Donna Reed! Donna is from Denison, Iowa and there is a Donna Reed themed McDonald’s there that I have of course been to. Who doesn’t want to look at a decoupaged table of Donna Reed pictures while they are eating their Big Mac? Donna is great in this movie as is everyone else. This is such a classic and referenced in so many other movies and TV shows. I also watched the version they made color and damn, black and white movies that they remaster into color look cool as hell. We all know the story, George Bailey does everything for everyone else and kind of never gets to live out his dreams of traveling the world and doing whatever he wants. It starts with him saving his little brother and ends with him trying to keep his deceased father’s business afloat. He kind of accepts his life after awhile and still has Mary and four kids. George gets super depressed because one more thing goes wrong and he thinks about ending it until he saves Clarence after he jumps from a bridge into the freezing water. Clarance shows him what life would be like for everyone if he was never born and he realizes how many people he actually did help and the good things he has done. Apparently this movie did not do well at the box office and did not win any major awards so people weren’t really into it, until the 70s. Their copyright lapsed and any TV station could air it so the repeated airings made it a Christmas classic. There is an It’s a Wonderful Life museum in Seneca Falls, NY that I must go to much like the A Christmas Story museum. I will go to any and all movie/TV museums or events even if I am a little bit into the show. Also one last fun fact, Uncle Billy’s lost $8,000 would have been $136,742.67 in 2023. Way to fucking go Billy…Merry Christmas!

WAS IT FULL OF CHRISTMAS CHEER!? Uhhh yeah! You think I would give you a Christmas movie on Christmas that wasn’t!?

25 Days of Christmas: Day 24

**It’s the last four days of our 25 Days of Christmas! Please also check out one of my staple “watch-every-year” movies today in addition to this movie we are watching: Christmas Vacation. Please find it here https://jaidayz.wordpress.com/2022/12/24/25-days-of-christmas-day-24/ or under Menu > 25 Days of Christmas 2022 > Day 24**

A MOM FOR CHRISTMAS

PLOT SUMMARY: A young girl who wants a mom for the Christmas holidays gets her wish when a department store mannequin comes to life.

WHERE TO WATCH: YouTube: https://youtu.be/YiJDzwcyvg8?si=mOdyDbsursIVJefk or search for the movie title, it should pop right up!

JAIMEE’S NOTES: Merry Christmas Eve! I’m gifting you a made for TV movie from 1990, I know, I know, you’re welcome. It also stars Olivia Newton-John so as a bonus we of course, get some songs! We have a little girl, Jessica, who just wanders around this department store everyday as do all of her other classmates. They are all super mean except this boy she has a crush on who just stares at her after she gets made fun of, weirdo and she has one friend, Stephanie who she kind of hangs out with but also it seems to me Stephanie is dodging her an awful lot. Stephanie says her mom is from the Industrial Revolution? Wow, what a burn. Anyway, at the department store, Jessica wins a free wish, hmmm…okay? Jessica goes to talk to the lady in charge of wishes I guess, Philomena. Jessica is like well hey, I want a mom, don’t care who it is, for the Christmas season. Jessica’s mom died when she was young and she is yearning for one as she gets older. And Phil is like oh okay, you got it! Phil also likes to test people to see if they will pick up trash that isn’t their’s, I guess that’s her measure of a good person. Jessica goes home and once they get to her time window, the doorbell rings. And Amy Miller, mannequin, just shows up and walks right in. Jessica realizes her wish came true and that this is a mannequin from the store. Amy tells Jessica’s dad that she’s a nanny from Australia and he’s just like oh okay, we have a room above the garage. Dad is not hiding the fact that he thinks she’s hot and he’s just like yeah sure stranger, come live with us and take care of my daughter. And this is when I thought, oh boy, he’s going to fall in love with a mannequin isn’t he? Which also made me think I need to watch the movie, Mannequin. Also the movie Life Size kind of ripped off this concept and did it better, both movies happen to be made by Disney, huh. Jessica and Amy just start having a grand old time! Stephanie ditches Jessica again when they are supposed to get Christmas trees so Amy, since she is a mannequin therefore cannot drive, enlists the help of another mannequin that is placed in a car at all times to drive them because guess what, all of the mannequins are alive. Ah! They get a tree and put lighted candles on it, I kept thinking wow, what a fire hazard. And yes it was. Meanwhile the manager of the department store noticed that a mannequin along with the clothes on it were missing and also notices the car moved so he is on a mission to find the perpetrators. Jessica and Amy get in a little tiff because Amy reads her diary and invites over the boy she likes. From these last two incidents we are learning Amy doesn’t have real people feelings, imagine that. There is also a whole thing with Jessica’s Christmas pageant when they take a Santa mannequin from the store and then he gets hit by a car and they have to put him back together, it’s a lot. But Amy is running out of time, she can only be Jessica’s mother until Christmas Eve. Jessica asks Phil to make her real forever and she said she will try and also we’ve still got store manager guy breathing down our necks. And to top it all off, yes Dad is in love with Amy, he bought them tickets to Hawaii for the new year, damn great gift. Jessica and her Dad have to race to save Amy, Dad has no idea what’s going on and this is honestly very traumatic for Jessica. She doesn’t need this! Will they be able to keep her in their lives!?

WAS IT FULL OF CHRISTMAS CHEER!?: It was full of drama. We decorated one tree and had one gift exchange, both disasters.

25 Days of Christmas: *BONUS* TV Episode: December 23

DOUG S4: E10 “DOUG’S CHRISTMAS STORY”

PLOT SUMMARY: After Pork Chop accidentally injures BeeBee’s leg, he is arrested. Doug must do whatever it takes to clear Pork Chop’s name and give everybody a Merry Christmas.

WHERE TO WATCH: Paramount+

JAIMEE’S NOTES: My boy, Doug Funny. What a great show. Doug’s about to read us his diary so, listen up! Doug is at the frozen pond playing hockey. Everyone has hockey sticks except Doug has a rake and Skeeter has a broom. They’re also playing with an acorn. BeeBee, this dumb rich bitch, walks close to thin ice, like there is literally a sign and she’s about to die until Pork Chop the dog saves her by dragging her away by the leg. This green boy is all like ohhh he bit her, STFU GREEN BOY! Everyone is saying Pork Chop attacked BeeBee. Doug goes Christmas shopping with his sister, Judy, and while they are gone the police come to his house and ARREST PORK CHOP!? Omg I’m gonna cry. Doug is distraught. He makes a petition for people to sign to help release Pork Chop but everyone is a huge asshole. Bluffington is wild and BeeBee is in the hospital? Give it up girl. Doug gets together with his super hero alter egos in his head: Quailman, Race Canyon, and Smash Adams (great names). His friends make him a cupcake with a smoke bomb in it and Skeeter helps him execute a plan to break into dog jail. Poor Doug, we see a flashback of him getting Pork Chop for Christmas! I guess we are going to court now! Doug is Pork Chop’s lawyer, naturally. Doug literally lists all the things Pork Chop does for the community and it is like: babysitting kids, rebuilding a house, lending someone $20. Pork Chop is a saint! Doug knows Pork Chop is trying to tell him something so they go to the frozen pond and they figure it the fuck out when BeeBee falls through the ice and Pork Chop saves her like he saves everyone in this town apparently! You know what I see, I see a whole town full of losers! (Sorry, Drop Dead Gorgeous quote). BeeBee and her stupid dad go to Doug’s to apologize the next day now that she’s magically not in a wheelchair. And Pork Chop does one more good thing and helps all the dogs in dog jail because he’s the best.

WAS IT FULL OF CHRISTMAS CHEER!?: We had a court case and a little girl that needed saving, it was practically Miracle on 34th Street!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 23

**It’s the last four days of our 25 Days of Christmas! Please also check out one of my staple “watch-every-year” movies today in addition to this movie we are watching: Home Alone 2. Please find it here: https://jaidayz.wordpress.com/2022/12/17/25-days-of-christmas-day-17/ or under Menu > 25 Days of Christmas 2022 > Day 17**

SERENDIPITY

PLOT SUMMARY: A couple search for each other years after the night they first met, fell in love, and separated, convinced that one day they’d end up together.

WHERE TO WATCH: Max

JAIMEE’S NOTES: An early 2000’s rom com, just what we need. I love Kate Beckinsale. If anyone is looking for a great Kate Beckinsale show, watch Guilty Party on Paramount+, I was so sad when there wasn’t a second season. Jonathan and Sara meet at a department store while trying to buy the same pair of gloves. They end up getting coffee at Sara’s favorite place, Serendipity. She likes it because she likes the word, happy little accidents. They both go their separate ways but also both come back for things they forget. They decide to hang out. Sara is all about fate, she writes her full name and phone number in a book, Jonathan writes his full name and phone number on a $5 bill. If they find these out in the world, it’s fate. They also split up the gloves and do an elevator experiment to see if they will get to a floor at the same time. Jonathan’s side of the experiment is kind of ruined and Sara doesn’t think it works so she leaves. Some years later, Jonathan is engaged and getting married soon to his fiance, Halley (Tom Brady’s baby mama), however he still looks for the book. Sara is newly engaged to Lars (Aidan from Sex and the City). Jonathan feels the urge to find Sara again so he and his friend, Dean are on a mission to get information on her. Sara feels the same urge and cons her friend, Eve, into going to New York with her since she now lives in Los Angeles. There are so many times where they get so so close to running into each other. It is frustrating. Will they keep searching? Will they give up? Will they get married to other people!? I absolutely loved this movie. Maybe one of the great rom coms that I knew existed but never knew I needed in my life!

WAS IT FULL OF CHRISTMAS CHEER!?: It’s pretty Christmas-y at the department store….they go ice skating! Just watch the movie.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 22

**It’s the last four days of our 25 Days of Christmas! Please also check out one of my staple “watch-every-year” movies today in addition to this movie we are watching: Home Alone. Please find it here: https://jaidayz.wordpress.com/2022/12/14/25-days-of-christmas-day-14/ or under Menu > 25 Days of Christmas 2022 > Day 14**

DEAD END

PLOT SUMMARY: Christmas Eve. On his way to his in-laws with his family, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life.

WHERE TO WATCH: Prime, Tubi

JAIMEE’S NOTES: I did it again. I found a Christmas themed horror movie. I’m just rebelling against Christmas this year I guess, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. And I am delighted. We are going to Grandma’s for Christmas! Mom and Dad, Frank and Laura and their kids Richard and Marion. Also Marion’s boyfriend Brad is in the car. Honestly, two of my favorite actors are in this movie: Lin Shaye who does a lot of horror but also plays a great mom, she always makes me think of Detroit Rock City. And also an iconic 90s/early 2000s girl, Alexandra Holden. The fam is taking some back roads instead of the interstate and Dad falls asleep, way to go Dad. Everyone is seemingly okay except we see a woman with her baby in the road. The family plans to drive the woman to a cabin they passed earlier to see if they can get her help. There isn’t enough room in the car for everyone so they just let Marion walk, like okay…super safe already. Things start to get crazy almost immediately and people are dropping like flies. There were also some moments where I was like is this supposed to be funny? I was very confused. I don’t want to give too much away and also I was at a loss for words most times lol. You can tell there is something very wrong going on but I did google the ending just to make sure I understood. What a thinker! I’ll leave you with a word of advice….stay on the interstate!

WAS IT FULL OF CHRISTMAS CHEER!?: We sang Christmas carols in the car, that part was fun right!?

25 Days of Christmas: Day 21

THE NIGHT BEFORE

PLOT SUMMARY: On Christmas Eve, three lifelong friends spend the night in New York City looking for the Holy Grail of Christmas parties.

WHERE TO WATCH: FREE on Tubi

JAIMEE’S NOTES: This movie had been on my list before and I finally got to watch it! First of all, SUCH a good cast. We have Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anthony Mackie, Lizzy Caplan, Mindy Kaling, Ilana Glazer (My Broad City Kween), Nathan Fielder (I LOVE all of his crazy ass shows) and more surprise guest cast members! Ethan, Isaac, and Chris are best friends. When they were younger, Ethan’s parents died in a car accident and he was alone for Christmas until Isaac and Chris came to spend Christmas with him and they made it a tradition. They learned about an exclusive party over the years, the Nutcracker Ball, but never knew how to get invites. Some years later Ethan is working as an elf in a coat check room and finds Nutcracker Ball invitations in someone’s coat so he steals them. Isaac is married and has a baby on the way and Chris is a famous football player. They decide that this will be their final Christmas going out together and Ethan tells them about the Nutcracker Ball invitations. They decide to do Christmas activities until it’s time to go to the party. Isaac’s wife gives him the gift of all of the drugs in a box and Chris gets them a sponsored limo from RedBull. Isaac and Chris are worried about Ethan, they don’t think he is ready to grow up and move on but they feel like they can’t express those concerns to him. The first activity the group attends is karaoke at a bar. Ethan runs into his ex-girlfriend, Diana, and her friend Sarah. Sarah (Mindy Kaling) says that Diana karaoked Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus because she is obsessed with Miley and as Sarah says about Wrecking Ball: you can cry to it, you can run to it, and you can party to it. Amen. Isaac starts going into his drug stash immediately and freaks out about his impending fatherhood. He accidentally drips his nose bleed in Sarah’s drink and she takes his phone instead of hers and runs off. Chris gets weed for his teammates from their high school drug dealer, Mr. Green. Mr. Green also incidentally takes each of the guys to Christmas present, past, and future. Chris then hooks up with a fan and she steals his weed and then leads him on a wild goose chase because she loves to ruin everyone’s Christmas, “She home alone’d me!” Ethan’s top priority is the party. At one point they split up to pursue the weed, the phone and the party. They meet back up on the subway and have a small disagreement. Ethan thinks Isaac and Chris are going to move on with their lives and he is going to be all alone, so he does something very risky. In the end, the friends all come back together and realize that friends are important and relationships evolve but they can still be there for each other. So cute! I love the sentiment.

WAS IT FULL OF CHRISTMAS CHEER!?: Definitely! All of these Christmas activities and the party seemed awesome and fun as hell. I need to do more Christmas activities in the near future!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 20

LOVE HARD

PLOT SUMMARY: An LA girl, unlucky in love, falls for an East Coast guy on a dating app and decides to surprise him for the holidays, only to discover that she’s been catfished. This lighthearted romantic comedy chronicles her attempt to reel in love.

WHERE TO WATCH: Netflix

JAIMEE’S NOTES: You know what we need? A Christmas rom-com! Natalie is all about the online dating which is good because she writes a column about the disaster dates she goes on. Honestly, I was first drawn to this movie because one of my fave podcast queens/comediennes, Heather McMahan plays her co-worker/friend, Kerry! Natalie eventually meets Josh on her dating app and they talk for forevs and eventually move to phone calls, it’s getting serious. Only problem is, they live 3,000 miles away from each other. Josh makes a comment about wanting to spend Christmas with Natalie, so she takes a chance and flies from LA to Lake Placid to surprise him. Natalie is actually the one who is in for a big surprise when she finds out…Josh is not the Josh from the pictures. Classic catfish, he even sent a picture of “fake Josh” with her name on a piece of paper. Anyone who has watched one episode of Catfish with Nev Schulman knows that’s a crock of shit. Natalie is mortified and runs to the nearest bar to call Kerry. In a twist of fate, Natalie sees the actual guy from the pictures Josh used when she is at the bar, his name is Tag. She tries to impress him but has an unfortunate kiwi allergy incident. Josh finds her and brings her to the hospital. He also tries to make a deal with her: if she pretends to be his girlfriend for a week, he will make her and Tag meet and fall for each other. Yes, he happens to know the man whose pictures he was using. I just wanted to say, it was at this point in the movie where I was like oh okay, we all know how this is going to end right? Natalie agrees to Josh’s terms and starts hanging out with the fam in between dates with Tag. Josh’s family is super nice to her and welcomes her with open arms. Her and Josh also get to know each other more, for instance Josh has a secret hobby that he wants to turn into a business. But when Josh’s brother, Owen, arrives and tries to steal the spotlight but telling their parents he and his wife are expecting, Josh proposes to Natalie in front of his entire family. She says yes to go along with the story. Uhhh, they might be taking this a bit too far. And of course, everything comes to a head when Josh’s family throws them a surprise engagement party and everyone attends from Natalie’s boss to Tag. How are they going to get out of this one?! I know I said I knew where this movie was going and I was right, I did. But also, the ending was so touching, I shed a tear. It also takes a scene from a classic Christmas movie and I love Christmas movie crossovers!

WAS IT FULL OF CHRISTMAS CHEER!?: Full! We had all of the Christmas activities and more!

25 Days of Christmas *BONUS* TV Episode: December 19

BOY MEETS WORLD S5: E11 “A VERY TOPANGA CHRISTMAS”

PLOT SUMMARY: Topanga spends her first Christmas at the Matthews home. Cory is happy at first but when traditions clash, he starts to have misgivings about their future together.

WHERE TO WATCH: Disney+

JAIMEE’S NOTES: Once again we have a great theme song to open the show! We are really just hitting the theme song jackpot with our Christmas episodes this year. Cory is excited because Topanga is spending Christmas with him and his family for the first time. He plans on giving her a promise ring. Right away Topanga is all about implementing her traditions into the Matthews Family Christmas. Eric thinks Cory is letting Topanga walk all over him and he wants Cory to stand up for himself. Meanwhile, Jack and Shawn, who recently found out each other existed, are still getting to know each other but are spending Christmas together. Topanga is being real pushy with her traditions, back off Topanga! Cory is as annoyed as I am so he goes to Shawn and Jack’s. Shawn and Jack find out they both like ice skating so they are going to make that their new family tradition! Cory stays behind at the apartment by himself and falls asleep. He is visited by the ghost of Christmas future (that ghost and only that ghost, this is just a 22 minute show ya know). In his vision, he is living with Eric and fat from eating so many Christmas tree pancakes and Topanga is happy and married to Jack. Which leads me to a fun fact that I learned on the Pod Meets World podcast: at some point during the filming of Boy Meets World, Danielle Fishel and Matthew Lawrence actually did date! This is something I cannot not think about now when watching. Anyway, Cory goes home and makes peace with Topanga. They learn that they are more alike than they thought. Merry Christmas!

WAS IT FULL OF CHRISTMAS CHEER!?: For sure! It made me want to do all of my family Christmas traditions. I better get to baking!

25 Days of Christmas: Day 19

BAD SANTA

PLOT SUMMARY: A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.

WHERE TO WATCH: Paramount+, PlutoTV

JAIMEE’S NOTES: This is a movie I just really never got around to watching because the premise did not interest me and I’m not super in to Billy Bob, sorry Billy Bob. But after I watched it, I was like awww, that was nice..mostly at the end. Also I want to give a big RIP to John Ritter and Bernie Mac! Willie is a mall Santa and hates his life. He and his accomplice, Marcus, are career robbers and rob malls after working as Santa and Elf. Willie takes a small hiatus in Miami but then Marcus calls him and they meet back up for another job in Phoenix. One of the children, Thurman, waits until after his shift to keep talking to him and Willie gives him a ride home. Willie finds out that Thurman lives only with his senile grandma in a huge house. We also meet Sue (an edgy Lauren Graham…I do not know you). Sue is a bartender that is hooking up with Willie. When Willie gets back to his hotel, he sees it is being raided by cops so he goes to Thurman’s house and just stays there with him and Grandma. Willie and Thurman’s relationship develops very slowly, but it is so cute. Willie, it seems, is starting to like this kid in his own way. The security chief, Gin, starts to investigate Willie and Marcus and learns what they were doing. He wants in. Leading up to their next mall heist, Willie and Sue decorate the house with Thurman for Christmas, so sweet! Willie and Marcus’s partnership is also a bit on the rocks since Gin knows what’s going on. You’ll have to tune in to see how it ends! I did really love the ending. At first I was like..OH MY GOSH! And then I was like am I going to cry? Overall, I’m glad I finally watched this movie!

WAS IT FULL OF CHRISTMAS CHEER!?: Honestly, not really but maybe yes in a messed up kind of way? It was confusing.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 18

DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW

PLOT SUMMARY: A separated social worker takes his daughter on a ride along with him on Christmas Eve.

WHERE TO WATCH: Disney+, Hulu

JAIMEE’S NOTES: I thoroughly enjoyed this Ludacris Disney movie. Never thought I would see the day when Luda was in a Disney movie, I thought he was strictly too fast, too furious but he was great in this! Eddie (Ludacris) had a traumatic childhood Christmas and now hates Christmas in general. Eddie is also a very nice, very good social worker that works closely with the police. He also has a cute daughter, Charlotte with his wife, Allison, who he is separated from. We also have a villain, it happens to be Oscar Nunez from The Office, he plays the mayor, Harf. Harf is putting on a good show but he is actually a crooked mayor that is trying to get a bunch of money and shut down the mission! It took me awhile to figure out what him and his minions’ deal was honestly. Anyway, Eddie goes next door to feed his neighbors’ cat while they are on vacation and he runs into Nick, who claims to be Santa. Eddie assumes Nick is mentally ill and he wants to help him. Nick meets Charlotte and really tries to prove to them with many stories and explanations that he is Santa. Nick is also actively dodging Harf’s minions (I’m just going to keep calling them that lol), while doing this he leads Eddie and Charlotte on a wild goose chase trying to help him. Nick does have some sketchy moments that he can’t explain at first but he keeps giving us more! Eddie gets fed up because he doesn’t believe in Santa and calls the cops to end all of these shenanigans. Charlotte is very disappointed because she really believes this is Santa. We also find out that some of the cops are working with Harf, woof. Is this really Santa? Is anyone going to help him? And will Eddie get back into the Christmas spirit anytime in the near future? All of these questions are answered and more! We get a great reindeer scene to the Rocky theme song….their favorite song. You’ll see.

WAS IT FULL OF CHRISTMAS CHEER!?: Yes, yes yes! So sweet and very festive!