Downtown Littleton, Colorado. Photo by H.M. Kerr-Schlaefer

Ice Rink at The Promenade Shops at Centerra in Loveland, Colorado. Photo by H.M. Kerr-Schlaefer

Last year, we realized my parents were still going to Blockbuster for their movies. I had been telling them about Netflix for years, but they just weren’t interested in trying it out. In part because it is an online subscription, and that was a little intimidating for them.

So we decided to get my parents a three-month subscription to Netflix as a Christmas present, and since we were visiting them for the holidays, we were able to help them set up their account. After they figured out how to use it, they were completely sold on the concept.

No more trips to Blockbuster for my parents, plus they can find any movie they want, even television shows and obscure documentaries. 

So if there’s a movie lover in your life who still hasn’t signed up with Netflix, you might want to give them a subscription for Christmas.

Note:  Netflix did not pay for this blog post. I am a true fan. 

"Old Town" Fort Collins, Colorado. Photo by H.M. Kerr-Schlaefer

I am going to come clean. I am not much of a shopper. In fact, I rarely shop unless it is a necessity. So when Christmas comes around, I enjoy shopping in historic downtowns, because the stores are locally owned, and they are entertaining.

Downtown retail business owners have to be creative in order to compete with the strip malls and mega stores, and they often line their shelves with interesting and hard-to-find items, making my shopping trip much more enjoyable than browsing the standard mall fare.

Don’t believe me? Let me tell you about my recent shopping trip in historic downtown Loveland. I started at Anthology Book Co. on East 4^th Street. I’ve been shopping at Anthology since we first moved to Loveland in 2002. They offer more than just books, including great stocking stuffers and a nice selection of cards. Be sure to check out Momma’s Style, a children’s store, with space in the kid’s section.

The Coffee Tree is also inside the bookstore, and features fantastic coffee and fast, friendly service. Anthology is a good place to start your trip because a cup of freshly roasted coffee will surely get those creative juices flowing.

HeidiTown Tip: Don’t be afraid to buy someone a book, especially if you know they are a reader. Some of the best books I’ve read have been presents from friend or family members.  

Next I crossed the street and walked a half block to …  CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE.

“A Christmas Carol” is one of my husband’s favorite stories, and we’ve been looking forward to Jim Carrey’s onscreen version. However, we refuse to see it this early in the season.

The Halloween costumes weren’t even off before we were being bombarded with jingle bells and layaway commercials. In fact, this year I heard Christmas music in a department store prior to Halloween. It just isn’t right!

I understand why this is happening; merchandisers across the country have had a tough year, and they are hoping they can make up for those losses by starting Christmas early. I, for one, am not falling for it.

You will not see a review of “A Christmas Carol” here at HeidiTown until after Thanksgiving – the day it should have opened.

The magic of Christmas is because it’s once a year – once a year, not for two or three months every year.

To begin the season so early cheapens the entire holiday.

“A Christmas Story” (1983) – I’ve been watching this movie every Christmas for years now, and it’s easily my all-time favorite Christmas movie. Set in the 1940’s, it’s a story about obsession. Writer and narrator, the late Jean Shepherd once said he felt obsession often makes very good comedy and he was right. Ralphie is a 9-year-old with one Christmas wish – he wants nothing more than a Red Ryder BB gun and it is an all enveloping desire. His mother is dead set against the idea, fearing Ralphie will “shoot his eye out.” If you haven’t seen this movie, rent it today. If you’ve ever been a kid, I think you’ll enjoy this humorous look at childhood.

“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989) – This silly Chevy Chase flick is my husband’s favorite Christmas movie and every since we met he’s made me watch it during the holidays. Eventually my love/hate relationship with “Christmas Vacation” turned into mostly love. In this National Lampoon’s movie, the Griswold family is hosting Christmas and Clark’s desire for the perfect holiday with the family quickly develops into one crazy scene after another. With Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Nicholas Guest playing the Griswold’s yuppie neighbors, and the non-stop hilarious trainwreck that is Clark Griswold, this one is a much-watch at my house during the holidays.

By the way if anyone knows where to get egg nog glasses with reindeer antler handles, please let me know.

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1964) - This is a Christmas movie from my father’s childhood, therefore my brother and I sat  down with my parents every Christmas to watch ”Rudolph.”  I don’t have much to say about this movie except that I love it.  And if you haven’t seen it, have you been living under a rock?

“Elf” (2003) – This movie has become a holiday tradition for my husband and I. Starring Will Ferrell as a human named Buddy who has been raised by elves at the North Pole, this movie is Ferrell at his very best. When Buddy decides to leave the North Pole to look for his real father, he is more than a little out of place in New York City. James Caan plays Buddy’s father and he is the perfect straightman to Ferrell’s outrageous comedic genius in this movie. According to Netflix this is the #1 rented Christmas movie this year, so apparently I’m not the only one with an “‘Elf”-fetish.    

“Joyeux Noel” (2005) – I recently watched this movie and it easily makes my list of favorite Christmas movies. The movie is based on true accounts of Christmas 1914, on the front-lines during World War I. Allied Scottish and French troops are spending Christmas in the trenches. Their German enemies are hunkered down in their trenches, approximately fifty yards away. This is the story of how guns and preconceived notions were put aside to celebrate a holiday held dear by those fighting on both sides of this gruesome war. It is heartwarming movie, but it isn’t sappy. In the end it’s a war movie, so be prepared, but it also a Christmas movie with all the right messages about what it means to celebrate the holiday.  

Honorable Mention

“Home Alone” (1990) – I do not watch this one every year, but I was a kid when it came to theaters so it represents a childhood holiday memory for me. To this day, whenever I hear “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree” I think of MacCaulay Culkin creating a fake party in his living room to make the robbers think adults were home. While not Oscar-worthy, this is a cute movie starring two of the funniest home burglars in history, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. While perhaps not  a film for adults, if you have children, they will love it. 

 I know I’ve missed some good Christmas movies, such as “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and those are both great movies. However, I can’t blog on this topic all night and this list only represent my favorites. It’s not a list of movies I regard of as the Best Christmas Movies ever Made – that list would include “It’s a Wonderful Life.” 

If you have other favorites, please share them in the comment section

In stores now - perhaps one of the best stocking stuffers ever – at least for my group of friends! 

Want a signed copy?  Meet author Michael Guerriero at the following book signings:

Saturday, Dec. 13th, from 4pm to 7pm, Centerra Mall (Barnes & Noble)
Sunday, Dec. 14th, from 1pm to 4pm, Foothills Mall (B. Daulton)
Saturday, Jan. 10th, from 2pm to 5pm, Fort Collins (Barnes & Noble)

Read more about Guerriero and his new book HERE.

Visit www.partyacrossamericabook.com for even more information.