Why I Watch Hallmark Christmas Movies

Hey There!!

I start hearing verbal anti Hallmark Christmas Movie diarrhea flow from my husband’s beautiful mouth early in November.  Why you ask?  Well, because that’s when I start re-watching the previous year’s Hallmark Christmas Movie line up in an effort to get in the Christmas spirit well before the new Hallmark Christmas Movies come out.Of course I was beyond excited when I saw that amazon prime has their own Hallmark Christmas Movie Channel. I, like a lot of ladies (and gentlemen) seek refuge in snowy small-town America where anything is possible because of Christmas magic!   I’ve seen the memes, read the tweets, and heard the jokes.

The most recent was a tweet my husband sent me that said “The plot of every Hallmark movie is about a career woman who is too busy for love but she has to move to a small town where a handsome local bachelor teaches her about the true spirit of the holiday.  It starts snowing and they kiss.  There is also a dog.” ~@joelDoubleyou

Guess what? They aren’t wrong.  Yes, every single Hallmark movie has relatively the same plot.  They are predictable, and sometimes down right ridiculous.  So why watch them?  I asked that question on my personal Face Book page recently and I got answers ranging from, because it’s an escape from reality, because their family member’s make them (my husband identifies with this answer the most), because they remind them about the true meaning of Christmas, and because it brings back memories from their past that they cherrish.

The honest truth is that no one’s reality is perfect, and despite some people’s best efforts to make it seem like they live in a Hallmark Movie, 9 times out of 10 you can see right through it. Some folks get so caught up in making sure they look a “certain way” that they don’t realize how transparent they actually are.

My life is anything but predictable.  Currently my Husband, kid, and I are hanging out homeless in my Mama’s house while we wait for the next phase of our Army PCS move to happen.  Everything that is familiar to my toddler is on a truck somewhere headed to New York (we hope).   The kiddo is sick.  The husband is sick.  The dogs are the farthest thing from well behaved.  We’ve been so busy that it is now 4 days into December and we still haven’t gotten the Christmas Tree decorated.  It was 80 degrees last week, and because I came from Colorado I didn’t even think to leave a pair of shorts out.  That doesn’t even scratch the surface of all that is our reality at this moment, but maybe it’s enough to give you an idea of how far off my life is from a Hallmark Movie.

In all reality the last thing I would want is to be standing freezing to death in a snow storm while my husband wraps me up in his arms and kisses me.  We’ve been together for 17 years, if that did happen I’d be extremely worried about him.  I wouldn’t want to have any other life than I have, because the people in my life are what make it my dream come true, and let’s be honest, the people in my life INCLUDING MYSELF, do not “fit” in a Hallmark Christmas Movie.  I would be completely thrown off by “predictable”.

So, if I’m happy with my life, and if I wouldn’t want the picture-perfect Hallmark Christmas Movie “life”, then WHY in the world would I waste my time watching such ridiculousness?

The answer for me is as simple as, sometimes “predictable” is the escape from reality I need to stay sane. December is the most exhausting months of the year for me.  It seems like every moment is planned from Thanksgiving, until New Years, and when I add the extra to what already feels like chaos in my life it is easy to get completely overwhelmed.  For me, a Hallmark Christmas movie, is an hour and a half of pure predictable goodness that gives me the push I need to keep up the momentum that the Holiday Season requires.

I think we could all use a little extra positivity this time of year, and if a Hallmark Christmas Movie doesn’t do that for you, then find the thing that does.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m right in the middle of “Christmas at Graceland”.  I’ve tried to watch it at least 5 times in the last 3 days but was unsuccessful due to toddler boogers, and real-life stuff.  I’m just getting to the part where Kelly Pickler is going to make the life changing decision to go back to Graceland to live her best life with the man of her dreams that she once dated but lost touch with over the years.

Xoxo,

Lizzy