With this being the last Monday before Christmas, I feel compelled to share my favorite part of the movie “A Christmas Story”. It is my absolute favorite Christmas movie and I truly think it’s one of those “you just had to be there” kind of movies. I’m pretty sure my supervisor at work hasn’t seen it. She admitted to never having seen “Dirty Dancing” recently. Some 80s movies are really only good if you originally saw them in the 80s. Like “The Goonies”. I didn’t see that movie until probably 5 or 6 years ago. It was good, but I didn’t quite get why it’s a cult classic and a favorite among Gen X-ers. Same goes for “The Princess Bride”. I only saw that for the first time recently too.
But, fortunately, “A Christmas Story” was something I watched every Christmas throughout my entire childhood and as I grew to be a 43-year old adult. 24 hours of it every Christmas Eve is required viewing.
I can’t quite pinpoint my favorite part of the movie, or a favorite line. But what gets me is the whole Christmas Day scene at the end. When Ralphie and Randy come running down the stairs all excited to see the presents under the tree for the first time. That was me walking into the living room with my sisters when I was a kid and seeing what Santa had brought. It is pure nostalgia watching that scene.
What makes it absolutely perfect is the mom wearing a pink, fuzzy bathrobe. My own mother had a very similar pink, fuzzy robe that she wore and her hair was almost just as curly and frizzy as Mrs. Parker’s. So much of that scene reminds me of my own Christmas mornings as a child.
Christmas memories in my mind are not tainted by childhood trauma I experienced at other times of the year. All of my memories are simply about the holiday and the various sights, sounds, and smells of the season. And I’m grateful for that.
So here’s counting down to Christmas Eve when the 24 hour marathon of the movie will commence. I always watch the first 8:00 showing all the way through. I’ll catch various parts of it throughout the evening and Christmas Day too, but there’s something magic and just pure nostalgic about watching it on Christmas Eve. Until then…
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