Whew! What happened to December?? This time of year always seems to go in fast-forward, but this year seems to have been in a particular hurry. We try to slow it down a little by watching a movie every night, kind of a “movie advent.” We put the names of our favorite holiday movies in a hat, then draw one every night that the kids are out of school. Here are the ones in the hat this year:

* Santa Claus is Coming to Town – This is my personal favorite of the stop-motion classics. More to follow….

* Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – This one has to be on the list. It just has to be.

* Last Holiday (Queen Latifah, LL Cool J) – This is a surprisingly sweet and funny story about a woman who’s told she’s dying, so she takes a trip of a lifetime. My kids always giggle when she arrives at the Hotel Pupp (pronounced “poop”).

* White Christmas (Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye) – Fun fact about this one: Vera-Ellen wasn’t much of a singer (her parts were actually sung by Rosemary Clooney or Trudy Stevens), and Rosemary Clooney wasn’t much of a dancer. Knowing that, it’s easy to see how they worked around this, but until I read this, I never noticed how little Rosemary Clooney danced in the film.

* The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 2 (Tim Allen) – This is a case of the sequel being at least as good as the first one. We don’t care for the third installment, though.

* A Christmas Story – My kids haven’t reached a full appreciation of this one yet, but they love the leg lamp.

* Muppet Christmas Carol – It just wouldn’t be Christmas without Kermie!

* National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – Another one that is appreciated more as you get older.

* While You Were Sleeping – A sweet movie that is completely unrealistic, but nice to watch.

* Miracle on 34th Street (either one) – This is another one that just must be on the list. Believe!!

* Scrooged (Bill Murray) – One of the best version of A Christmas Carol, and classic Bill Murray.

* It’s a Wonderful Life – My kids haven’t reached a full appreciation of this one either, but I think it definitely resonates more with adults. It’s still full of good lessons for kids: every time you do the right thing, it reaches further than you’ll ever know.

Hot cocoa recommended – “Cocoa is superior!” (Robot Santa, The Santa Clause 2).