December 11th
Some men are Baptists, others Catholics; my father was an Oldsmobile man.
Today’s Quote:
Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.
Calvin Coolidge
Reviews:
Hot Chocolate Review: My eleventh hot chocolate of the year is Mince Pie, which I worried about because of the number of spices that would be in there. Sometimes you can go too heavy on the holiday spices and it can taste weird, but I’m happy to report that this hot chocolate IS VERY GOOD. It tastes just of the right amount of spice, in fact. I’m just so excited about these hot chocolates you guys, I’m getting hit after hit! This ranks #5 out of 11 so far.
I have gotten reader feedback on my rankings, and there is some HEALTHY debate out there! For instance, readers MOLLY and ENSER are following along with the advent calendar and think that I have rated the Chilly Willy far too high, in fact in their estimation it should be dead last. I welcome differing opinions because this is a free country last I checked (which was in the first week of November, so that very much might not be the case anymore). Obviously I believe I am correct and that adding a bit of spice to the hot chocolate makes it lovely, but it’s not for everyone!
Movie Review: An Almost Christmas Story (2024, Disney+): Owls are real cute
As many of us living in the greatest city in the world (New York City) remember, in 2020 there was a very tiny little owl found in the tree at Rockefeller Center, traveling like over a 100 miles from upstate New York to the city in that tree. The little guy (named Rocky) was found, rehabilitated, and eventually set free back into nature. A real heartwarming story, maybe the ONLY good thing that happened that year.
This holiday short from Disney and Alfonso Cuarón tells Rocky’s story using stop-motion animation, and it’s very cute! It seems like the medium of choice for the animation is cardboard, which adds a really unique texture to what you are watching. This owl’s name is Moon and he is a troublemaker, who gets separated from his single father (fourth dead mother of the year), voiced by Jim Gaffigan, and is told to stay in the tree until his dad returns. Well, unlucky for Moon, the tree is the Rockefeller center tree, so off he travels to the big city. He meets some rascally pidgeons, with the lead voiced by Natasha Lyonne, in a role she was born to play.
He injures his wing during his adventure and meets up with a young girl who has a prosthetic leg, and together they try to find their way in the city, and back home. This is a very short film (<30 mins), and before any of you come for me on how this does not count, let me tell you that watching TWENTY full-length holiday films is REAL effort and sometimes I NEED A BREAK.
Anyways, I quite liked this short little movie. It was very cute, the stop-motion cardboard was nice, and the story was lovely. It really isn’t that scary and no animal dies, so any children can (likely) happily watch. Owls rule, is my opinion.
Updated Christmas Movie Ranking 2024:
Meet Me Next Christmas
That Christmas
Hot Frosty
Our Little Secret
An Almost Christmas Story
The Merry Gentleman
Enchanting Christmas
Red One
Dear Santa
Finding a black fly in your chardonnay
Feather Christmas
Updated Hot Chocolate Advent Calendar 2024:
Chilly Willy
Enchanted Forest
Chocolate Banana (moving this up, I love it more every day)
Chocolate Orange
Mince Pie
Candy Cane
Salted Caramel
Pumpkin Spice
Dark
Chocolate Biscuit
Cinnamon Roll
Musings:
