My sister arrived back in the country two days
ago from where she’s currently residing in Vancouver, Canada. It’s great to
have her back with us – she’s probably the person (other than my husband) who
understands and ‘gets’ me most, and it’s always fun to do those things we can’t
do when we’re in different countries.
One of the things we love to do is watch
Christmas movies. You know, the kind they stick on TV on Christmas Day in the
afternoon, that usually involve a small town, snow, and two impossibly good-looking
actors-I’ve-never-heard-of who fall in love in the Christmas season. (Bonus
points if small children / carol singing / midnight church service / appearance
by Santa are involved!)
I love a good Christmas
movie or novel / novella as much as the next person. (Probably more!) One of my
favourite novella collections was last year’s Aussie Summer Christmas
Collection by a number of Australian and international authors, including
ACW’s Narelle Atkins, Meredith Resce, Andrea Grigg and Rose Dee. It was great
to read Christmas stories set in the sun, with the beach a predominant theme – I
found these stories far more relatable than those involving snowy landscapes,
and characters rugged up in puffy jackets and beanies and gloves. It’s
interesting to consider just how big the market for such things is.
Christmas-themed films and novellas is a huge
industry. A quick scan of my (sister’s!) books reveals more than a few, such as
these Barbour novella collections: Montana Mistletoe, A Bride by Christmas,
Colonial Christmas Brides, A Big Apple Christmas, Connecticut Christmas,
Christmas Love at Lake Tahoe, A Biltmore Christmas, etc, etc, with more
releasing all the time. Hallmark Channel is this year releasing 21 NEW
Christmas movies, with their ‘Countdown to Christmas’ promise of ‘Holiday
movies All Day! All Night!’
It’s enough to make me wonder why. Is it the
escapism involved, the chance to see a ‘happily-ever-after’ at a time so
heavily promoted to be joyous, but which (cynical me believes) is often more
stressful? Is it because they often have themes of second chances, that they suggest the 'magic of Christmas' where anything is possible? Is it the opportunity, particularly for North Americans, to watch a
family friendly movie when the weather outside is frightful? For my sister and
me, we enjoy the vicarious cooling effect of watching snowy landscapes when
it’s 30 degrees outside – and playing guess who with the impossibly good
looking actors who-we’ve-never- heard-of-so-we-need-to-learn- more-via-IMDB.
Hmm. It’s enough to make an author consider
adding a Christmas element just to cash in 😊
So here’s a question for you: do you enjoy
reading Christmas themed films / novels / novella collections? If so, what do
you enjoy about them?
Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South
Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. Together with her husband she has pastored a
church for ten years, and worked part-time as a public high school English and
Learning and Support teacher.
A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette
Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English Literature, and loves
drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our
lives. Her Regency novels include The Elusive Miss Ellison, The Captivating
Lady Charlotte, and The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey, all available from Amazon,
Book Depository, Koorong, etc
Most Christmas stories I have seen are contemporary romance which isn’t my favourite genre. A historical one might be interesting!
ReplyDeleteYes! So many historical periods could have really interesting Christmas traditions that would be fascinating to read about.
DeleteSome of those Barbour novellas are on my shelf or the church now. I love reading novellas at Christmas I think because they are easy to read and I have to say I do like reading about other countries. I have read my share of both contemporary and historical. Infact Jillian Hart and Janet Tronstad did 3 mail order bride books (over 3 years) the third one they had a dedication to me which was so cool but what was even cooler was they had the train conductor with the name of Mr Blake. They are historical Love Inspired and a fun read.
ReplyDeleteI love watching Christmas movies too just wish they had more on than they do and not the same ones over and over.
I’ve been watching some catch up tv (7plus) and they’ve had a bunch of new made for TV Christmas movies. Happy watching!
DeleteHi Carolyn, yes, I share your love of Christmas books and movies. The escapism is fun and I browse Netflix to try and find the good Christmas movies. I enjoyed watching The Christmas Prince and reading Amy Matayo's latest book, Christmas at Gate 18. Christmas books are also fun to write - thanks for mentioning Seaside Christmas. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I read Amy Matayo’s book too - a different spin on Christmas that’s for sure! It’s certainly a good time of year for people to get their creativity on :)
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