Is the summer heat getting to you? Are you looking to cool down with some media that is cozy and reminds you of cooler days? Then you are ready for the annual tradition of Christmas in July! Visit your local branch to find their in-house materials, or you can place holds directly from the library catalog. You can even check out offerings on Hoopla, our new streaming service, available with your library card. In the meanwhile, here are some recommendations for every mood to get you started on your wintry-summer escape.
- Christmas Classics
-
Image
Miracle On 34th Street is a 1947 film starring Maureen O'Hara and Natalie Wood. "The real Santa is hired by Macy's to play the department store's Santa in the Thanksgiving Day parade, but has to prove in court that he is who he says he is." This classic story was also remade in 1994 starring Elizabeth Perkins and Mara Wilson, which the library also offers on DVD.
Image
The Bishop's Wife is another 1947 Christmas classic, this time starring Cary Grant and Lorretta Young. "Heavenly bells are ringing, jubilant choirs are singing, and Christmas joy is blanketing the world like freshly fallen snow. But the Yuletide spirit has yet to warm Bishop Henry Brougham's Victorian home. Struggling to raise funds for a new cathedral, the preoccupied young clergyman has neglected his loving wife, Julia, and now only divine intervention can save their marriage! But the powerful and handsome angel sent from above has a mind of his own... and teaching mortal Henry an immortal lesson in romance isn't all he has planned!" The film was remade in the 90s as a comedy, starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston, called The Preacher's Wife. Better still, the late great Whitney Houston also released a soundtrack with original songs for the movie, which we offer on CD.
Image
A Christmas Carol. A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future. A genuine classic, and arguably the book that made Christmas the major commercial holiday it is today. Read the original novel by Charles Dickens. Or watch the classic film starring Reginald Owen. Or the one starring Mickey Mouse. Or the one starring the Muppets. Or watch the 2017 biographical film about the book's creation, The Man Who Invented Christmas. ACLD offers them all.
Image
It's A Wonderful Life is a classic story where "a man is prevented from committing suicide by an elderly angel, who takes him back through his life to see what good he has done, and how the world would be if he had not been born." (Re)Check out Jimmy Stewart in this forever classic.
- Modern Classics
-
Image
Home Alone. Revisit the 90's classic that made Macaulay Culkin a star and standing one's ground funny. "When eight-year-old Kevin McCallister's family left for vacation, they forgot one minor detail: Kevin!"
Image
Love Actually. An ensemble snowy-season comedy starring England's greatest stars. "It's all about love and holiday cheer in London. The Prime Minister is smitten with his caterer; a widower's young son nurses the ultimate schoolboy crush; a writer falls for his Portuguese housekeeper; a devoted wife and mother copes with her potentially unfaithful husband; and a lovelorn American is desperately attracted to a colleague."
Image
Bad Santa. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, "a conman and his partner pose as Santa and his elf only to case department stores to rob on Christmas Eve." A classic with crudity as well as heart.
Image
Ernest Saves Christmas. Starring Jim Varney, "when Santa Claus decides to retire and pass on his magic bag of Christmas surprises to a new St. Nick, he enlists the aid of a hilarious assortment of characters, including Ernest P. Worrell."
- Christmas On TV
-
Image
A Charlie Brown Christmas. "Charlie Brown tries desperately to organize a Christmas Pageant and save a sickly Christmas tree." A classic Christmas event since 1965.
Image
The Simpsons Christmas 1 & 2. Celebrate Christmas Simpsons style, with these collections of classic holiday episodes selected from the series' run.
Image
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. "Christmas will be cancelled unless Santa can find a way to guide his sleigh through a blizzard.: Glory in Rankin/Bass's perennial classic in this stop-motion masterpiece.
Image
How the Grinch Stole Christmas. "Two stories by Dr. Seuss. In the first story, the Grinch tries to stop Christmas from arriving by stealing all the presents and food from the village, but much to his surprise, Christmas comes anyway. In the second story, if Gerald McGrew ran the zoo, he'd let all the ordinary animals go and fill the zoo with more unusual beasts from the far corners of the world."
Image
Cozy Hallmark Christmas movies. Too many entries here to choose just one. A well-enjoyed guilty pleasure is to watch Christmas-themed movies on the Hallmark channel. If that's the kind of pleasure that perks you up, do browse this list as we have a large selection to choose from.
Of course, there are more ways to better enjoy the merry-making of an unseasonably warm holiday than simply watching a movie. Fill your house with nostalgic scents by cooking a recipe from one of these holiday cookbooks. Fill your ears with the musical strains of these holiday CDs. Occupy your hands by creating one of these glorious holiday crafts. And just remember that any time can feel like Christmas when you get the gift of a library card.
Descriptions provided by the publisher.