The Best Time of the Year

I love December. For so many reasons. These are just some of them.

Mat's birthday is one day after Santa Claus' arrival. So the routine of Christmas shopping always merges into birthday arrangements. It doubles the cost, but the most important thing, it triples the fun as well. Santa day, birthday, Christmas day. See?

It's a good time to clear up my leaves. Yeah. Nobody can work in this holiday mood anyway.

Though it doesn't get to snow around here, December is always a beautiful month in all terms. It certainly does feel like it when the Christmas tree is lit up and the Christmas decorations are hanging around and cheering up even the gloomiest spots. That put a smile on your face seeing those red, green and gold colors everywhere. (Or maybe it's just me).

A perfect excuse to set everything in Christmas themes. At home and in Litterzone.

As in summer, December is a good month for family movies. This year it got The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Tangled (a.k.a. Rapunzel: A Tangled Tale. It has a bunch of teasers that are hilarious. I'm lazy to put the links in here, so you go ahead browse them). And I'd like to recall: The Polar Express as the best 2D-feel-like-3D Christmas movie, Home Alone as simply the best Christmas movie ever with the best Christmas soundtracks and Miracle on 34th Street as the movie that set Sir Richard Attenborough as the real Santa Claus in my mind forever.

Christmas songs. Enough said. It's on the sidebar and in here. And the honorary awards go to (click on title to view video and place your pointer on it for lyrics):

"Somewhere in My Memory" ~ Home Alone introduces me to this song. I love it. Love love love it. The children choir brings a longing, indescribable sweetness. John Williams is truly the master composer, though some may say his works are sometimes repetitive. I love these two versions too: "Main Title" and "Finale".

"Carol of the Bells" ~ A traditional song I've heard it the first time from, again, Home Alone here. In a non-English-tongue country I live in, very rare I hear this sung in church. At its original tempo, it's a tongue-twister and a breath-taking song. Literally.

"Star of Bethlehem" ~ Have I told you that John Williams a genius? No? Well, listen closely to this song and "Setting the Trap", from Home Alone.

"O Holy Night" ~ Another traditional song, my all-time favorite, whoever sings this song. But Celine Dion got it through me most.

"The Sound of Life" ~ Exactly how it feels. Oh, and one night a couple of years back, I was alone in my house, accompanied by my twinkling little Christmas tree. I grabbed my Canon A80 and set it on tripod. There, the background pics on the video.

"When Christmas Comes to Town" ~ Always makes me cry. From the OST The Polar Express, here's the original scene.

"Believe" ~ This is all over The Polar Express. A beautiful score, beautiful lyrics, and gosh, Josh Groban.

"Holidays are Coming" ~ Despite of my addiction to Coca-Cola, this 2009 advertisement is definitely put the mood on a different level. The best Christmas ad to date. Wonderful! And yeap, holidays are coming indeed, and it's contagious.