Christmas is here! And we’ve all got a HUGE decision to make. The choice doesn’t have to do with gifts or your Christmas music playlist, whether “Die Hard” is in fact a Christmas movie, or how many people is acceptable for a socially-distanced Christmas party. What we all need to decide is which Christmas movie character we are going to be. There are many different options, too!
You could be Kevin McCalister from “Home Alone,” just wishing his family would disappear. Although COVID may be a great excuse to be very selective who comes over to spend the holidays, no doubt too much time around family can leave us all wishing we were in fact home alone. Keep in mind, though, that Kevin did eventually regret his family not being around… even the really annoying ones.
You may want to be Ralphie from “A Christmas Story,” just wishing and hoping for that one special gift. Or maybe you’re looking for that one special gift for someone else. I say go for it!
You might want to be any of the many characters from “Love Actually,” navigating relationships old and new. With the year we’ve all had, I say that the fact we all want to have better relationships and haven’t given up is a very good sign.
You could be Clark Griswold from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” trying your very best to make this the best Christmas ever. That’s admirable. I think a lot of us will feel this way. We want to make up for the year that we’ve had. Just remember that not everything is going to be perfect so don’t stress out when things don’t go as planned.
You could also be Buddy from “Elf”. You could love and embrace everything that is Christmas. In spite of the fact that you could potentially be annoying the crap out of everyone around you. Don’t let those people dim your Christmas light. Let it shine. Secretly they really appreciate it.
No matter who you decide to be, can you please, please, please not decide to be the Grinch or Scrooge. Unless, of course, it’s those characters at the end of the movie when they realize how much Christmas really means. All of us, including me, have had a hard year. The last thing we need is someone telling us we’re singing Christmas carols too loud or that we put up too many decorations. We don’t need someone correcting us for saying “Happy Holidays” or berating a Starbucks barista because they ran out of peppermint latte.
I get it. There may not be much to be merry about. But in the spirit of the season can we all just agree to focus on the spirit of the season? If you remember, the Grinch found out all the things he hated most about Christmas weren’t that important. Which is the same for pretty much every Christmas movie… family, friends and the fact that in spite of a global pandemic we are all still connected. Christmas is the time to come together and celebrate that. So Merry Christmas to you!
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-by Greg Almond
About the Author: Greg Almond is an on-air personality for Goober 95.1.
