I will now allow Christmas to begin

Hello, good evening, it is Saturday the 6th of December, I have had a busy week, I'm sitting alone on my couch with a pour of wine, and I am willing to allow the festive season to begin.

In celebration of this momentous occasion I have put on my first Christmas movie: Something From Tiffany's, a movie about two people in committed long term relationships who will (presumably) both leave their partners and declare their love for each other within days.

This is a genre of romance that I read year round but only really watch at Christmas and I have very strong feelings about how great it is to watch movies like this at Christmas. I don't know where it's come from! It's not like I did this as a kid, it's not some kind of Matthewson tradition (aside from While You Were Sleeping, naturally.)

I wasn't even aware I felt this way until a few years back when Jamie was snide about A Christmas Prince and I found my feelings genuinely hurt.

They're very inconsistent, these hurt feelings, because I also believe that films of this ilk can and should be great as often as possible. I believe that we deserve romcoms that are really romantic and really funny most of the time. I do think it's a shame that the rapacious desire for holiday movies leads to production timelines that allow for two or even three drafts of a script, and chemistry reads as part of the audition process! I think production values should matter in this an all things!

I love trash but there is good trash and bad trash and I want spectacular trash.

But something about bad Christmas trash is different.

Something about the fact that no one has had a moment to consider that the family who are in New York on holiday might not be living in an apartment that looks for all the world like their comfortably middle class home is magical to me. Something about the way a game actor tackles a line like maybe you should be thinking with your heart instead of your head in this, and in no other context, is inspiring.

I renewed my Netflix for December just to watch more of this (and the new season of Bridgerton in January) and, god help me, I'm excited about it.

I'm going to rewatch Hot Frosty. I'm going to watch Champagne Problems and A Merry Little Ex-Mas and Joy to the World. Something From Tiffany's has ended and I've put on Oh. What. Fun.

'Tis the damn season!