Tuesday, December 23, 2025

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL from Reggi Allder!

What do Cameron Diaz, Bruce Willis, Kate Winslet, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer have in common?

 

I’m excited because my Sierra Creek Series is complete with all four books available on Amazon. Though I’m working on the fifth Dangerous Series Book, Dangerous Sisters, I’m taking the time to watch a few favorite movies with the family. I like old movies. Some of the films are for the holidays and others are definitely not. 😊

I asked, what do Cameron Diaz, Bruce Willis, Kate Winslet, and Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer, have in common. Well, all of them have been in a holiday movie.

I’ve loved movies since I was a kid. One of my fondest memories is staying up late to watch classic movies on TV with my mother. My dad went to bed early. His favorite saying: “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

Sometimes on a weekend night, Mom and I would make a big bowl of popcorn and turn on a movie channel, then switch off the lights, so it felt as if we were in a theater. I stayed up until midnight watching movies on the small screen.

Now I have a large flat screen TV, but my family still enjoy films of all kinds. Black and white classics or new films. For me, the story is the thing.

Here are several holiday films I’ve enjoyed. Please note, I mentioned the writers involved in making the movies. Most of these films can be found on Amazon.

Please leave a comment with your best loved movie. Any film, it doesn't have to be a Christmas or holiday one.

Holiday movies:

The Holiday, 2006 Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet star with Jude Law and Jack Black. Screenplay Nancy Meyers. A woman from the UK and one from the US swap houses for the Christmas time holiday. They find romance but know they must soon return to their own countries. If you are looking for fun and romance, this delivers. This movie should not be confused with the old film with Kathryn Hepburn and Cary Grant.


Christmas in Connecticut, 1945 Barbara Stanwick and Dennis Morgan. Written by Lionel Houser, Adele Comandini, Aileen Hamilton (story). It is a fun comedy romp from the 1940's. A career woman leads her boss to believe she is married and has a baby and that she's a gourmet cook and lives on a farm in Connecticut. None of which is true, but the fib keeps her employed as a popular magazine writer extolling the virtues of being a homemaker. Trouble ensues when the boss wants to visit the farm during Christmas.

 Miracle on 34th Street, 1947, John Payne and Maureen O’Hara. Written by Valentine Davies, a classic and beloved film. Edmund Gwenn plays Kris Kringle / Santa Claus and Natalie Wood plays the little girl he befriends. There’s a sweet love story between the girl’s single mother and a man she meets. This film was remade made in 1994, but I like older version best. Great for kids.



White Christmas 1954 is a flashy musical about two army buddies, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, trying to help their old commander, now retired and running a lodge in Vermont. Entertainers, the two men put on a musical show. Lots of silliness and fun for the whole family. Vera-Ellen, and Rosemary Clooney, who is George Clooney’s aunt, round out the cast. Written by Norman Krasna, Melvin Frank, and Norman Panama.

 Borrowed Hearts. 1997 Roma Downey and Eric McCormack.  A TV movie written by Pamela Wallace and Earl Wallace. This is a sweet holiday romance suitable for adults and kids. A young woman with a seven-year-old girl is trying to save money for a down payment on a home. A company executive has led an important business client to understand he has a family, he doesn't. The client is coming to visit over the holidays, so the executive agrees to pay the woman and child to pose as his family for Christmas, complications arrive.

A Christmas Carol 1951 British. Called Scrooge in the UK. Charles Dickens' famous tale, there are many remakes of the story, but this is my favorite. Alastair Sim's Scrooge is wonderfully creepy. Written by Noel Langley.

 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1944/1948) This is the classic cartoon and can be seen on YouTube. I like this for any child who might be teased and for the mockers in the group, hope they will see that everyone has value even if they are different. The song was written by Johnny Marks. 

 The Angel and the Bad Man 1947 John Wayne and Gail Russel, if you haven’t seen her, she will be a pleasant surprise. Written by James Edward Grant. This isn’t a Christmas movie. It’s a wonderful romance about a wounded bad man and a Quaker woman who nurses him.

Love this one 😊

  For something completely different and not for young kids:

Die Hard 1988 Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, and Alan Rickman. Christmas in L.A. and there’s an employee party on the 30th floor of a corporate building when it is taken over by ruthless terrorist. Everyone at the party is held and only NY cop Bruce Wills is there to save the day. There are several enjoyable sequels, but for me this is the best one. Action galore and snappy dialogue, written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza.

 If you’re looking for a feel-good holiday read check out my Sierra Creek Series, Her Country Heart Book Christmas Edition 1 of 4 of the Sierra Creek Series.

Downsized, Amy Long lost her apartment in the city and returned to the small-town of Sierra Creek to find a fresh start. However, she's in the way of cowboy Wyatt Cameron’s plans, and as executor of her grandmother’s estate, he has the power to send her packing.

What can she do to change his mind?

-If you are tired of the holiday stuff, how about a chilling suspense?

When the past returns to threaten Emma’s present, is the key to her safety the man offering protection or will his secrets put her in greater danger?

5.0 out of 5 stars will hold you on the edge of your seat as you follow Reggi’s real-to-life characters.” “Romantic Suspense from beginning to the thrilling end!” “The characters take you away!”

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XXNBDXV

  Happy New Year!!

Remember to share your favorite movie. Click on comments. Thanks for stopping by! 😊

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1 comment:

Julie Lence said...

Merry Christmas, Reggi! I just watched White Christmas yesterday. it's one of my all-time favorite movies. I also enjoy Miracle on 34th Street, though it has been years since I've seen it. Thanks for the reminder. I will have to find it on Amazon. I, too, watched the older movies when I was young... Sunday afternoons with Dad. Mom was usually in the kitchen cooking something. John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart are favorites, as is Rudolph. Hubbs and I watched that, too! Hugs!