Happy Monday, folks!
Isn’t it crazy to think that we are entering the final week of 2020? What a year it has been.
I sincerely hope that all of you were able to enjoy the holidays and adapt with all the craziness that is continuing to happen around us. I was able to enjoy some time with my mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law, and niece with a small gift exchange of Christmas tradition. And while it was definitely a different year, it did end up being very enjoyable, warm, and cozy.
And while we are officially only ONE WEEK away from my 2021 reveal, I wanted to take this week to share some of the wisdom and themes that I really took away from some of my favorite holiday movies this year to share with you in hopes of you being able to carry them out as we enter into this new year we are about to call 2021.
One of my favorite holiday movies is Elf and in this iconic role, Will Ferrell reminds us of the following:
-The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.
Even if we aren’t in the Christmas season, there is something special about singing that does the body good. Have you ever noticed that whenever you sing, you suddenly feel better? And the louder you sing, the more fun it is for you and for those around you. So do it to spread some cheer.
Up next on my holiday move list is The Polar Express. This was a favorite book of mine growing up and it is a movie that I love to watch every single year. Even as an adult. And the theme that I take away from this movie is:
-Always BELIEVE in what your heart is saying.
There are always moments in life where it can be hard to believe in so much, but if you truly look inside your heart and listen to what it is saying, everything will fall into place…as it should. In its own time. And if you ever need a reminder of this, you can always turn on the song version Josh Groban sings because that will also just instantly make you feel better. Because…well…Josh Groban. He voice is incredible. Duh.
Holiday movie number three on my list is A Christmas Carol. But there is a very specific version that I’m talking about. In my mind, the BEST version (sorry not sorry for those who like the Muppet one). It is the George C. Scott version that was made in 1984. And if you haven’t watched it or seen it, I highly recommend it. This is one that I’ve watched year after year with my family and it has become a tradition that I always look forward to. And with this movie comes the very important theme that Ebenezer Scrooge takes to heart and shares with us at the end of the movie:
-To honor Christmas in our hearts and to keep it with us all year.
How true these words are even so many years later after the original written version by Charles Dickens was published in 1843. How soon we forget to keep the spirit and feeling of Christmas with us all months, days, weeks, hours, minutes, and seconds of the year.
Don’t be a bah humbug.
And last, but certainly not least on my movie list of holiday themes that really resonate with me is one that I only watched for the first time this year! I finally sat down to watch It’s A Wonderful Life with my mom and dad and how great of a movie it was. How I’ve gone 33 years on this Earth without seeing it before is beyond me. And as the movie ends, we are reminded of this very important mantra:
-That no man is a failure who has friends.
Well, there you have it. Four holiday movies that I absolutely love, adore, and resonate with in different ways. And these themes are ones that I hope to bring into 2021 and live out on the daily.
Take some time (even now that the holidays are over) to watch some of these if you haven’t (or even if you have already watched) and figure out ways in your life that you can live out the lessons they teach us.
And just in case you forgot already, you have only ONE MORE WEEK until my 2021 reveal!
Ahhh!
Sprinkle sunshine always,
JP!
Mr. Sunshine Smiles 