I love getting to roll out the Christmas movies and specials every year. After seeing other bloggers’ end-of-the-year book surveys, I was inspired to create my own Christmas pop culture survey focused on the TV episodes, movies, and specials associated with this time of year. If you’re compelled to try out the survey on your own blog, please feel free to do so! I’d love to see your answers, so link back to this post so I’m in the know!

1) What is your favorite Christmas TV episode?

The most memorable one for me has always been Full House‘s “A Very Tanner Christmas,” which I basically grew up watching every year. Something about the holidays in the ’90s just makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside, no matter how cheesy the episode is. Also, watching that clip, I’m reminded of one of my favorite sitcom tropes – where do all of the guests at main characters’ house parties comes from? Suddenly they all have great friends outside of the recurring cast? These are the little details that haunt me, guys. 

In recent years, I’ve loved the Season 3 Christmas special of Call the Midwife (although all of its specials are just delicious) and, being another show that does great holiday episodes, The Middle‘s “Not So Silent Night” from two years ago. While it’s not distinctly a Christmas episode, How I Met Your Mother‘s “False Positive” also gets a special shout-out.

2) What non-holiday movie do you associate with the Christmas season?

I’ve associated Notting Hill with December since high school, because we always had finals right before Christmas break and I watched it for the first time right after those finals ended one year. After that, it became my post-holiday finals tradition to watch Notting Hill. Recently, this has morphed into just having a Richard Curtis movie binge around Christmastime. Bridget Jones! Love Actually! About Time! It’s a heap of fun, just like the moment you realize that Lord Grantham plays one of Hugh Grant’s friends in Notting Hill.

I also love watching the first two Harry Potter movies over Christmas, since they do have fluffy, happy holiday scenes and it’s early enough in the franchise that everything is still quite innocent. I’ll occasionally watch Anne of Green Gables, too, which has such a heartwarming effect and an adorable Christmas portion.

3) What Christmas movies are must-watches for you? 

I wrote about my favorite Christmas movies last year, and those choices have remained solid.  As a nod to one of the movies on that list, I’ve included a fun clip from a longtime favorite, Eloise at Christmastime.

4) What is your favorite animated Christmas special? 

I love A Charlie Brown Christmas, which I haven’t actually watched in years. Who doesn’t love its music? Feel free to call me out on this, but I also love Frosty Returns, the unofficial sequel to Frosty the Snowman, which I obviously still like, too.

5) Do you have memories of watching a super obscure Christmas special or movie in childhood?

YES. We had a VHS tape of this short movie called Buster & Chauncey’s Silent Night, which told a kid-friendly, musical version of how the song “Silent Night” came to be. In true ’90s fashion, the two main characters are also talking mice. Looking at the Wikipedia page now, I see that the movie’s songs were actually written by the same team that created the music for Anastasia! A young Lea Michele even voiced the story’s little girl. I have no idea how we ended up with this tape, but apparently the whole thing is now on YouTube!

6) Do you have a favorite SNL Christmas skit? 

I have a special fondness for the pre-taped sketch “St. Joseph’s Christmas Mass Spectacular,” because it just rings so true about any parish ever.

7) What holiday movie world would you like to live in?

I’d love to be in The Holiday. If I had Iris’s house and job and Amanda’s love life (hello, Jude Law), I’d be a happy girl.

8) You have the chance to cast your very own Hallmark Christmas movie. Which actors do you pick to play the main character and the love interest?

Okay, although I’m well aware of Hallmark movies’ typical quality and the B-level (C-level?) actors in them, the idea of Jennifer Garner as a widowed mom and Matthew Perry being a traveling businessman who comes to town just popped into my head. It’s very The Music Man, actually. Seeing as traditional, sappy rom-coms only seem to exist on the Hallmark Channel now, this pairing would never happen, but I’m seriously intrigued by the concept.

If I were to pick younger actors, I’d love to see Aaron Tveit or Corey Cott as a love interest. I also love the very Hallmark-esque look of Nick Gehlfuss, a Chicago Med actor whose name I literally just Googled because I only knew him as the cute guy I see in commercials for the show. I think Eden Sher from The Middle would be great as a lead in this type of movie in a year or two, and it’d also give her a chance to try out a more subtle, adult role, although she’s fantastic as Sue Heck.

What about you? What are some of your favorite Christmas specials and movies? Would you want to fill out your own Christmas survey?