The church we attend in Plainfield has chosen an interesting “theme” for the four weeks leading up to Christmas. No, it’s not Advent in the traditional sense. Perhaps our pastor will integrate that historic aspect of the season into his messages based around Christmas movies.

He chose four of his favorites. No doubt, you can figure out one of them: It’s a Wonderful Life. Sure. A classic. The other three titles are, Home Alone**, (see link) A Christmas Story, and our family favorite, A Muppet Christmas Carol.

I’m sure you’ve likely developed your own list of faves for this time of year. Maybe…Elf? National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? How the Grinch Stole Christmas? The very visually weird Polar Express? Die Hard? Wait…Die Hard?? It’s on a Top Ten list of most popular seasonal movies. Sheesh.

Allow me to give you a sampling of what’s being released for this Christmas holiday season. True enlightenment to be sure. Along with the titles, I provide descriptions that support the releases.

Jingle Bell Heist

Two down-on-their-luck hourly workers team up to rob a posh London department store on Christmas Eve. Will they steal each other’s hearts along the way? (Awww. Christmas tears.)

Oh What Fun

Claire Clauster makes the Christmas magic happen every year for her family but her children and grandchildren don’t realise the effort it takes, until she goes missing. It stars Michelle Pfeiffer. (PLEASE have a happy ending!!)

Christmas Karma

Loosely based on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and set in London. A hard-nosed businessman, Mr. Sood, is forced to confront his past, present, and future over one fateful Christmas Eve—guided by three unforgettable spirits—on a journey toward compassion and redemption. (One reviewer said, “This is the worst film since Cats.” Now THAT’S karma!)

A Merry Little Ex-Mas

This one streams on Netflix. A separated couple tries celebrating one last Christmas together with their kids before their divorce. However, the husband’s new girlfriend joins the festivities, causing tension and chaos during the holidays. (A horror film?)

Speaking of dark-themed films, “Major theatrical releases” include,

• The Housemaid: A thriller about a housemaid who uncovers dark secrets about her wealthy employers.

And…

• Silent Night, Deadly Night: A new horror film set to be released on December 12th. (This is a movie, in my opinion, so sick that it even makes the buttered popcorn taste bad.)

Let’s not forget what is likely to be another blockbuster… Wicked: For Good! Actually released on November 21st, this sequel continues the story of Elphaba and Glinda. Note, however, this “wicked movie” is expected to be darker and more emotionally intense than the first film.

And how could we forget the seemingly endless stream of Christmas-themed movies from the Hallmark Channel? The menu this year includes the third installment of Three Wisest Men. 

Another gem is titled Tidings for the Season: A single parent to a 10-year-old boy gets to meet his favorite newscaster, only to ask him to talk about good things happening in the world, not just the bad, changing his whole perspective on life. Yay!!!

In my growing up years, we never went to see any movies having to do with Christmas. On the television, however, our family annually watched a production of Amahl & the Night Visitors. Namely, the Three Kings! (A 2025 release might be titled, A Mall and the Night Shoppers.)

Another television special with a true biblical theme is A Charlie Brown Christmas. I’ve read you can view it on Apple TV+. This classic has Linus reciting verses from Luke 2 to explain the true meaning of Christmas after Charlie Brown complains about the holiday becoming more about money and commercialization.

If you carefully review my list (not a complete one) of the “holiday season” film releases, you’ll readily notice that something is missing. Something very important is missing. Not a single one brings any kind of thoughtful treatment to the birth of Christ.

Every film is designed to entertain and make money. And in the spirit of the season, the more the merrier. The humble Savior born on Christmas Day knew this would happen. He warned us about the love of money. (Matthew 6:24)

So did someone else. Thank you, Linus, for your Bible reading. Charlie Brown…was right.