Pop Culture That Inspires Us: Holiday Edition

There really are no better holiday traditions than watching that one Christmas movie that you know backwards and forwards, the movie you quote all year long… even the obscure lines. For one of our team members, it’s Home Alone. The tradition started when she was young, and she and her 3 siblings would sleep in one room while Santa and his elves were doing their magic just downstairs. The kids would stay up late with butterflies in their bellies, watching Home Alone every Christmas Eve night. 

The joy and nostalgia of Christmas movies inspire us to create and maintain holiday traditions with our own families. We wanted to highlight the traditions, keepsakes, and nostalgia that our favorite Christmas movies have to offer. 

A Christmas Story is an all time classic. This movie aired in 1983 and has been in the hearts of Christmas Movie Lovers ever since. Ralphie, desperate for a Red Ryder BB gun, is the main character who constantly finds himself in the way of the big bully. The poor kid can’t catch a break, if he isn’t being bullied at school, he’s being denied his only Christmas wish. The infamous line “you’ll shoot your eye out, kid” is repeated time and time again. If Ralphie were the owner of a PK trunk, he would definitely keep that beloved BB gun inside. His mom would include his bunny PJs, despite Ralphie's protest. 

Tim Allen’s “Santa Claus” is a household favorite during the holiday season. As a divorced dad, he just wants to get it right with his son, Charlie. When Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) finds himself with Charlie one Christmas eve, Santa falls off his roof. By putting on the Santa Suit, Scott Calvin agrees to the titular caveat, The Santa “Clause”. The movie revolves around Scott wrestling with the fact that his body is changing and he is looking more and more like Santa every day. As we all know, in the end, he is proud of the fact that he is Santa. Charlie’s PK trunk would include his snow globe from Bernard, the elf, front and center. He would also include Scott's pajamas from the first night in the North Pole.

“SANTA!!! Oh my god!” Will Ferrell’s “Buddy, The Elf” is one of the most quoted Christmas movies. The story of a human raised by elves in the North Pole is a heartwarming one, as he is reunited with his birth parents. The journey to New York City beings with the news that Buddy’s dad, Walter Hobbs, is on the naughty list. It, then, becomes Buddy’s mission to reignite his belief in Santa. In Buddy’s PK trunk, he would treasure the New York City snow globe, his elf clothes, and Jovie’s nametag from the store. 

We’ve touched on the joy that Home Alone brings to one of our team members, but if you aren’t as familiar with the story as she is, we’ll tell you what you need to know. Kevin McCallister is causing trouble the night before a family trip to Paris and gets sent to his room on the third floor. Due to a power outage, the family sleeps in and scrambles to catch their flight, leaving Kevin at home… alone. The “Wet Bandits”, Harry and Marv, have been plotting break-ins on their street, thinking all residents were away. Little do they know, Kevin is at home, setting boobytraps to evade the burglars. Kevin’s PK would contain the movie “Angels with Filthy Souls”, the movie he uses to give the illusion of adults in the house. He would have to include the cut out of Michael Jordan & his toothbrush from the convenient store.

There are just too many great movies for this season, we had to include a few “honorable mentions.” It’s A Wonderful Life has been an inspiration for years and years. The life lesson is what you think you want out of life and how we spend our days in it, may not be nearly as important as the vital layers accumulating within you, hidden in plain sight. In A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charles M. Schulz inspires us to get back to the basics and enjoy the season for the time with friends and family. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation reminds us that we are all dysfunctional during this time of year. The hijinks and hilarity of Clark Griswold continue through the Christmas season.