It’s halfway through Advent: you’re driving the family wild with the list of things you have to get done, work is winding up or down (depending on the office) and you just want to escape. You don’t care where. Just to escape.

Now is the time to take the evening off, with or without the rest of the household, and have a movie night. Get in some popcorn, or use that popcorn maker that someone bought you years ago, get in your favourite tipple, some nibbles, invite a friend or not as the spirit moves you, and watch a movie.

Which one to watch? I hear you cry. Well, that depends on how fed up of the whole season you are, who you’re watching it with and whether you want to feel uplifted afterwards. (Note: I own all of these movies, and none of them were promotional material. I recommend them only because I like them!)

With your girlfriends: I’d say Bad Moms. Next year you can make it a double bill with Bad Moms Christmas, but this year you’ll just have to combine it with Pitch Perfect 1 or 2. This is definite Prosecco and wicked laughter territory.

With the children: Assuming you’ve already watched The Muppet’s Christmas Carol, Santa Claus the Movie, The Santa Clause and The Polar Express, then I would go for Arthur Christmas. This movie about what makes a true Father Christmas is one of my favourites: we watch it at least once a year, and bear in mind my children are 15, 17 and 19 years old!

With your Other Half: Elf. Seriously, this movie works on so many levels. Grab a beer and a bag of crisps and laugh away. Or go down the non-Christmas Christmas movie route and watch either Die Hard or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. We like both of them, and they’re seasonal regulars now.

Some movies are best watched alone, though. That’s The Holiday for me. I love to soak up the whole visuals of it and take notes for decor (see yesterday’s post). Or if you’re feeling low, watch It’s A Wonderful Life just for its spin on life; even if you’re feeling worthless this will make you feel good. No man is an island, and we don’t ever really know how many lives we have impacted just by being here.

And I really love Scrooged, for a life lived through movies and television. This modern (well, 1980s) remake of A Christmas Carol takes its inspiration from Charles Dickens’ Immortal Classic and gives it a Bill Murray twist. I especially love the end scene, with the music. Shouldn’t we all put a little love in our hearts?

Feeling Christmassy? Then why not read a Christmas Book?

My latest book is Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas. I loved writing it, because nothing focuses your mind on how you want Christmas to be than having to write about how you want Christmas to be. It’s available,  like all my books, from Amazon.

50 Ways to Hygge the British Way  is available in Paperback and Kindle version and so is How to Hygge Your Summer, again in Paperback and Kindle form, from Amazon.

Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas was released in September 2017 and is available again in paperback and ebook version.

If you purchase through the links on this page, I get a couple of pence extra per copy, and if you’ve already read them and enjoyed them, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. I have a Goodreads Author’s Page!

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****How to Hygge the British Way Blog isn’t monetised. I have taken the decision that I want to remain neutral and not to promote things just because. I will only ever review items that I have bought myself, or that I think will help to promote hygge in a busy life. To do this, I need support. Even just the price of a coffee adds up to a book over time, and it means I can stay independent. Would you help? Please consider clicking through to paypal.me/HyggeJem and leaving even a small amount. I’d be very grateful. Thank you.***