Movies for Wrapping Presents . . .

Back in the days when DVR did not exist and one was reduced to flipping channels if she wanted a little entertainment, I watched a lot of movies. Not new or rented movies but VHS favorites in my personal collection. Back in those days, I also did a lot of puttering, "wasting" hours on decopaging, scrapbooking, and organizing things in binders (actually, I still compulsively organize things in binders). I turned on my favorite movies as I puttered and usually listened to them more than I watched them. Truth be told, I had the movies on for company more than anything else. You could probably guess the titles of some of these film companions, but I won't make you: Four Weddings and a Funeral, You've Got Mail, Notting Hill, The Cutting Edge, The Breakfast Club . . . you get the picture.

There is also a list of movies that I consider ideal for providing companionship if you want to spend a cozy afternoon or evening wrapping Christmas presents. Since I fear that my own days of endless free time in which to putter and wrap are over for the next few years, I am passing the list along in case anyone has some free time, some tape, some paper, and some gifts (snacks too).

So here it is. MEP's List of Movies for Wrapping Presents (in no particular order):

1. While You Were Sleeping: The always-under-appreciated Bill Pullman is so darn adorable in this film, and Sandra Bullock is charming as well. Plus, you've got to love her landlord and his thick Chicago accent ("Hey, I know karate" and his use of the term "underwears"). I watched this movie for years before I moved to Chicago, and I am even fonder of it now that I live in the Windy City.

2. When Harry Met Sally: Obviously, this is not a Christmas movie, but there is a Christmas sequence, complete tree dragging and Billy Crystal leaving a funny/pathetic message for Meg Ryan

3. About A Boy: Also not a Christmas movie, strictly speaking. However, Hugh Grant's character has a deceased alcoholic father who penned a holiday song ("Santa's Super Sleigh). I never cease to be warmed by the final holiday scene of family-of-choice togetherness. No man is an island indeed. Or so says John Bon Jovi.

4. Bridget Jones's Diary: The movie starts and ends with Christmas. Colin Firth in a reindeer jumper. Colin Firth in a suit. Colin Firth making blue soup. Colin Firth as successful barrister. Colin Firth walking in the snow. Etc.

5. Anne of Green Gables & Anne of Avonlea: My love for all things Anne-with-an-E definitely deserves its own post. And, to be clear, these films (and the books that inspired them) are not to be enjoyed only at Christmas. Ten years ago, I lent my copy of Anne of Avonlea to the girls I babysat for. I never got it back and for years afterward, I would remember that they had the movie and feel sick to my stomach and kind of resentful (it seemed petty though, to go down the street and ask for it back when I was like 25 and they were still in grade school). My husband pulled out the best Valentine's gift ever a few years back and gave me both films on DVD, plus a third new movie that features Anne and her family during WWI. Anyway, these movies are great for wrapping presents, rainy days, and feel-sorry-for-one's-self days.

So, did I spend this evening wrapping presents and cozily watching movies? No. I ate dinner, wrote this blog post, watched my husband fix the umpteenth train derailment beneath the Christmas tree, and worked on my Christmas cards. However, my husband is going out for a guys holiday steak dinner tomorrow evening, and I can smell the scotch tape already. NTB.