It's the most wonderful time of the year . . . for lists.
While Santa makes his list of who's naughty and who's nice and Tony Wade makes his list of what he wants, why don't you join me in making lists of the best parts of the holiday season?
There are plenty of top-five lists to be made this time of the year and I'm the man to do it:
Best Christmas movies
5. "Home Alone." I first watched it while I had bronchitis and laughed so hard I almost threw up.
4. "A Christmas Carol." The 1951 version, with Alastair Sim as Scrooge. There have been myriad other renditions – some good, some horrible.
3. "Miracle on 34th Street." The Natalie Wood 1947 film still stands up. Whether it's the strong female lead by Maureen O'Hara, Wood's charming turn or the believable performance as Santa by Edmund Gwynn, this is a winner.
2. "It's a Wonderful Life." Sure, it's syrupy and there are some breakdowns (if Mary never meets George, her personality is totally different?), but there isn't a better scene in film than when they gather around the tree at the end and sing "Auld Lang Syne."
1. "A Christmas Story." No film gives us more cultural Christmas touchstones than this. "You'll shoot your eye out." "Fra-geel-aye." Chinese food for Christmas dinner. Red Ryder B.B. guns.
Best sacred Christmas song
5. "O Little Town of Bethlehem." Great old-school lyrics, with solid theology.
4. "O Come All Ye Faithful." This is fun to sing and allows you to belt it out – even if you have a bad voice.
3. "O Come O Come Emmanuel." This is about 1,300 years old! And it sounds beautiful.
2. "Silent Night." Is there a better song to be done by a large group of people a capella? I think not.
1. "O Holy Night." If you want to get chills, just have a really good singer sing this straight. It doesn't need riffs and runs. It's a beautiful song that talks about Jesus' birth.
(By the way, did you notice that four of the top five have the word "O" in them? Last time a top-five list had that happen, it was "top five men named Oscar.")
Best secular Christmas song
5. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." My favorite version is by Bruce Springsteen, singing with joy.
4. "All I Want For Christmas (Is You)." Mariah Carey's 20-year-old tune is the most popular Christmas song in the past half-century.
3. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Andy Williams was the king of Christmas songs. This was his pinnacle.
2. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" People think I'm joking when I say how much I love this 1984 tune that raised money to fight African hunger. I'm not. I love it.
1. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Originally performed by Judy Garland, in "Meet Me in St. Louis," this has been covered by nearly everyone. My favorite is by the Pretenders. Soulful, sad and evocative of a sentimental farewell.
Best Christmas traditions
5. "The 25 Days of Christmas" on ABC Family. Whether it's a cheesy movie or one of the great Rankin-Bass presentations, this signals the holiday season has begun.
4. Children's pageants. Hard to find if you don't attend church, so go to church at least once this year.
3. Getting a tree. To me, the "war on Christmas" is really a "war on real Christmas trees." NPR reports that 80 percent of trees are now artificial – meaning four-fifths of us are weak. But if you still buy a real tree, the tradition of going and getting it is always memorable.
2. Visiting Santa. I love watching the combination of terror and thrill for kids when they see Santa. Especially the terror.
1. Helping others. No time of the year brings more generosity for the less fortunate than Christmas. Whether it's feeding the homeless, contributing to The Salvation Army or doing good for people in our lives, it's the best tradition.
1A. Christmas lists. See above.
Brad Stanhope is a former Daily Republic editor. Reach him at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.
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