Love Is All Around At Christmastime

     It's Christmas Eve and I just finished an Italian dinner full of fishy types of food ... If you're Italian, you know what I mean ... and while cooking that delicious dinner I was flipping through the channels to try and find something Christmas-y to watch and it got me thinking ... There are some amazing scenes full of love and happiness and joy in the movies that have been playing this past month.
     And here's a countdown of my favorite ones!

Top Five Christmas Scenes of All Time

5) Sleepless in Seattle (1993) - Empire State Building Ending Scene

"Destiny is something we've invented because we can't stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental." - Annie Reed 

This isn't necessarily a Christmas scene but I just had had had to pick it ... even if other great moments in this movie happen during Christmastime. For any girl or woman who spent any time liking any boy or man in the nineties ... whether she was ten and in love with Backstreet Boy or twenty-five and falling in love with a colleague, boyfriend, lover, or whatever ... She spent time wanting to be Meg Ryan and this is just one of the reasons why. Want another one? ... This one is definitely Christmas related.

4) The Polar Express (2004) - Believer's Bell Ending Scene

"Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see." - The Conductor

I love this movie. It breaks a little piece of my heart every time I hear a child say that they don't believe in Santa Claus. I think there's something innocent about believing in the unseen and the unknown, and in today's world I think kids need to hold onto their innocence as long as possible. Who cares if a kid is twelve years old and believes in Santa. Heck, who cares if someone is fifty and believes in Santa?! You know what? They are probably in a better place then most of us. 

3) Love Actually (2003) - Perfect Scene

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there ... If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around." - Prime Minister

If anyone had any doubt that this scene would show up on this list, then you do not know Christmas. You do not know movies. And you do not know women. This scene gives the quintessential example of what any woman wants from a man - honesty, creativity, sincerity, and a little bit of humor. While Kiera Knightly is a whole hot mess in this scene ... you know, with the whole being-on-her-way-to-looking-like-Skelator-thing and kissing a man who isn't her husband ... Andrew Lincoln is all kinds of wonderful. He's sincere and loving and, well, kind of pathetic, which makes him so much more believable. 

2) Serendipity (2003) - Skating Scene

"Jonathan Trager, prominent television producer for ESPN, died last night from complications of losing his soul mate and his fiancee. He was 35 years old. Soft-spoken and obsessive, Trager never looked the part of a hopeless romantic. But, in the final days of his life, he revealed an unknown side of his psyche. This hidden quasi-Jungian persona surfaced during the Agatha Christie-like pursuit of his long reputed soul mate, a woman whom he only spent a few precious hours with." - Dean Kansky

This entire movie is amazing ... and I could have picked a slew of scenes from it to be one of the best Christmas scenes, as most of them take place during the holiday season ... but I just love this scene at the skating rink. It's kind of magical and romantic how you can see Jonathan falling in love with Sarah almost instantly. And, coming from someone who is occasionally a cynic, that's saying a lot. I just love love in this movie. <3

1) It's A Wonderful Life (1946) - Homecoming Ending Scene

"What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey, that's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary." - George Bailey

Christmas is a time of coming together, appreciating the life you have, and helping your friends and family and this scene combines all those tenets into one. I don't think a Christmas has passed where I missed this movie, and I doubt one ever will. It truly speaks to the spirit of Christmas and the holiday season. If we all just gave a little more the rest of the year ... and maybe acted with the holiday spirit 365 days a year ... maybe the world would be a better place, at least in little ways.

So, there you have it. The top five holiday scenes according to me. Now go ahead and watch each movie ... because they are amazing!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Believe in what your heart is saying. Hear the melody that's playing. There's no time to waste. There's so much to celebrate. Believe in what you feel inside and give your dreams the wings to fly. You have everything you need, if you just believe. [Believe - Josh Groban (ft. Beyonce)]