Holiday Movie List 2023

It's been a long while, but I'd like to get back to some personal writing and sharing about our life through Molly and Jack's tween/teen years (with their permission). 

Each November, we create a list with the kids of Christmas movies and holiday specials to watch with the kids and alone, just the adults. Nowadays, the kids watch almost everything we do (with a few exceptions). Below is a list of holiday-themed content we've been watching and plan to watch over the next few weeks. I've put an X beside some new ones we've tried for the first time this year that weren't very good and won't be watched again and a tree beside items as we watch them.

If you have any suggestions, please provide them!

Image Courtesy of TV Guide

 Family Specials and Modern Classics

Charlie Brown Christmas Original Print (Jack Special Request through internet archive)🌲

Garfield Christmas🌲

The Simpsons Marge Not Be Proud🌲

A Claymation Christmas

The Grinch (1960s) cartoon🌲

Mr. Magoo Christmas Carol🌲X

Image Courtesy of IMDB

Christmas Movies

Home Alone

Home Sweet Home Alone🌲

Elf 20th Anniversary Celebration (in theatres)🌲

Christmas Vacation🌲

Nightmare Before Christmas

Scrooged🌲

Family Switch 🌲

Image Courtesy of IMDB

Romantic Comedy Christmas

Let it Snow🌲

Holidate (Molly and Sara)🌲

The Holiday🌲

Image Courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes

Newish Specials & Movies

Violent Night 

Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special🌲

The Muppets Family Christmas

Spirited 🌲

Image Courtesy of IMDB

Christmas Horror Movies (these are all Jack)

Krampus

Santa Jaws🌲

Anna and the Apocalypse🌲

It's A Wonderful Knife (Restricted)

Silent Night

Red Snow (Vampires and Christmas What could go wrong)

13 Slays Until Christmas🌲X

Once Upon a Time at Christmas

A Christmas Tale

A Christmas Horror Story🌲

Adult Holiday Specials

South Park (Christmas in Iraq episodes)🌲

Image Courtesy of TV Insider

Cheesy/ Hallmark Christmas Movies

A Merry Scottish Christmas

A Season for Family

Score Keeping Summer - Making your big kids earn screen time

As we near the final day of school, I am thinking about what next week and the nine following weeks will bring for my kids. While some of our summer days are booked with summer camps and vacation time, my kids will have plenty of downtime.

While I am very good with unstructured time and downtime and understand the importance of it, I don't want either kid wasting away beautiful summer weather bathed in the blue light of a screen. 

I also work from home and need at least some time to get things done with minimal cries of "I'm bored" or loud squabbling. 

The past few summers, we've compiled a list of activities that will earn you screen time, and I posted it, although my past list was a lot more basic than the one below. 

I am fully aware that some of the items on this list also involve screens. However, they are more productive than hours spent binge-watching fluff. The kids and I both worked on this list together. Feel free to borrow anything here to keep your kids entertained this summer.

Photo by August de Richelieu: https://www.pexels.com/photo/mother-helping-her-daughter-with-homework-4260477/

Ways to earn screen time in our house 

• Walk the dog
• Go to the park
• Run an errand (buy milk from the corner store, mail letters, return a library book, etc.)
• Go to the library
• Swimming
• Playing outside with friends
• Crafts
• Yoga
• Practicing karate
• Playing quietly in your room
• Deep clean your room (twice a year, the kids go through their toy bins, bookshelves, clothes, etc., to clear out old items and make room for new items, time spent doing this activity counts)
• Reading (in addition to comics, graphic novels, and other books of interest, both kids have agreed to read two novels this summer and work on projects about them with their tutor. Jack's first novel of the summer is The Great Gatsby. Molly's is The Green Mile.)
• Sessions working with their tutor
• Online drawing tutorials
• Doing Word Searches
• Learning cursive writing (even though this is being re-introduced into the curriculum in Ontario, I think they're old enough just to miss it)
• Learning French on Duolingo
• Typing tutor games
• Taking an online babysitter/health and safety course
• Babysitting
• Cooking or baking
• Storyboarding and working on one of their movie projects together
• Playing a board game
• Writing postcards
• Outdoor chores (staining patio furniture, pulling weeds, washing windows, etc.)

What do you do to keep your kids off screens for the summer?

Happy Mother's Day - I'm still so sorry...

 So, it's time for my annual apology letter to my mom. It's become apparent over the years that children have given me a new perspective on my childhood. So, here we go....

Photo by George Dolgikh: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-ceramic-teacup-2072170/

Dearest Mom, 

I am so sorry for:

• interrupting you saying, "I know, I know, I know." and then having to ask you what you just said
  
  
• every time you got a call that saying that I was injured or sick at school and you had to drop everything to come and get me worried the entire time
  
  
• sitting in your favourite spot while eating crackers and leaving crumbs everywhere
  
  
• opening up and abandoning mostly full tins of pop (or, in my kid's cases, sparkling water, ahem, Jack)
  
  
• shoving garbage down the sides of the couch because I was too lazy to get up and throw my trash in the garbage
  
  
• making you relearn math concepts so you could help me study
  
  
• crying when I still don't understand said math concepts
  
  
• putting the milk back in the fridge with less than a sip left
  
  
• throwing a tea towel onto a spill and considering it "cleaned up"
  
  
• leaving my dishes all around the house (and grumbling when you asked me to put them away)
  
  
• complaining about having to get ready for my extracurriculars, despite loving them when I got there
  
  
• putting empty pens away instead of throwing them out
  
  
• losing important things (like charger cords), tweezers, scissors, tape, protractors, only to magically rediscover them as soon as you have bought a replacement

This is just a tiny snippet of many things I am thankful for.

Thank you for everything you did for me, and continue to do for me and my kids.

The Rules for Breaking the Rules

Jack likes rules. Some of that is related to his level 1 autism. Part of that is his personality. He likes the predictability and the structure of rules. He knows what to do and what to expect and is good at it.

Earlier this week, Molly had an accident in the schoolyard and planted on her face. Ultimately she was okay - no teeth chipped or broken, no stitches needed, but there was a lot of blood, broken braces brackets, and one braces bracket had to be removed from her lip by our dentist because no one else could get her lip free.

Before Molly went to the office to call me to come and get her (and to get some ice for her swelling face), she needed to go to the washroom to wash away some of the blood. Jack stood outside the girls' washroom, paralyzed and upset. He wanted to be there to help his sister, but entering the girls' washroom was against the rules, so he stood there waiting outside, feeling completely impotent, waiting for Molly to come out. 

Photo by Karolina Grabowska: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-mans-hands-playing-a-game-6333907/

Now that the emergency is over, we've talked to Jack about how it would be totally okay for him to break the rules in this case. It was the end of the school day and the washroom was likely empty or near empty, and he could have announced, "BOY COMING INTO THE BATHROOM - EMERGENCY" before they headed in.

I've been working on a list of RULES for BREAKING THE RULES to help both Jack and Molly better understand when it's okay to break the rules and to learn to trust their own judgement. Here's what I've come up with so far.

It's okay to break the rules sometimes if...

1) It's an emergency, and you are helping someone.

2) Breaking the rule does more help than harm.

3) You understand the spirit of the rule, and what you are doing is still moral.

He seems to get it! We've also shared this with Molly for her own reference.

Grey areas like this are tricky, and Jack finds this type of thing even more challenging, but we're getting there. They seem to understand that if they are breaking a rule for the greater good and they get in trouble, they can get someone to call us  so we can settle it together.

Here's hoping for a less dramatic remained of the week!

Celebrating our First Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month, so I figured I would post something about it. Although we suspected that Jack was on the autism spectrum from when he was about 2.5 or 3 years old, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and educational assessments took priority. He didn't get tested until this past summer.

Although none of us, Jack included, were surprised at Jack's diagnosis of Level 1 autism (his diagnosis akin to what was formerly known as Asperger's Syndrome), we've all needed some time to ruminate on what the diagnosis means for Jack and us today and in the future.

The diagnosis made a significant impact on Jack's life and simultaneously none at all - because he's still the same person with the same strengths, weaknesses, interests, aptitudes, and incredible heart. It has, however, allowed us to better advocate for him academically and socially (and coach him to better advocate for himself). We have a better idea of when to push and when to let things go.

Jack is quite open with his diagnosis, is intent on embracing his strengths, and is open to some coaching from us about social situations. He continues to surprise us with the things he tries and his positive approach to learning.

When I asked Jack the number one thing he wanted other people to know about autism and him having autism, he said: Sometimes when I get overwhelmed or stressed out or even excited, I need to get that energy out. I usually do that by making what I call "explosion noises." I don't do it to be loud or obnoxious. I do it because it helps me better focus on school work or cope when there are many people around and I need a break. When I can't jump around and make explosion noises sometimes I fidget to help me focus, but I'd prefer to be making explosion noises.

As per usual, I have gone into research mode, and a good portion of my reading list is now comprised of books about ASD. I am learning a lot and hoping to share that information with the people in our lives to better help Jack thrive.

Suppose you are looking to learn more about ASD or to support organizations. In that case, I recommend connecting with resources and causes that have people with autism at the table, with seats on their boards, and as prominent voices in their community.

 

Gamifying the Wage Gap for International Women's Day?

As a parent, we want our children to have a better life than we do. Part of making things better is leading by example, speaking up about injustices in this world, and championing change.

Financial literacy is one of the many things we aim to teach our kids. Unfortunately, an often unspoken part of financial literacy is that women still make 65-75 cents for every dollar men earn. 

Stop the Party is an important annual campaign that coincides with International Women's Day. Stop the Party represents a pledge that Canadian businesses can commit to creating wage equality within their organizations.

Board Game Mimicking Real Life

Image Courtesy of Stop the Party

This year's Stop the Party campaign uses a classic family board game, The Game of Life, to showcase the wage gap's impact on the unbalanced odds stacked against women "winning" at the game of life. Their hacked version of the game features a supplementary pack of cards representing the reality of being a woman in the Canadian workforce. 

This past weekend my kids had the opportunity to play The Game of Life: Wage Gap edition with their cousins and experience its impact in a tangible, relatable, fun (albeit frustrating) way. 

The good news is we can still do a lot to help raise awareness of the wage gap and take steps toward wage equality. Making change starts with where we work and what we teach.

Families who want to play the game can download the rules and game cards for free at stoptheparty.ca  

Let's make a real difference this International Women's Day. The success of the next generation depends on it!

Click Here to learn more about  participating in the Stop the Party pledge individually the pledge on behalf of your organization.

When it gets cold outside...we eggs-periment!

Today has been declared the coldest day since 2016 here in Ontario. Since the cold weather coincides with garbage and compost pick-up, when I was cleaning out the fridge, I found an expired egg we could work with to bring outside and see how long it would take to freeze.

It's currently -19 C here, -30 C with the wind chill factor (and my car dash read -7 F this morning), so that's cold!

After school, Molly and I bundled up, cracked an egg on a plate, and rested the eggshell between some stacks of bread to keep it elevated while the yolk froze. It took just over 20 minutes of the egg being outside to get this result. This somewhat justifies my decision to pick up the kids from school by car this afternoon instead of us walking!

To see our frozen jeans experiment click here.

To see our elevated frozen spaghetti click here.

Three is the loneliest number?

January has always been a hard month in our family. We aren't winter people, and although we've tried to do many things to help combat our familial feelings of SAD, this year in particular, we've been thwarted at every possible corner. 

Knowing that we get the winter blues, we have tried to schedule many activities and opportunities to be social to combat this. Unfortunately, we're on day eight of the third round of COVID entering our household. So, in addition to tending to sick family members, sleeping in separate rooms, Lysol wiping everything, attempting to get work done, and cautiously waiting for the other shoe to drop (for Molly and I get sick too), we've been cancelling just about everything.

Image Courtesy of The American Psychological Association

For three years, we've been cautious. Molly and Jack did online and outdoor nature school for grades four and five. We're vaccinated, and we wear masks to all indoor public settings like grocery stores and school, yet in the past four months, there have been a collective seven cases of COVID in our house and counting. I guess we were due? It reminds me of the days of daycare illnesses that staggered infection for weeks, and I know that we'll get through sooner or later. Although we feel like crap, we're recovering relatively quickly, which is good.

The sun is now setting after 5 PM, and I see above-zero temperatures in the forecast. I've been absent from the blog too much lately, but beyond being sick, I've been working on some pretty exciting stuff, but more on that later. Stay tuned for fun posts on theme movie months, Ground Hog Day, and more.

I can't wait to welcome you in February and share more of what we're doing beyond catching COVID, again and again.

Image Courtesy of Pexels