CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLY MANOR

"As Christmas approaches, Elizabeth Bennett (Lowndes), a New York event planner, is sent to a quaint, small town to organize their holiday festival. When she arrives, she finds William Darcy (Rady), a high-profile billionaire lacking in holiday spirit, in the process of selling the charming estate she hoped to use as a venue. Determined to make her event a success, Elizabeth persuades the reluctant Darcy to let her hold the festival on the historical estate once known for its holiday cheer. When they wind up working together to arrange the festivities, the unlikely pair begins falling for each other. But when complications arise and the festival is unexpectedly shut down, the couple parts ways and Darcy moves forward with his plans to sell the estate. On the night before Christmas, a wistful Elizabeth hopes for a Christmas miracle to revive the festival, save the estate and rekindle her holiday romance. Starring Jessica Lowndes and Michael Rady."  (Hallmark description)

SEE MOVIE TRAILER HERE

The first of the new 2018 movies has aired!  It took us awhile to get into the movie, mostly because I wasn't sure who Elizabeth's love interest was going to be.  (I like to be surprised so I try not to see previews)  But by the time the second segment was done, it was pretty obvious that Mr. Darcy would be the main man (I should have known by his name!!!)  

Mari and I discussed character differences between the 2 main men, and I pointed out that either one would be an excellent choice, as they both seemed to respect her, were kind, and truly loved her.  We liked Mr. Darcy's humility when it came to keeping his good deeds hidden and avoiding the spotlight, and at the same time he was very confident and straightforward when it came to dealing with people.  He looked everyone in the eye in a way that both commanded respect and showed that he was listening.  

I thought it was fairly good, but definitely not one of my favorites.  Mari was rather uninspired and preferred to dance to made up Christmas songs while we watched, and politely begged off of even giving it a video review as she couldn't remember much about it.  So be it.  Girls just want to have fun, right?  LOL  

ACTIVITY:  Due to Mari's general lack of enthusiasm, we had a hard time coming up with an activity to go along with the movie, however I would LOVE to hear of any ideas you may have!  And please feel free to share your thoughts on the movie as well!

SCHEDULE

Friday November 2 at 8pm CST

Sunday November 4 at 6pm CST

Wednesday November 7 at 10pm CST

Thursday November 15 at 8am CST

Saturday November 17 at 4pm CST

Thursday November 22 at 6pm CST

Sunday November 25 at 10am CST

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1)  There is a bible verse (Matthew 6:3) that instructs that when we give alms we are to not let the right hand know what the left hand is doing.  What do you think that  might mean?  And do you think that applies to Mr. Darcy's behavior?

2)  Why did Elizabeth's boss decide to take over the event? Can you name this character trait?  When someone is prideful, how might pride harm other people?  Did pride also harm Elizabeth's boss in some way?

BE AWARE:  There was 1 muffled OG

MY CHRISTMAS DREAM

"Christina, the manager of McDougal’s flagship department store, is determined to land the manager position for their new Paris location. She sets out to impress Victoria, the store’s owner, by creating the best holiday display in McDougal’s history. Fresh out of inspiration despite assuring Victoria otherwise, Christina turns to a recently-fired store employee who also happens to be a talented artist and single dad to his young son. Stars Danica McKellar, Deidre Hall and David Haydn-Jones."  (Hallmark description) SEE MOVIE TRAILER HERE We watched this one last night.  And I got ALL the feels as I remembered my retail days in Chicago decades ago (Yikes!)  And I pretty much loved everything Christina (Danica McKellar) wore!  This is a sweet movie that addresses a struggle some women may have: do you choose a career?  or a family?  Granted most real life situations do not result in such a drastic choice, but in typical Hallmark fashion, somehow Christina comes up with a creative solution.  Mari, of course, pulled different ideas from the movie, and actually gives a rather profound opinion on retail workers in her video review.

ACTIVITY:  Since the movie revolves around the need to create a fantastic window display, Mari and I decided that making a Christmas shoebox diorama might be fun!  if your daughter wants to give window display a try, join us in this project! Supplies needed:  Shoe or boot box.  Glue and glue gun.  Christmas themed paper and/or fabric.  Small Christmas themed items - maybe from a Christmas village set, or pictures from Christmas cards.  Anything that helps the scene come to life!  Wake up your inner child and show your child how to create a shoe box scene!  Have your supplies ready for one of the next showings of this movie, which will be Tuesday October 30 at 3pm CST Saturday November 3 at 10am CST Thursday November 8 at 4pm CST Monday November 19 at 2am CST Saturday November 24 at 12am CST Tuesday November 27 at 4am CST Set your DVR!  And join us HERE on Facebook to post the pictures of what your child created! DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1)  "Accidents happen.  It's how we handle them that counts."  Why is this important?  What are different ways Christina could have handled the situation?  What might have been the best way to handle it? 2)  What do you think are important things to consider when making choices in life? 3)  (May be a touchy subject for some, but can help nurture empathy.  Use or rephrase at your own discretion)  Cooper and Christina have a hard talk about when adults make choices.  Do you think he may have been thinking about his mother's choice to leave? BE AWARE: Discussion on divorce may come up.

Hello and welcome to our blog!

I am so excited to step out of my comfort zone and share with you all what my daughter and I started to do last Christmas season.

We have a fairly large family (7 children).  We homeschool.  And with a spirited and rambunctious 3 year old sister, and a 10 year old brother who needs extra medical attention, plus my busy work-from-home schedule, sometimes my quiet, patient, sweet little 7 year old daughter Mari can feel a bit neglected.  She is such a joy, and I never want her to feel like she has mommy's 'left overs'.  She deserves so much more from me!

Enter the Hallmark holiday movies!

I have found that these movies are overall very innocent and in many ways real to life.  I mean - sure.  They are ROMANTIC movies, so there is the expectation that the male love interest will truly sweep the woman off her feet with amazingly romantic gestures.  And that actually happens sometimes!  But overall, there is a strong undercurrent of 'reality' that also comes into play.

No one is perfect.  They have their flaws.  Challenges.  And even baggage.  And I love that about these movies!

Join us as we dive into some of our favorites during the Countdown to Christmas.  Come here for the schedules, a quick overview, review videos of the movies through my daughter's eyes, fun activities you can do to make your time with your daughter more special, plus a few discussion questions for good measure.  (Hey - I homeschool.  I can't just watch a movie for its own sake LOL)  

We are SO excited you have joined us for this unashamedly GIRL time!  And consider joining us in the Facebook group under the same name where we can discuss the movies and share pictures of your projects!  I want to see what you and your daughters come up with as you watch!  This will be so fun!