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.