Holiday Movie: Sony Pictures’ Arthur Christmas

Thanksgiving is next week, which means Christmas is right behind it. We lost a week with Hurricane Sandy, and Thanksgiving is early this year. Which explains why we’re all wtf! all the sudden. I mean, Christmas?? How the heck did that happen?

I actually started doing a bit of my shopping a few months back, picking up an item here or there, to lessen that grand sense of panic that starts to set in towards the middle of December. But even so, the kids know my sermon quite well … one holiday at a time. It kills me that retail stores had Christmas stuff up right next to the Halloween decorations. I mean, really…

But if we were to jump ahead just a bit, we do so love the movies that the Christmas season brings with it. The kids and I always watch Christmas Vacation, and we usually have it on in the background as we eat dessert on Christmas Eve as well. Elf is another holiday movie that we have a soft spot for.

“Smiling, it’s my favorite.”
Work! Make work your favorite!

And a Charlie Brown Christmas.

Of course.

And now we have a new movie to add to our collection. Arthur Christmas, the newest holiday movie just released from the folks at Sony Pictures.

Madeline and I made a batch of our my favorite holiday cookies and watched it together.

It didn’t take much convincing to get her to join me on the couch. One-on-one girl time, a new movie, and cookies. We have simple needs.

The movie? Cute with an intelligent story. I’m picky about animation, because so much of it talks down to kids and leaves adults, quite frankly, numb. But this one was different. It’s smart so it keeps the attention of the adults, but it is still 100% all for the kids. Beautiful colors and scenery throughout, it’s warmly and classically done so it doesn’t drip of schmaltz and red and green. It was the holidays with a little bit of The Jetsons and Mission: Impossible thrown in for good measure. Arthur, by the way, is Santa’s son, and if you ever wondered just how Santa delivers all those presents in one single night, this movie holds the answer.

And who doesn’t love a story with Santa that still allows kids to be kids, and permission to believe in a little bit of magic?

Because we all know how I feel about that.

If you already have your holiday shopping underway, this could make a super cute stocking stuffer, or a gift to your family to add to their holiday watching traditions.

You can bet we will be doing the very same thing.

Brought to you by Arthur Christmas. Available now on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack & DVD. Although I was compensated for this post, all opinions are my very own. Natch.

Tomorrow? A Thanksgiving recipe for you.
Thursday? A delicious dip recipe that’s perfect for holiday entertaining.

Cinnamon-Nut Spice Cookies
Recipe courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies 2006

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 egg
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, beat butter for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, the baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, salt, and allspice; beat until fluffy. Add egg; beat until combined. Gradually add flour, beating until well mixed. Stir in walnuts.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I greased mine). In a small bowl, stir together the remaining cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle dough mounds with sugar mixture. (Why dirty a bowl? Use a Ziploc bag to mix the two; I did). Bake in preheated oven for 11 to 13 minutes or until edges are firm. Let stand on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. Makes about 48.

To Store: Layer cookies between waxed paper in an airtight storage container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.