My brother and I have always had Christmas Eve traditions that we’re rather *religious* about. In our sweet youth the night consisted of a dramatic reading of The Polar Express by our dad and the lucky boy was allowed to sleep on a mattress on the floor of my bedroom – where we stayed up all night wondering what Santa was laying out for us under the tree. Then came the angsty years where we would hide away from our parents’ friends who would come over for nosh and the two of us would instead down a bag of chips and dip in front of a movie. Now that we’re older we like to prepare a Christmas Eve dinner (usually of seafood, as Italian culture dictates), watch a holiday classic, and drink a decent volume of spiced rum and cokes. We’re a very sophisticated duo my dear brother and I. One year we made the ingenious decision to combine the rum ‘n cokes with the movie watchin’ – and thus, a multitude of holiday drinking games were born!
Drink every time…
The Holiday
- Your crush on Jude Law amplifies
- Your crush on Jack Black amplifies exponentially
- Someone is jolted by their S/O
Home Alone
- Marv or Harry require medical attention
- Kevin offers wise words on life
- Kevin makes a heartbreakingly adorable face
The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Jack Skellington is oblivious
- Someone does something gross
- There’s mention of Santa Claus/Sandy Claws
You’ve Got Mail
- Someone says Fox
- Tom Hanks is charming
- Greg Kinnear’s a babe
The Santa Clause
- The son talks in his adorable *womp womp* voice
- Tim Allen makes a cheesy joke
- You see someone with pointy elfin ears
Love Actually
- Your heart breaks
- A holiday song is played or sung
- Billy Bob Thornton is a slime ball
The Family Man
- Don Cheadle pops up
- There’s mention of egg nog
- Nicolas Cage is drinking
Miracle on 34th Street
- The little girl’s lisp melts your heart
- Richard from Sex & the City makes an appearance
- Santa does something amazing
The Muppet Christmas Carol
- Michael Caine is crotchety
- Tiny Tim makes you tear up
- The narrators slip/fall/have something dumped on them/have a door shut in their face
Eyes Wide Shut
- You have body envy
- You realize you actually have a huge crush on Tom Cruise
- You see someone’s underwear
It’s A Wonderful Life
- You feel a little depressed
- You feel a little hopeful
- You learn the true meaning of Christmas
the rêve head 
Steve and I watch “Love Actually” every year with our Christmas morning feast of potato latkes, bacon, and herb baked eggs….and some bubbly. Thanks as always for your inspirational blog.
xolynne
What an absolutely lovely tradition!!!