Christmas is only 4 days away, and though I have not been able to sit down before now to write a proper Christmas article for this website this year, I still want to bring you what Christmas cheer I can through the following articles, lists, playlists, and poems. Merry Christmas!

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I love Christmastime, and I love movies, so of course I have my favorite Christmas films! Here are my current favorites. Little reviews of mine are linked on most of the entries as well.

Note: I do still have many movies—especially classics—I need to watch or rewatch. When I do watch or rewatch some of those, they may end up in this list.

Warning: A few of these entries are “guilty pleasures” (I have that note on those, but you can probably see which ones!).

My list on @letterboxd: “Ethan’s Favorite Christmas Movies”

For 4 years, I used an article that I wrote about some of my favorite Christmas films, but at this point, I would like to make more changes to it than I had time to do this year. Even so, you can find that article here on this very site.

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Here is a Spotify playlist of most of my favorite Christmas albums. This list is always in flux and a couple of albums I love aren’t on Spotify, but this playlist has been a staple of mine and my wife’s for years. Also, 113 other Spotify users have it added to their libraries as well, even though I haven’t advertised it!

By the way, this playlist currently contains 57 albums and is 45 hours long! I am, perhaps, not picky enough when it comes to Christmas music!

I have a favorite Christmas singles and other songs Spotify playlist as well, but this one does not include anything that’s in the Albums playlist, and it’s even more in flux than the Albums playlist.

Additionally, here is an article about my favorite Christmas albums. I updated and posted it the last 3 years, but I haven’t had the chance to update and repost it this year. Even so, there’s a lot of good stuff on it. You can find that article here on this very site.

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Last year, I posted poems for a sort of “12 Days of Christmas Poetry.” I didn’t get the chance to do that again this year, but I still like what I did last year, so check it out!

“12 Days of Christmas 2020” on The Flummoxed

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Finally, here is another Christmas poem of mine. This one is titled “Red Christmas Kettles”—dedicated to the Salvation Army—and Fevers of the Mind published it on December 7th in a showcase. You can check that out at Fevers of the Mind‘s “A Poetry Showcase from Ethan McGuire.”

However, I would also like to republish the poem here as well:

"Red Christmas Kettles"
By Ethan McGuire

I turn my collar up against my town,
thrust icy fingers deep into my jeans,
and shrug my jacket tighter ‘round my frame.

I hunch my shoulders then resign myself
to plunge into the changing winter’s fog
and stride the dirty streets, averting eyes.

I turn my troubled thoughts against my town,
until Salvation Army Santas stand
to ring their bells and shiver through their smiles.

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Thank you all so much, and have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! God bless us, every one!