After all, there's only four more sleeps 'til Christmas

I have not yet had time to catch up on Muppet Christmas Carol as a yearly tradition. This obviously involves singing along (obviously because I am always singing, humming, tapping and doing stuff that makes a tune or a beat. Imagine having to work alongside that every day), saying the lines ("light the lamp, not the rat!") and crying when a puppet rat kisses a puppet purple alien thing. It's a fairly recent tradition, pretty much about 4 years old, but still quite important. Mainly because the Mule is resistant to every Christmas film except recent ones like Muppet Christmas Carol (which involves lots of songs so still not massively favoured) and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I have to go home to my parents in order to watch The Sound of Music or Meet Me in St Louis (the latter has already been on but it was shown on Monday afternoon! I'm still working, damn you Channel 4).

This year I think the Mule should be made to watch It's a Wonderful Life and I should try to watch Christmas Vacation. I've always resisted it because it falls into a category of films and TV programmes that I find extremely difficult to watch. I like horrors, thrillers and naff teen comedies but I cannot sit down and watch a comedy about a flawed character whose flaws create inescapable situations. I have to hide behind a cushion in some episodes of Frasier or The Office. It took me years and much nagging to watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles and I've still never managed to watch the whole of Clockwise or The Money Pit (the latter being my bete noir for some reason. Something about losing all that money and the house falling down. It really upsets me). So I shall swallow my fear and watch a film about a man whose vanity and pride cause him to injure himself and embarrass his family in ways that I am sure will be both wacky and funny. Come on, Kitten, you can do it!