Welcome back to Mac Claire, your curated destination for all things Music, Arts & Culture! I hope you're feeling festive today, because it's time for my Mac Christmas Favorites article! Grab a cup of cocoa and settle in, because this list has some great treats, books, music, movies, tv shows, art, and dance pieces that you're going to want to check out this holiday season. 🎄 Maybe by next year one of these items will be on your favorites list!
So- let's not wait any longer and get on with the festivities!
Food & Beverages
1. Iced Eggnog Latte from Starbucks
2. Iced Gingerbread Latte from Dunkin'
3. Peppermint Bark Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory
4. Peppermint Punch from OKLAQUILTER on All Recipes
5. Kirsten's Pepparkakor Cookies from American Girl
When it comes to flavors, nothing screams "CHRISTMAS!" to me more than peppermint and holiday spices, hence this list of treats! Let's start with the peppermint; the Peppermint Bark Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory is a seasonal favorite with white chocolate cheesecake, peppermint bark, mousse, and crushed peppermint... need I say more? Peppermint Punch is a drink that I found online ages ago to make for a party and have gone back to repeatedly since. It's chilly and refreshing! Here's the recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/22290/peppermint-punch. Now to the holiday spices; Starbucks' Iced Eggnog Latte with a hint of nutmeg (you can read more about it in my Mac Weekly Highlight 11.8.2020 article) and Dunkin's Iced Gingerbread Latte are my two favorite drinks of the holiday season. No hot beverages for me- I like my coffees iced even when it's below zero! 🧊 Lastly, we have one of my favorite types of spice cookie, "Kirsten's Pepparkakor Cookie". I got a recipe set from American Girl growing up and grew fond of this particular cookie based on one of their dolls. I'll include a picture of the recipe card below for those of you interested in trying it out!
Books
1. Secret Santa, Sabrina James
2. Santa Claus, Rod Green with Illustrations by Jon Lucas & Carol Wright
Secret Santa by Sabrina James is one of those books that you can read over and over again and love just as much as the first time. It's a perfect Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance read for Christmas; the book is written from multiple characters' perspectives, but their stories all weave together at the same high school. The second book, Santa Claus, is a picture-heavy/interactive book with stunning illustrations that makes me feel the magic and whimsy of Christmas every time I crack open the cover. I apologize that my book suggestions are a little lacking, but I just haven't had a lot of time to devote to reading this year. Hopefully next year I'll have more picks for you!
Music
1. The Nutcracker, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
2. Everyday is Christmas, Sia
3. Christmas Tree Farm, Taylor Swift
4. (Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag, Kay Starr
5. Carpenters Christmas Albums
My musical tastes are pretty varied, so I have a little bit of everything on this list. First off, I absolutely adore everything about The Nutcracker; it adds a touch of classical elegance to Christmas. Sia and Taylor Swift on the other hand bring us bright, pop anthems like Candy Cane Lane from the Everyday is Christmas album and Christmas Tree Farm to fill our homes while we decorate our trees. Though (Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag is technically classified as pop as well, to me it's reminiscent of the jazzy, big band genre of the mid-1900s during which it was written. Lastly, we have the Carpenters Christmas albums. This soft rock/pop brother-sister duo released many Christmas albums during their time and you probably hear their hits everywhere you go during the holiday season and don't even realize it! Some of their albums include: Christmas Portrait, An Old-Fashioned Christmas, and Christmas With the Carpenters and some of their greatest hits include Merry Christmas Darling, Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting), Sleigh Ride, and Christmas Waltz.
Movies
1. The Polar Express
2. A Princess For Christmas
3. The Holiday
4. Eloise at Christmastime
5. Christmas with the Kranks
I'm a sucker for a holiday romance movie, which is why quite a few make the list! A Princess for Christmas is a Hallmark Channel classic, The Holiday is a charming British/American story of newfound love and friendship, and though Eloise at Christmastime is more of a "com" than a "rom", it still has a picture perfect ending. Topping the list is my favorite animated Christmas film, The Polar Express (which also has one of my favorite film scores), and finishing it off is the Christmas comedy that has me laughing my socks off everytime I watch it, Christmas with the Kranks. I found out recently from a Buzzfeed quiz that it's one of Rotten Tomatoes' worst-ranked Christmas movies but I still think it's funny though- so oh well! I'll have to take the hit to my pride.
Television
1. Christmas Competition Baking/Cooking Shows
2. Christmas Animated Specials
When it comes to television shows at Christmastime, I watch two things: baking/cooking competition shows and animated specials. Some of my favorite baking/cooking shows include The Great British Baking Show: Holidays on Channel 4/Netflix, Christmas Cookie Challenge on Food Network, and Holiday Baking Championship also on Food Network. Some of my favorite animated specials include A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, Olaf's Frozen Adventure, Prep & Landing, and The Year Without a Santa Claus (mainly just for the Snow and Heat Misers and their catchy songs).
Art
1. Norman Rockwell Various Christmas Paintings, Sketches & More
2. Adoration of the Child, Gerard van Honthorst 1619-1621 oil paint on canvas
3. Snow at Argenteuil, Claude Monet 1874-1875 oil paint on canvas
This list features works from varied periods of history and art that represent different aspects of the Christmas holiday; the Monet celebrates the beauty of snow during this time of year, the van Honthorst acknowledges the religious aspect of the holiday for those who celebrate it, and the collection of Rockwell's Christmas works over the years touch on all of these things as a whole (the religious adorations, pastoral winter scenes in America, and the emergence of Santa as the central figure of the holiday in modern times).
In Order of Appearance, Images Courtesy of Amazon, Wikipedia, and Wikipedia
Dance
1. The Nutcracker
Last but not least, I must mention one of the greatest masterpieces in dance history- The Nutcracker ballet. Based on the story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffman, composed by Tchaikovsky, and originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, it wasn't an initial success. However, it grew in popularity in the late 1900s, especially during Christmastime in North America. As I already mentioned earlier, I love the music in The Nutcracker and now you know that I love the dancing as well- generally I love anything related to the story; overall I'm "nuts" about The Nutcracker.
And a partridge.... in.... a pear.... tree..... 🐦🍐🌳 Seemed like a fitting ending for such a long list! Well, my readers, I hope you enjoyed my Mac Christmas Favorites- I know I had a lot of fun putting this list together! Be sure to come back Thursday for my penultimate holiday article "Wrapping Up the Season"!
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Thanks for being a reader and I'll talk to you soon!
~Claire
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