Holiday Picks: A Charlie Brown Christmas

With snow in the forecast, temperatures dropping, and people digging out their mittens and hats, it's officially December!  Enjoy a holiday pick each day before Christmas.

Dir. Bill Melendez.  Paramount, 2000.  DVD.

Originally broadcast on television in 1965, this heartwarming and funny cartoon written and created by Charles M. Schulz is the ultimate Christmas classic for me.  Featuring the gang from the Peanuts comic strip and a jazzy soundtrack composed and performed by Vince Guaraldi, it isn't Christmas until I've watched this cartoon.  Charlie Brown is having a predicament.  It's Christmas, and he's supposed to be happy, but he just isn't.  He feels the holiday is too commercial, and he doesn't know what the true meaning of it is.  Lucy decides if he directs the holiday play, that it will put him in the spirit of the season.  With the help of Linus, Charlie Brown and the gang remember what Christmas is all about.

I love, love, love this cartoon!  My favorite scene is Linus reciting the Christmas story from the Bible on stage.  I also love the little Christmas tree that Charlie Brown finds, and how the entire Peanuts gang helps decorate it for him.  And Snoopy.  Gotta love Snoopy and his antics.  This cartoon is a gem, and a must-see with your family.  Who is your favorite Peanuts character?