Holiday Special 2023

Happy Holidays everyone! This month's retrospect comes slightly early to share how I celebrated my Christmastime - it was filled with joy and special happenings!

Handmade Cards

My handmade Christmas and Holiday cards were delivered earlier in the month to those who bought them, but I waited until Christmas day to post the final version of the cards so my & my partner's family would still be surprised! Each one is hand-colored, have unique shiny snowflake placements, and interior card details with special stickers and hand-written notes filled with love. On the back of each card there's a number that shows which card in the series it is!

Here's the final version of my Christmas cards! There's also a version that says "Happy Holidays" instead!

Vacation

My partner and I took a little time for ourselves and went on a mini-vacation to San Diego, California! We went to the San Diego Zoo, checked out Old Town's holiday lights, explored Crystal Pier at Pacific Beach, checked out the coolest indie roller skate shop to buy new rollerblades (Fritzy's), and ate much good food. Here are a few pics from our experience!

We got these amazing seasonal Turkey Mole Tamales at Cafe Guadalajara in Old Town San Diego!! The achiote-seasoned veggies on the side were absolutely heavenly as well.

There were SO many great animals at the zoo... It's hard to choose a favorite! The weather was perfect - chill and cloudy - so the animals were pretty active. Many bleps were seen.

Chris and I got skates! Mine are Impala's "fairy floss" colored inlines - I LOVE them!!

Fritzy's employees gave us amazing goodie bags to open on Christmas!!


25 Days of Christmas Marathon

I watch a Christmas/holiday-themed movie every day 'til the 25th! Here's what I saw this year, plus my thoughts on each movie.

  • Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - Everyone is so mean to Rudolph for no reason!! It's got impressive animation, but the story is meh... good for having on in the bg at least.
  • Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - I like this a lot better than Rudolph, silly as it is. Very cute and a fun thing to have on to watch or in the bg.
  • Jingle All the Way - Sonic Christmas cameo movie!! It's very silly and I don't watch it every year, but it's enjoyable when I do.
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - Chris hadn't seen the original of this before so we watched the classic together. Chuck Jones' animation style is lovely and a joy to see!
  • Prep and Landing - A lot cuter than you'd expect! Short and sweet, very Christmas-y.
  • Prep and Landing: Naughty VS Nice - The second short in the series, carrying the spirit of the first and expands upon the world's ideas. Cute.
  • Dashing Through the Snow - A new one from Disney; it was alright overall. Boring plot-wise but lots of Christmas cheer.
  • Home Alone - Classic, and one of my faves. I think the humor is fun for the most part, I just wish they weren't so mean-spirited to each other!
  • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York - My favorite Christmas movie, fills me with nostalgia and the warm fuzzies. I appreciate watching this one back-to-back with the first one because of how the jokes are referenced. I agree with the director himself on how this is the better of the first two Home Alones.
  • Moomins and the Winter Wonderland - Cozy and sweet, a magical adventure with unique animation. I found it a lot more enjoyable than expected and will definitely be watching again. I love the Moomin stories!
  • Merry Little Batman - Funky artstyle and fun action, I enjoyed it!
  • The Snowman - I thought it was boring as a kid, but as an adult I appreciate the amount of labor and love that was put into this short. Definitely worth a watch for an artful masterpiece both in visual and musical art.
  • Last Christmas - An entire story centered on a Wham song that essentially turned into a Wham tribute movie. I'm not a fan of rom-coms, but I was glad I watched this one to the end for how things play out.
  • Eloise at Christmastime - This has become a holiday favorite for me and absolutely picks me up when I need a little Christmas spirit. Clever, funny, and very sweet!
  • Dolly Parton's Christmas at Home - This is a Christmas special from one of Dolly's shows and is overflowing with yeehaw spirit. Basically a music montage while she reminisces about her childhood, which is cool to see (and hear).
  • The Snowy Day - Follows all the story beats of a children's book (not in a bad way!). I like the blend of cultures represented in the story; a good choice if you have young ones in company.
  • Olive the Other Reindeer - Uniquely recognizable artstyle and catchy songs that make for background noise that I subconsciously sing along to.
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas - Classic Tim Curry playing a totally wack villain, plus the only time I can think of where they curse in a Disney movie. The animation's really good for a home release movie and the music's magical!
  • The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus - The Rankin and Bass version of the fantasy Santa Claus story. I like how weird the creatures are and that one of the songs is entirely dedicated to a little black cat.
  • Miracle on 34th Street - We saw the colorized version of the original movie, which features my favorite depiction of Santa Claus. So sassy!!
  • Elf - This movie always manages to get a chuckle and a smile out of me. I think fondly of my family whenever I see it.
  • Scrooged - As someone who has worked in live TV, this one will always be relatable to me. Though some of the jokes I could live without, I think a lot of it is silly in a fun way and I enjoy its practical effects.
  • Spirited - A spectacle of sound and choreography, this came out last year and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing it yet again. I like how funny and full of heart it is!
  • The Polar Express - A must see for me on Christmas Eve, especially with hot chocolate in hand! I know this is a "polar"izing choice (hehe), but I genuinely like it.
  • Pikachu's Winter Vacation - Watchable through Pokemon Chronicles' compilation episodes, the short "Christmas Night" is so cozy and nostalgic to watch! Cute and colorful for a short burst of Christmas cheer.

    That's a "wrap" for Christmas!

    I'll be making another post in the next couple of days with a 2023 Year-wide wrap up! Be on the look out to see my year at a glance, with highlights of media I loved (for anything I enjoyed this year, be it released in 2023 or otherwise) as well as plans for the future. Thanks for reading, and I hope you're having a safe and pleasant holiday!

  • Neko