Christmas Movie Guide
During Christmas of 2020, my husband and I had some extra time on our hands due to COVID, so we put together a family discussion guide for some of our favorite Christmas movies. Many of you have downloaded it, and I’ve loved hearing how it has sparked good conversation for your families. I wanted to share a bit about our family’s perspective on movies and stories as a means to connect and dive deeper into truth and beauty. So here is the introduction to the guide. To download the guide for free, sign up for my newsletter here. The file will be sent to you (be sure to check your “Promotions” email folder).
Introduction
We are big fans of movies in our home, and we’re big fans of Christmas. So, naturally, we have some family Christmas movie traditions. We laugh together over Elf, Catherine forces our Muppet-ambivalent children to watch A Muppet Christmas Carol, Erik trades in his refined film taste for sappy sentimentalism, and we have our annual sleepover by the Christmas tree while watching It’s A Wonderful Life (instituted when the kids were too young to appreciate the movie, but the lure of the sleepover trained them to enjoy it).
We also enjoy doing different nightly readings and Bible studies during the Advent season. We sing traditional Christmas hymns, read Old Testament prophecy and New Testament fulfillment, and look for ways to share the joy and meaning of the incarnation with others.
But sometimes it feels like there are the sacred Christmas traditions and the secular ones. Are we achieving the right balance? Will our kids know the true meaning of Christmas, or will it get confused as a mix of Bible, Santa, and vague “belief in Christmas?”
Most of us learn far more from stories than lectures. Jesus taught through stories (parables), and the Bible is one long story of God’s creation, redemption, and future dwelling with His people. We believe we’re all part of that grand story, and that story is how we best understand our purpose in the world. Not only that, but we believe all truth is God’s truth. So, when we encounter something true, whether in Scripture or a movie, we can learn from it.
Charles Dickens understood the power of stories to form the moral imagination. As he looked around and saw terrible poverty in England and the dire suffering of children working in factories, he decided to write a pamphlet titled, “An Appeal to the People of England on behalf of the Poor Man’s Child.” Thankfully, he changed his mind and decided instead to write a story that would illustrate the point. Thus, A Christmas Carol came to be. It’s hard to imagine his pamphlet reaching the millions of people who have been formed by the tale of Scrooge.
So, as we watch Christmas movies with our children, they aren’t mindless entertainment. These stories have messages and meaning, and we can use this opportunity to talk with our kids about truth. Whether it’s the sacrificial love of George Bailey, the selfishness of Ebenezer Scrooge, or the joy of Buddy the Elf, our kids can recognize and identify with the emotions and struggles of these characters. In fact, movies can be a great way to broaden our childrens’ emotional intelligence and vocabulary. As we ask, “How do you think ________ felt here?” or “How would you feel if you were _________?” we’re opening the door to help our children identify and understand their feelings.
But we also get to point out deeper themes in these stories, like how God is the best Father, how He has given us grace, and how He is our model of generosity.
Our hope is that this little study guide will help you to use stories to lead the children in your lives to connect the dots between the “sacred” and the “secular, ” seeing that there is no true divide there. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). And, we hope you can enjoy talking together and learning more about the members of your family!
To that end, we have put together guides for five movies. You will find some ice breaker questions, then a short reading, followed by some deeper questions to discuss. We have also included a box with other themes in case you have older kids who want to continue the discussion. And, just for fun, there’s a bit of trivia about each film. As you discuss the movies, ask open questions, like “What do you think?” This makes for better conversation, but it also lets our kids know that we’re really interested in what they think. If there is a “yes” or “no” answer, probe a bit and ask, “Why do you think that?” or “What makes you feel that way?”
We hope you will feel the freedom to make these guides your own. For younger kids, you may not want to read the whole guide but pick a few points and questions to talk about. Also, we highly recommend you look at a resource like CommonSenseMedia.com or PluggedIn.com for content guidelines before showing your family a movie you haven’t seen. Some of the films may be too intense for younger or more sensitive kids.
Finally, we recommend you make this as fun as possible! If you watch a movie at night, maybe serve some post-movie snacks so your kids are excited to discuss it. Surprise the crew with a breakfast movie on the weekend. Make it your own and enjoy this time together!
