Making the holidays a little bit merrier

Just because it’s the holidays and the writers are on strike doesn’t mean you should get stuck watching horrible made for TV movies. As if the typical mother-on-the-run features weren’t bad enough, this time of year there are only two themes to choose from. You can watch a woman dump her rich fiancée in favor of an average widowed father of an angelically adorable child, who would never do anything horrible like wait until the last minute to tell you their class project requires a homemade replica of a California mission. Or you can watch a career woman go back in time, trade her affluence for her broke blue-collar boyfriend, and raise children in a “modest” home with a kitchen bigger than Rhode Island and enough granite, hardwood and crown molding to open a home improvement store.

Or you can borrow a really good movie from the library.

If you like time travel films (but not Craftsman homes), Déjà Vu is a great pick. Denzel Washington plays AFT agent Doug Carlin, a man set out to determine who blew up a crowded ferry in New Orleans. He soon discovers the key to solving the mystery lies in a murder victim played by Paula Patton. Patton is relatively new, but you might have seen her a few million times in the Lost Without You video---she’s married to singer Robin Thicke.

Other good titles include the Back to the Future series, The Best Years of Our Lives, Bringing Up Baby, The Princess Bride, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, and Dr. Strangelove, or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb.

These aren’t holiday films, but these are great movies. This time of year is stressful enough without being stuck watching the woman who used to be on The Young and the Restless play the love interest of the man from General Hospital and Melrose Place. So live a little and borrow a few movies from the library. They’re enjoyable; unlike cable and satellite, they’re free; and you’ll only cry from laughter or enjoyment, not because you just wasted forty minutes of the last two hours watching fabric softner commercials.

Tabin, YS Librarian

Decking the Halls

Is your Christmas tree still up from last year because you use it for other holidays? Do you find HGTV hosts inspirational instead of exacting perfectionists who make you feel horribly inadequate? Are string lights a year-round necessity? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we have books and videos just for you. And not the kind your relatives claim you need---you know, the ones that use “simplify” as a code word for making your home look like a hospital room. For those of you who believe snowflakes are solely a weather phenomenon and not a decoration, there’s hope for you yet.

Not sure where to begin? Start by searching our catalog for holiday and Christmas decorating materials. Some recommended titles include Christmas with Country Living and Classic Crafts and Recipes for the Holidays. Really trying to impress people? Martha Stewart, the “queen of domesticity,” has both books and videos in our collection, including such titles as Great American Wreaths and Martha Stewart’s Christmas (an oldie but goodie). Even seasoned pros will be awed by your Martha-inspired projects.

This is one of the few times a year one can really decorate without too much interference, so go ahead and live it up! Decorate to your hearts content, and if you need any help, know that the library has plenty of ideas to give you inspiration. ---Tabin, YS Librarian