The salesman at Costco talked us into switching to Direct TV. Ten days before Christmas, a technician set up our satellite dish, unconnected the old cable boxes, and gave us new remote controls. I soon realized we lost a few favorite channels, but we gained TVG and the Hallmark Channel.
Besides previews for Kitten Bowl II, the channel is full of holiday movies. During the gray days before Christmas, I watched my fill of these movies. Two hours of feel-good, happy-ever-after ending love stories.
Even my husband got hooked on a few of the movies. “Why am I watching these?” he asked.
“Because we’re tired of bad news,” I said. “And we want to watch something less negative, more optimistic.”
Janie Emaus explains why the movies make her feel happy in her Huffington Post blog, 4 Reasons Hallmark Movies Saved My Holiday Spirit. Read it. She explains it very well.
However, the writer in me soon started analyzing the plots of these holiday movies. I came up with a few pre-requisites.
1. A bad boy friend
2. A hero who is totally opposite from the heroine
3. A well-meaning friend, angel, or relative who provides guidance to the heroine
4. A heroine with an important career, or seeking a career, or a single mom
5. A visit to the Christmas tree lot and decorating the real tree
6. A belief that “it’s Christmas!” and that because it’s Christmas anything can happen
So if you’re tired of talk radio and cable news, turn on the Hallmark Channel for a quick dose of hope. It makes life more tolerable.