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When a 4-year-old goes missing it's crucial to find the child within the first 48 hours, because they know from experience that a young child would have a hard time surviving outdoors that long without help.
So when little Karina Chikitova wandered into a forest in Siberia and got lost her family panicked, and when the hundreds of people searching for her had yet to locate her a week later they began to give up hope.
But Karina was lucky because her dog Kyrachaan had gone with her, and Kyrachaan was able to help Karina stay warm at night and defend her from wolves and bears in the forest until help arrived.
Eleven days after her disappearance Kyrachaan showed up in the village and pointed rescuers in the right direction, and four miles from the village in the tall grass they found Karina.
Karina had survived by eating berries, and had a few scrapes and bug bites but no major injuries, and the first thing she said when she saw Kyrachaan again- "Why did you leave me?"
The gifts have been opened, the whiskey has been added to the eggnog, and all you want i to stop talking to everyone who’s been getting on your nerves all day. Here’s to hoping you’ve got access to a streaming subscription service, and your father-in-law finally figured out where he put the piece of paper with the WiFi password on it.
Whether you’ve got Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime, you’ve got plenty of opportunities to avoid your Great-Aunt Glady’s incessant questioning and watch fictional people enjoy (or not enjoy) the holiday season. And by plenty, I mean, we’ve assembled a list that you could get lost in for weeks (hint: navigate sections by clicking on “Sections” at the top right of this page).
Note(s): We haven’t seen all of these movies so we obviously can’t vouch for their quality. Read the following summaries with a shaker of salt handy and watch at your own risk. And again, you’ll need a subscription for the various streaming services.
12 Dates of Christmas
Like Groundhog Day, except it’s Christmas and Zach Morris is romantically involved with someone other than Kelly Kapowski. I’m probably going to watch this right now.
Netflix
A Christmas Horror Story
A quartet of holiday-themed horror tales for those people who aren’t scared of Christmas already, from zombie elves to a demonic Krampus. Also, William Shatner!
Netflix
A Christmas Kiss
Nothing says rom-com more than Christmas and kissing. Oh, and “an incredibly handsome stranger.”
Netflix, Amazon Prime
A Christmas Kiss II
Guess one Christmas kiss wasn’t enough?
Netflix
A Christmas Threesome
Well, that progressed quickly, didn’t it? This film studies the important internal conflicts a man struggles when having to decide between a threesome and helping his friend out of a crisis. At Christmas.
Amazon Prime
A Christmas Wish
The original Buffy the Vampire Slayer (aka Kristy Swanson) is abandoned by her husband right before Christmas and goes on a cross-country trip with her kids to find work. IMDB tells me there are warm-hearted people involved which is good because there are no dogs around to save this Christmas.
Hulu
A Christmas Wish/The Great Rupert
Originally known as The Great Rupert upon its release in 1950, this Jimmy Durante flick about a family down on their luck at Christmas time was revived under a new name in 2003.
Hulu
A Holiday Engagement
A recently dumped woman employs the tried-and-true method of hiring a boyfriend to bring home for the holidays. What could go wrong? My guess? Everything.
Netflix, Hulu
All American Christmas Carol
In this iteration of the Charles Dickens classic, Scrooge is a self-absorbed mother who drinks too much and ends up hanging out with three Christmas ghosts.
Netflix, Hulu
A Merry Friggin’ Christmas
Starring Lauren Graham, Joel McHale and the late Robin Williams, this is the classic tale of guy-forced-to-spend-Christmas-with-his-eccentric-family-he’s-been-avoiding-for-years. Plus, father-son road trip.
Amazon Prime, Hulu
A Nanny For Christmas
Dean Cain makes shows up as a tough-guy company owner and a Beverly Hills advertising executive who probably fall in love at Christmas.
Hulu
A Snow Globe Christmas
A cynical workaholic doesn’t like Christmas. But instead of getting a visit from a ghost, she’s knocked out by a flying snow globe and wakes up inside it.
Hulu
A Russell Peters Christmas
Comedian takes a cue from 1970s variety shows in this “silly” and “sentimental” Christmas special.
Netflix
A Very Murray Christmas
Not really a movie, but it is Bill Murray and it is about Christmas so give it a chance.
Netflix
Back to Christmas
Woman wakes ups year after a broken engagement to find a Christmas do-over. She learns a lesson about getting what you think you want, naturally.
Netflix
Becoming Santa
A documentary about a guy who decides to be Santa Claus for a single season.
Hulu
Beyond Christmas
Three elderly men who have dinner together on Christmas Eve in New York City. Also involves blizzards and friendly ghosts.
Hulu
Bojack Horseman: Christmas Special
Animated? Yes. For kids? No. Talking horse doesn’t like Christmas, hilarity ensues.
Netflix
Christmas, Again
Who’s gonna rescue a heartbroken Christmas tree salesman living in a trailer and working the night shift? A mysterious woman and some colorful customers, natch.
Amazon Prime, Netflix
Christmas Belle
An auctioneer named Belle catalogs a hardened millionaire’s collection and SURPRISE their icy relationship starts to thaw. Christmas is involved, probably.
Netflix, Hulu
Christmas Cracker
In which we learn that there are some Christmas-obsessed folks who celebrate the Yuletide all year-long.
Netflix
Christmas Crush
Last-minute high school reunion? Check. Christmas? Check. One that got away? Check.
Netflix, Hulu
Christmas in the City
Woman takes a job at a department store to make ends meet, her Grinch boss fires the in-house Santa not realizing he’s the real guy. There are lots of abs in this trailer.
Netflix
Christmas in the Clouds
Guy somehow becomes manager of a laid-back Native-American ski lodge that isn’t up to snuff, and he’s charged with making sure it’s up to snuff before The Big Inspection. There’s also romance.
Amazon Prime
Christmas in the Smokies
Plaid shirts, mistletoe, mountains, and a history family farm that must be saved. So of course an ex-boyfriend-slash-country-music-star returns to town.
Netflix
Christmas Lodge
What’s a girl to do when the site of treasured family memories has fallen into disrepair? You better believe she’s going to save not only the lodge of her youth, but Christmas itself.
Amazon Prime
Christmas Wedding Baby
It’s Christmas, a great time for your wedding-photographer ex-boyfriend to show up to capture your nuptials to a workaholic fiancé. Right? Right. Unclear if there is an actual baby involved.
Netflix
Dear Santa
You know when you’re lonely and drifting through life and you find a letter from a little girl asking for a new wife for her dad for Christmas, and you decide to go find them just in case you fall in love? Yeah, that. AND it’s directed by Jason Priestly of 90210 fame.
Netflix, Hulu
Elvira’s Movie Macabre: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
The mistress of the dark screens a “campy classic story of Santa thwarting a Martian plot to steal Christmas.”
Hulu
Falling for Christmas
A champion figure skater is injured, meets a local ice fisherman after she’s sent to a rehabilitation facility. You can guess what happens neeeeeext…
Amazon Prime
Happy Christmas
A classic tale of a recently single 20-something who tries to start over for the holidays but (surprise!) finds that’s easier said than done. Ah, indie comedies.
Netflix
Forest of Fantasies
Despite the title, this one is not a budget skin flick and is instead a documentary about animals living in the mountains of Austria.
Amazon Prime
Getting to the Nutcracker
Documentary following young dancers from their Nutcracker auditions to the final performance.
Amazon Prime
Gingerbread Journeys
Learn more about gingerbread than you ever thought you’d want to know with his documentary.
Amazon Prime
Holiday Baggage
This film is not about suitcases, but the emotional crap we all drag around that inevitably bubbles during the surface during the holidays, especially at large family gatherings. At least that’s my guess.
Netflix
Holiday Breakup
Couple breaks up but doesn’t want to spend the holidays in one long pity party so they decide to pretend like they’re still together. I can’t imagine how this one will end.
Netflix
How Sarah Got Her Wings
A Good Samaritan dies in a pre-Christmas accident, gets sent back to earth as an angel-in-training.
Netflix
Jingle Hell
Contrary to the name, this one is not about some kind of hell-on-earth horror version of Christmas. It’s an indie feature about a large Irish Catholic clan from New York, whose grown children and spouses and grandchildren have gathered for a holiday that turns out to be a far cry from what they imagined. Shocking!
Amazon Prime
Legends of Santa
Documentary looking at the image of Santa around the world and throughout history.
Amazon Prime
Krampus: The Reckoning
Christmas not scary enough for ya? Here’s a terrifying creature of myth intent on punishing naughty people.
Amazon Prime
Love Actually
Every British person ever plus an American or two figure out love and remake a Mariah Carey song while the Prime Minister makes out with his employee at a children’s Christmas pageant and everyone is basically fine with it.
Netflix
Mariah Carey’s Merriest Christmas
Pop stars singing, actors acting, celebrity reading of “The Night Before Christmas.”
Netflix
Marry Me for Christmas
Big city career woman is sick of her family pushing her to get married so she convinces a handsome employee to pose as her fiancé for the holidays. Sounds like a plan that will work.
Netflix
Merry Kissmas
More kissing! More Christmas! More people with romantic doubts who meet intriguing strangers and share magical moments.
Netflix
Mr. St. Nick
Christmas is in danger because a lazy playboy prince named Nick St. Nicholas would rather lounge by the sea with his girlfriend than accept the torch from his dad.
Hulu
My Santa
If it’s Christmas, someone is cynical. This time it’s a mom who doesn’t believe in Christmas, then falls in love with a handsome mall Santa who is actually the real Santa’s son. Wait, is this a prequel to Mr. St. Nick?
Netflix
Naughty and Nice
Oh goodness gracious, this is another movie about a cynical big-city type — a DJ, this go-around, who meets an optimistic “love doctor.”
Netflix
Noel
Five New Yorkers facing Christmas Eve alone. Sounds uplifting.
Netflix
Paper Angels
Nothing says Christmas like leaving your awful, abusive husband and moving your kids to another town.
Amazon Prime
The Ref
If you’re going to get burgled on Christmas Eve, it might as well be by Denis Leary, right?
Netflix
Ricardo O’Farrill: Abrazo Navideno
A stand-up special Netflix deems as “irreverent” that promises “tease Christmas traditions.” How dare you.
Netflix
RiffTrax Live: Christmas Shorts Extravaganza
The stars of MST3K have a sackful of “delightful and demented” shorts to riff live onstage.
Hulu
RiffTrax Magic Christmas Tree
The classic Christmas tale of a boy who hit his head helping a witch retrieve her cat, hallucinated a lot, and befriended a creepy, sarcastic tree, now with comedic commentary.
Hulu
Scrooged
Of all the “Christmas Carol” inspired flicks out there, this one starring Bill Murray is my favorite, perhaps because it made adulthood seem deeply disturbing to me as a kid. Also, Bobcat Goldthwait!
Netflix
Surviving Family
Yet another dysfunctional family is keeping our main character from living her best life. She visits home and faces some truths, naturally.
Amazon Prime
The Christmas Card
Soldier tracks down an inspirational Christmas card he was sent to a small town where romance awaits, naturally. Or at least I think it does because there are two people embracing in the title art.
Netflix, Hulu
The Christmas Clause
A stressed out lawyer (is there any other kind in these movies?) and mother of three wishes to see what things would’ve been like if she’d pursued her law career instead of becoming a working mom. At Christmas.
Hulu
The Christmas Switch
“A gambler is offered eternal redemption or a million dollars in return for swapping bodies with Santa. Will he discover the true meaning of Christmas?” Yeah, probably.
Amazon Prime
The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story
Angela Lansbury appears in this classic TV movie about a woman dreaming of Christmas in Vermont with family, encounters obstacles, and goes on a quest to find what really matters. Because Christmas.
Amazon Prime
The Perfect Gift
Ruben Studdard plays a dad who learns what Christmas is all about when a family comes for an unannounced visit. Holiday chaos is promised.
Netflix
The Perfect Wedding
Recovering alcoholic Paul is visiting his parents at Christmas and falls for their handsome houseguest who’s pretending to be in love with Paul’s ex.
Netflix
The Seasoned Traveler Christmas Markets
Can’t get enough of Christmas markets? Exhausted all those nearby? Go to Europe with this travel documentary.
Amazon Prime
The Spirit of Christmas
Oh look, an attorney travels to the countryside to oversee the sale of an inn at Christmas time WHERE SHE FALLS FOR A HANDSOME BUT CURSED GHOST. Yes, the dream of all single women.
Netflix
Trailer Park Boys Live At The North Pole
A look back at how the potty mouthed denizens of a Canadian trailer park spent Christmases past.
Netflix
Uncle Nick
A lecherous, drunken slacker named Nick turns his brother’s traditional Christmas Eve party into a disaster.
Netflix
Under the Mistletoe
Just your average feel-good, family movie involving a tragic car accident, Christmas, and, ostensibly, kissing under the mistletoe.
Amazon Prime
White Reindeer
“After an unexpected tragedy, Suzanne struggles to put her life back together during a sad, strange Christmastime in suburban Virginia.” Yeah, sounds about right, IMDB.
Hulu
Abominable Christmas
Two young abominable snowkids flee their mountain to escape the clutches of a bad scientist and find themselves spending Christmas with some humans.
Netflix
A Christmas Carol
The classic tale of a miserly old man who gets to hang out with a few ghosts so he (spoiler alert) can fully understand what a gift love can be.
1979 version on Hulu, 2016 version on Amazon Prime
A Christmas to Remember
Two families + years of mutual hatred + cramped quarters at Christmas = this movie.
Amazon Prime
A Christmas Tree Miracle
Dysfunctional family is reminded of the true meaning of Christmas, if only you believe, of course.
Amazon Prime
A Country Christmas
Santa Claus — and thus, the fate of Christmas itself — needs saving, from a barn, this time.
Amazon Prime
A Dog for Christmas
Nothing goes together quite like dogs and Christmas. But what if mom and dad aren’t ready? UH OH. Dean Cain makes his second appearance on this list.
Amazon Prime
A Fairly Odd Christmas
Santa gets hit in the head and thinks he’s the Easter Bunny. Someone’s gotta save Christmas, obviously.
Hulu
All I Want for Christmas
Son Jesse just wants a new dad for Christmas, so mom Sarah “half-heartedly agrees to go out with several different men.” This is in the “Family” section so ostensibly Jesse’s wish comes true and Sarah is cool with everything.
Netflix, Hulu
A Little Christmas Business
Oh hey, look, it’s yet another tale of a greedy rich person who doesn’t realize the true value of family and love until a ghost shows up on Christmas.
Amazon Prime
A Miser Brothers’ Christmas
Yuletide treachery! That is all you need to know.
Amazon Prime
An American Christmas Carol
You can probably get the gist of this one without me telling you, but it’s got all that Scrooge and Tiny Timness we all know from the classic tale except, PLOT TWIST! It’s set in America.
Amazon Prime
An Evergreen Christmas
A musician’s father dies and she has to help with the family Christmas tree farm, forcing her to choose between her career and her family legacy. Sounds like some feel-good moments could happen here.
Netflix
A Norman Rockwell Christmas Story
A Norman Rockwell painting comes to life, is Scrooge-y, and likes ice skating once a year.
Amazon Prime
A Very Brady Christmas
Here’s the story of a lovely lady and a man named Brady who had a popular TV show in the ’70s that kept making specials and sequels into eternity. This one is about Christmas.
Hulu
Babes in Toyland
And adult Shirley Temple hosts this Christmas special with her real-life children.
Hulu
Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure
If the holidays need saving from a bad guy (and they always do) you better believe a giant St. Bernard is going to show up.
Netflix
Beverly Hills Christmas
Guardian angel helps spoiled rich teenager discover the true value in helping others and eschewing material goods.
Amazon
Bob the Builder: White Christmas
Bob and the gang have to help Farmer Pickles dig out from under piles of snow in time to open presents on Christmas.
Netflix
Caillou’s Holiday Movie
Winter comes to Caillou’s house, and he finds himself with new obligations like helping shovel snow, making holiday presents, and learning about Christmas around the world.
Hulu
Casper’s Haunted Christmas
Casper is instructed to frighten at least one person before Christmas or face the consequences from the king of ghosts. Typical.
Netflix
Christmas Angel
A lady and her dog need to find a job, and a kind stranger named Nick offers just the solution — helping others. Cue the warm fuzzies.
Amazon Prime
Christmas Cartoons: 14 Christmas Cartoon Classics
You want Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Jack Frost, and more, with remastered and restored audio? Here ya go — two hours of Christmas cartoons.
Amazon Prime
Christmas Classics Vol 1
This animated set is an 8-for-the-price-of-one-except-it’s-free-with-your-Amazon-Prime-membership set, including Somewhere In Dreamland, Santa’s Surprise, Hector’s Hectic Life, Snow Foolin, Jack Frost, Christmas Comes But Once A Year, The Night Before Christmas, and The Shanty Where Santy Lives
Amazon Prime
Christmas in Wonderland
Single dad and his kids move from the big city to the countryside, get involved in a caper, and make some sort of discovery about Santa Claus. http://www.hulu.com/watch/193227
Amazon Prime
Christmas Grace
A toy store gets a new rival, but SPOILER ALERT, their competition results in warm, fuzzy feelings.
Amazon Prime
Christmas Is Here Again
A wide-eyed orphan embarks on a quest to recover St. Nick’s stolen magic sack of toys.
Netflix
Christmas Miracle
“Painter of Light” Thomas Kinkade is somehow involved in this one, which is a tale of strangers forced to take refuge in an abandoned church during a snowstorm. Think they might learn some valuable lessons by working together? You betcha.
Amazon Prime
Christmas on Salvation Street
A widowed paster moves his family to the inner city to help those in need.
Netflix
Christmas Ranch
Rebellious teen is sent to grandma’s ranch for Christmas, bonds with a horse, and resolves to save the ranch from foreclosure.
Netflix
Christmas Tail
Single parents fall in love while fighting over a dog they both want to give to their kids for Christmas.
Amazon Prime
Christmas With the Kranks
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANT TO SKIP CHRISTMAS JUST BECAUSE YOUR KID MOVED OUT OF THE HOUSE?” A cautionary tale for all grumpy parents.
Netflix
Coming Home For Christmas
Fractured family reunites at Christmas in the old family home — but someone else lives there now. Awkward.
Hulu
Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas
Get it? It’s a “monkey” Christmas instead of a “merry” one! Ha. What will that adorable primate think of next?
Netflix
Dreamworks Holiday Classics
Wacky creatures save Christmas, including Shrek and Donkey, Hiccup and Toothless, and the animals from Madagascar.
Netflix
Elf-Man
Not to be confused with Elf, this one is about an elf left behind by Santa to help rescue a family from a lousy Christmas.
Amazon Prime
Ernest Saves Christmas
It’s the ’80s, Christmas needs saving yet again, and this time Ernest is on the job.
Netflix
Frosty’s Winter Wonderland
This one has all the makings of a Christmas movie, combined with a classic rom-com, so I’m just going to go with the Amazon summary: “Frosty has lots of young friends, but he’s still lonely. The children build him a wife named Crystal, but jealous, cold-hearted Jack Frost plots to keep Frosty and Crystal apart.” I AM ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT.
Amazon Prime
Hercules Saves Christmas
Roman hero of myth takes a stab at saving the ever-endangered holiday.
Netflix
In the Land of Magic
Santa and his trusty mule are tasked with saving Christmas when a wicked goblin escapes its cage and threatens to ruin everyone’s fun.
Netflix
Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas
Bionic investigator does his best to rescue widely beloved holiday.
Hulu
Jack Frost
This’ll do: “The Groundhog tells the story of how, for once, Jack Frost became human and helped a knight win his lady love.”
Amazon Prime
Journey to the Christmas Star
I’m willing to bet that in this one, it’s not the destination that counts, but the journey. Kids go on a mission to find a missing princess and a special heavenly body in an attempt to save a grief-stricken kingdom from a curse.
Netflix
Kung Fu Panda: Holiday
Cartoon panda and friends prepare for the Winter Feast and figure out how best to pay homage to their traditions.
Netflix
Lost Christmas
There’s a kid and puppy in the photo for this one, which is about a series of tragic events bedeviling a young boy who gets a change of fortune on Christmas Eve.
Amazon
Magic Snowflake
Know-it-all seven-year-old agrees to do Santa’s job for a year, and soon realizes being an adult is super stressful.
Netflix
Max Lucado’s The Christmas Candle
Whoever lights a special candle touched by an angel that visits a town every 25 years gets a miracle. Sounds about right.
Amazon Prime
Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mickey Mouse
This one sounds pretty self-explanatory, if you ask me.
Netflix
Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas
Mickey rings in the holidays with three classic stories — “The Gift of the Magic,” “Duck Tales,” and “A Very Goofy Christmas.”
Netflix
Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas
Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and the rest just want to celebrate the spirit of the season while Scrooge McDuck lives up to his name.
Netflix
Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
Kris Kringle saves the day by filling in for a drunk Santa Claus during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, hilarity and heart warming ensue.
Amazon Prime, Netflix
1947 TV Adaptation: Amazon Prime
My Dad Is Scrooge
Kids get some help from talking farm animals in performing “A Christmas Carol” to teach their workaholic dad a thing or two.
Netflix
Operation Christmas List
A cheeky tween has a plan to buy the entire stock of the most popular Christmas gift. Kids sneak into the mall after hours, and the plan goes awry when they encounter a gang of thieves with the same idea.
Amazon Prime
Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday
A chance encounter with a mysterious stranger (Joe Manganiello, hello) points Pee-Wee towards his destiny and his first-ever holiday.
Netflix
Pee-wee’s Playhouse: Christmas Special
This 1988 special has Pee-wee strapping on his ice skates and singing Christmas carols with celebrities like Charo.
Netflix
Pete’s Christmas
A kid named Pete has the worst Christmas Day ever and then gets stuck in a Groundhog Day-esque loop, forced to repeat the day until he gets it right.
Hulu
Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July
What happens when Rudolph and Frosty combine forces to protect the North Pole? My guess is they save Christmas five months before it happens.
Amazon Prime
Santa’s Apprentice
A young orphan learns how to do all the stuff Santa Claus does in advance of taking on the title himself.
Netflix
Santa Buddies
There are a lot of Christmas movies about dogs doing stuff. Where are all the Christmas cat movies? This one also features dogs saving Christmas.
Netflix
Santa Claws
Here come those cats I asked for. A bag full of kittens gives Santa a bad allergic reaction so the cats are forced to take over and do his job for him.
Netflix, Hulu
Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups
These dogs grant wishes to children in town until something goes terribly wrong and Christmas spirit suddenly disappears.
Netflix
Saving Santa
I have literally never met someone as in need of saving as Santa apparently is. This time around, a low ranking elf is in charge of rescue efforts.
Netflix
Scrooge: In Color
The colorized version of a 1935 classic that some consider the best adaptation of A Christmas Carol, according to Hulu.
Hulu
Small Town Santa
A bah-humbug sheriff played by Dean Cain (Dean Cain count: 3) sees his world turn upside down after he arrested a home intruder claiming to be Santa Claus.
Netflix
Snowtime!
When you’re a kid and you don’t have to shovel your car out of three feet of snow, optimism is everything. Even when an epic snowball fight pits you against your buddies.
Netflix
So This Is Christmas
Wayward teen finds new sense of direction when a handyman convinces her to persuade a holiday pageant for underprivileged kids.
Netflix
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas
OR SO HE SAYS.
Netflix
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Jack Skellington is sick of being pigeon-holed as only a Halloween guy, so he kidnaps Santa Claus in order to take his place. Hey, sometimes we all want something different in a career, right?
Hulu
The 12 Dogs Of Christmas
These dogs don’t appear to be intent on saving Christmas, but instead are just a bunch of dogs that show people the true meaning of Christmas during the Depression. The true meaning of Christmas HAS to have something to do with canines, based on the fact that there are so many Christmas dog movies.
Amazon Prime
The Christmas Box
I believe Hulu when it says this movie “is a poignant, heartwarming story that holds timeless truths about love, family, and the gift of sharing.” It’s Christmas, so of course I’m gonna believe that.
Hulu
The Christmas Bunny
A little girl finds some bunny to love on Christmas Eve and bonds with a Bunny Lady who runs an animal shelter.
Netflix
The Christmas Dragon
A young orphan is the only one who can save Christmas and bring it back after an absence of several years. She has a magic crystal ball she got form a dying elf, see.
Hulu
The Christmas Project
Four brothers are forced to deliver secret holiday gifts to the school bullies, end up learning a lesson about kindness.
Netflix
The Heart of Christmas
A young man diagnosed with cancer has one last Christmas, but in October.
Netflix
The Horses of McBride
A Cowboy-outfitter decides to sell the family ranch and find work in the city, but his daughter is not cool with that idea.
Hulu
The Night Before Christmas
Cartoon about a young orphan and his cat learning — what else? — the true spirit of Christmas
Amazon Prime
The Legend of Frosty the Snowman
This is a cartoon about a snowman and it’s narrated by Burt Reynolds. That’s all you need to know.
Netflix
The Radio City Christmas Spectacular
Can’t make it to New York City? No problem, the Rockettes are kickin’ it on Netflix.
Netflix
The Santa Clause
A workaholic advertising executive — stop me if this sounds familiar — accidentally kills Santa and finds himself forced to step into the job.
Netflix
The Search for Santa Paws
A prequel to Santa Buddies, wherein its up to a puppy named Paws to save the spirit of Christmas.
Netflix
The Three Dogateers
Group of dogs with catchy name sets out to find the Christmas thieves who plundered their owner’s house.
Netflix
The Wiggles: Go Santa, Go!
I am unclear on the appeal of these folks but from the sound of this title, they are very encouraging.
Hulu
The Year Without a Santa Claus
Another movie dealing with the existential question of what we would do if Santa decided he had better things to do than deliver presents to a bunch of kids who will just ask for more stuff next year.
Amazon
White Christmas
Irving Berlin’s classic 1954 film about war buddies who fall for a pair of sisters at a resort owned by their former commanding officer. Singing! Dancing! Snow!
Netflix
Fireplace for Your Home
Classic, self-explanatory.
Netflix
Fireplace and Melodies for the Holidays
Fire and music, ooooh!
Netflix
Fireplace for Your Home Presents: Christmas Music edition
Probably like the Netflix version, but on Amazon Prime instead.
Amazon
Fireplace 4K: Crackling Birchwood from Fireplace for Your Home
Turning things up a notch, tech-wise.
Netflix
Fireplace for Your Home: Holiday Edition
A crackling fireplace in HD.
Hulu
Christmas in Vienna
Annual Christmas concert held in Vienna, featuring “a quartet of the best international vocalists,” accompanied by the ORF Radio-Symphonic Orchestra Vienna, the Vienna Singing Academy, and the Vienna Boys Choir.
Amazon Prime
Christmas Traditions
A series of festive light displays accompanied by Christmas songs performed in a Celtic style
Hulu
Christmas Village
Christmas in a quaint village setting, filmed in high-definition.
Hulu
Clint Denn’s Christmas Time Cruise in Europe
I’m not here to judge you. So if you want to watch some guys film a cruise on the Danube River through the heart of Europe at Christmastime, go for it.
Amazon Prime
Holiday Lights
“Showcasing traditional holiday decor filmed in a stately Queen Anne-style mansion, accompanied your favorite Christmas songs performed on guitar and violin.”
Hulu
Home For Christmas
Images, music, holiday memories, instrumental versions of 17 Christmas classics. Still better than talking to Uncle Stu.
Amazon Prime
Magical Christmas
Holiday decor in a stately mansion, all in HD. Accompanied by The Nutcracker & Swan Lake.
Hulu
Winter Splendor
“Discover the splendor of winter set high in the mountains and filmed in high-definition.”
Hulu
Slow TV
Edge-of-your seat programming includes National Firewood Night, National Firewood Evening, National Knitting Night, National Knitting Evening, and of course, that classic, National Firewood Morning.
Netflix
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If you’ve always wanted to be the kind of person that wears actual pajamas to bed instead of an old t-shirt from college and boxers, Amazon’s one-day deal on a boatload of PJ sets may be able to help out. Slip into something more comfortable, like flannel pants. Or get something Disney-fied for the kids in your life.
When my two daughters were younger, they thought of me as some kind of novelty-producing machine. I was expected to perform on demand when they ask for stories about my childhood (which must be “creepy, interesting, and real” or they don’t count), magic tricks, or a “show” involving mouth sounds, finger-snapping, and expenditure of many calories on my part.
I eventually stumbled on Be the Coolest Dad on the Block. Subtitled “All of the Tricks, Games, Puzzles and Jokes You Need to Impress Your Kids (and keep them entertained for years to come!),” this book is filled with stuff that delighted my kids. The authors manage to cram an awful lot of great ideas into 186-pages. There are things to make, like bows and arrow, fire-starting kits, garbage bag kites, and instructions for making animated movies with Lego bricks. There are games to play on in cars and on plane rides and answers to questions like “Why is the sky blue?” and “Why is the sea salty?” I like the list of “misconceptions” the authors encourage you to share with your kids (“There’s a parallel universe on the other side of mirrors where people exactly like us do exactly the same things.”)
The first thing we did was make a duck call out of a drinking straw. We then modified it by poking holes in the straw so we could vary the pitch. My nine-year-old loves the “quick-fire puzzles” (Example: A man buys several loaves of bread at $1 a loaf and sells them at 25 cents a loaf. He does it again and again. Entirely as a result of this, he becomes a millionaire. How? ). I made her guess for a few minutes before giving her the answer.
Now that I have young nieces and nephews, I need to re-read it.
-- Mark Frauenfelder
Be the Coolest Dad on the Block ($12)
By Simon Rose and Steve Caplin
2006, 192 pages
Available from Amazon
Sample Excerpts:
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I use solderless breadboards to prototype electronic circuits. Once I get a circuit that works and I want to solder the components together to make it permanent, I’ve found that the most foolproof way to do it is with one of these Perma-Proto Breadboard printed circuit boards. They have the same traces and letter-number system as a regular breadboard. I just a remove a component from the solderless board and put it in the same spot on the Perma Proto Board, solder, and repeat until there are no components or jumper wires left on the solderless board.
The half-sized boards are cheaper than the full-sized boards, and have enough through holes for the kinds of circuits I build. A prototype printed circuit board like this is much cheaper, but I am willing to pay to avoid time-consuming debugging.
-- Mark Frauenfelder
Adafruit Perma-Proto Half-sized Breadboard PCB – 3 Pack ($14)
Available from Amazon
When using the whirling blades of a food processor to prepare a meal, you assume that the common kitchen appliance is not going to put shards of its steel blades in your food, causing you pain and injury. Yet Cuisinart has recalled 8.3 million food processors in the United States and Canada that pose a risk of exactly that kind of problem.
That’s not a typo: the total really is 8 million. Conair, owner of the Cuisinart brand, is recalling food processors with riveted blades that the company sold between July 1996 and December 2015.
The company told the Consumer Product Safety Commission that it has received 69 reports of blades shattering in action, including 30 reported injuries to the teeth and mouths of people eating food from affected food processors.
Here’s a list of affected models, but you can also simply check the blade and look for four rivets that hold the two blades together. Does it resemble the photo at the top of this post? If it does, you’ll probably need to send away for a replacement blade.
Affected models: CFP-9, CFP-11, DFP-7, DFP-11, DFP-14, DLC-5, DLC-7, DLC-8, DLC-10, DLC-XP, DLC-2007, DLC-2009, DLC-2011, DLC-2014, DLC-3011, DLC-3014, EV-7, EV-10, EV-11, EV-14, KFP-7 and MP-14
If you have questions about the recall or to get your replacement blade, visit the recall site (which is down right now, at least from Consumerist HQ) or call Conair at 877-339-2534.
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I’ve been using one of these for well over 10 years. In general, I do not buy paper towels or wipes or any such disposable items. And I have always washed and tried to re-use plastic bags. But until I found this tool, I would lay them on the counter or in the dish drain and it would take a couple days – and even then, not completely – and they would be stuck together. With this, they dry over night and the bags are ready to use the next day. With this, a box of ziplock bags can last an eternity, saving me and the planet a lot of money! There are other types available, but I think this is the most space saving, since the prongs go up into the air. The diameter of the base is less than 2 inches.
-- Sheila Rao
Plastic Bag & Bottle Dryer ($16)
Available from Amazon
Fiction's famous characters* could have benefitted from our golden era of easy fixes. Learn from what they didn't know.
1. An orphan forced to toil endlessly in a savage workhouse, you're constantly hungry and exhausted. After a game of chance with fellow orphans, you ask for more gruel from the wicked beadle Mr. Bumble, who denies your request.
#Lifehack: Build a “yes” ladder. People are more inclined to agree to favors if they’ve already answered in the affirmative to a series of lower-stakes inquiries. Start by asking Mr. Bumble simple questions like, “Are orphans good at picking oakum?” before moving to the riskier request for more food.
2. You and your Greaser friend Johnny hide out in an abandoned church in the country after Johnny stabs and kills a Soc during a fight. The church catches on fire with a group of children inside, and you and Johnny try to rescue them.
#Lifehack: Make your own fire extinguisher from household items. Pour 12 ounces of white vinegar into a jar. Loosely place a paper towel over the jar. Wrap a rubber band around the jar’s lip, then scoop 2 tablespoons of baking soda into the towel. Replace the lid. In case of fire, shake the jar, then open and pour over the blaze.
3. As a handsome young man in Victorian England, beauty and the pursuits of pleasure rule your life. Even as your narcissism hurts the people you love, you becomes more self-obsessed and isolated. The ravages of age are magically transferred to a portrait locked in the attic, and you maintain your good looks and youth as your world crumbles around you, sending you into an emotional tailspin.
#Lifehack: Make your own face scrub with lemon juice, ground-up oatmeal, sugar, kosher salt, honey, and olive oil. An abrasive face scrub removes dead skin from pores where dirt and grease may be hiding. This at-home remedy keeps wrinkles away without costing you your moral center.
4. During an ill-advised hike through the Yukon in the dead of winter, you fall through a sheet of ice, soaking your legs in freezing water. Building a fire is now crucial, but you fumble with the matches due to creeping hypothermia.
#Lifehack: Doritos make for surprisingly good kindling. They’re fried in oil, which ignites easily. Also, rubbing a 9-volt battery on steel wool creates a short circuit, sending the battery’s currents coursing through the metals and turning the bundle incandescent in seconds.
5. You keep hearing the thumping heart of your neighbor, which is driving you crazy, literally. (It doesn’t help that he’s dead, and also, that you murdered him.)
#Lifehack: A white noise machine can help even the most restless sleeper. By providing a constant level of volume and frequency, it drowns out bothersome abrupt sounds that force your brain to identify something new, which disrupts your sleep. (A fan can provide the same constant hum.) Also, try layering a rubber floor mat underneath a heavy area rug to soundproof your floor—and whatever you have buried under it.
6. Your moody son, Hamlet, is feuding with your new husband, Claudius, whom Hamlet suspects of murdering your ex to assume the throne. Claudius hatches a plan to have Hamlet fence with the son of the king’s council, who will use a poison-tipped lance. He also prepares Hamlet a drink spiked with poison, but in the commotion—whoops!—you accidentally drinks the concoction. “No, no, the drink, the drink—O my dear Hamlet! The drink, the drink! I am poisoned,” you say. Then you die.
#Lifehack: Keep a hair tie or rubber band around your wrist. Slip it around your drink so you know which is yours.
7. When your bratty cousin John attacks you, you fight back, but his pill of a mother catches you and locks you in the red room, where your beloved uncle died. Later, you're sent to a home for orphans.
#Lifehack: Pick the lock using hairpins. Bend one 60 degrees a centimeter from its end. Insert in lock; apply torque. Straighten other hairpin. Bite off nub; slide that end into keyhole. Maneuver to catch the lock’s barrel. Open the door; beat up cousin.
*1. Oliver in Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist. 2. Ponyboy in S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. 3. Dorian in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. 4. Unnamed man in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire.” 5. Unnamed narrator in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” 6. Gertrude in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” 7. Jane in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.
________________________________
The article above by Nick Greene with illustrations by Mike Rogalski appeared in the the November 2015 issue of mental_floss magazine. It is reprinted here with permission.
Don't forget to feed your brain by visiting mental_floss' extremely entertaining website and blog today for more! 
Making fun of other people usually doesn’t make them feel good. However, some friendly teasing between people in a romantic relationship can actually be a healthy way to approach conflict.
If you’re looking for something to do the day after Thanksgiving, aside from eating leftovers and shopping, consider visiting a local state park. Many of them are free that day.
It's arguable about whether or not this is the largest sushi roll or ever as it has to compete against the longest (8,273 feet long) roll, but either way, it still is pretty damn impressive. This crazy beast was built by the Sushi Chef Institute for a Japanese Food Festival. You gotta admit that having sushi that's so massive it has to be cut like a cake is certainly a unique experience if nothing else.
Via Thrillist
Cauliflower is a really awesome vegetable that can be used to replace carbier fare in recipes. If you can’t or don’t eat bread, but still want a flavorful, homey side for your turkey, consider making this cauliflower “stuffing” from delish. (Technically I think this would be a “dressing,” but I’ll let it slide.)
So you decided to jump on the bandwagon and try Whole30. Congratulations! Once you've read the guidelines to the program and prepped your kitchen, it's time to get meal planning. You'll find it very difficult to eat anything at all if you don't have a plan and some ingredients prepped in the fridge.
The first rule of doing Whole30 is to always check the ingredient list on whatever you're buying. You might know that Whole30 says you must abstain from eating grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, and alcohol for 30 days, but it gets more complicated when you break it down to the ingredient level. For example, things like bacon and marinara sauce seem innocent enough, but they might not be Whole30-compliant because they have added sugar or other additives.
I've gathered a list of Kitchn's very best Whole30-friendly recipes so you don't go hungry on your month-long journey. Almost all of these recipes require no substitutions (I'll let you know when you need to use ghee for example, instead of butter), but you still need to check your ingredients at the grocery store to make sure everything works for Whole30.
<p><a href='http://www.thekitchn.com/21-delicious-whole30-friendly-recipes-238591'><strong>READ MORE »</strong></a></p>Salt and vinegar chips are pretty irresistible. There's something about the oily, crunchy fried potato chips balanced by tangy vinegar and plenty of salt that just keeps you coming back for more.
But this snack skews much healthier. Inspired by salt & vinegar chips, Brussels sprout leaves are sautéed in a mixture of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and sea salt.
Are they as crunchy? No. Are they a direct substitute? No. Are they delicious? Yes. Your kids will love them, and so will you.
<p><a href='http://www.thekitchn.com/salt-amp-vinegar-chips-get-a-healthy-makeover-238450'><strong>READ MORE »</strong></a></p>This savory tart is a stunner — there's no denying that. Blossoms made of butternut squash ribbons, sage- and garlic-flecked ricotta, and a tender olive oil crust make for a dish that's 100 percent worthy of any and all Thanksgiving dinners. But the best part? Your guests will appreciate just how fancy it looks, but they'll never know just how easy it is to make.
<p><a href='http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-butternut-squash-rose-tart-237085'><strong>READ MORE »</strong></a></p>
If you’ve been thinking about trying your hand at 3D printing, this deal offers a great excuse to take up the hobby.
Call it stuffing. Call it dressing. Either way, there is no doubt that it is one of the most iconic dishes on the holiday table.
Here is a version that’s perfect for any gluten-free or Paleo guests at your table!
This stuffing is full of rich ingredients, like sweet potatoes and ground pork, and it has plenty of big holiday flavor. And yes, it’s great with turkey!
Continue reading "Sweet Potato & Pork Thanksgiving Stuffing (Paleo, Gluten-Free)" »
The good news, for cashews, is that they’ve recently become a lot more popular than other tree nuts like pistachios and walnuts (sorry, pistachios and walnuts). But the bad news, for consumers, is that that spike in popularity is putting a strain on the global cashew supply, which could cause an uptick in prices for consumers.
Global demand for cashews has been growing faster than any other tree nut, including almonds, Bloomberg reports: demand has grown by 53% since 2010, and outstripped production in at least four of the past seven years. A drought in Vietnam, the world’s largest exporter, is stirring worries that supplies will be tight enough to push prices up.
This year’s cashew harvest in Vietnam is down by 11%, and prices in that country have already gone up by as much as a third, according to estimates from a growers’ group, which mean trouble ahead stateside: the U.S. is the biggest importer — bringing in about a quarter of all cashew shipments — with folks eating them as snacks or using them to make protein bars and cashew milk.
“There’s been no year like this year,” Nguyen Duc Thanh, chairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association, told Bloomberg.
He says prices will probably stay high until the next harvest comes in early 2017.
Although Vietnam exports about 58% of the world’s cashews, the country isn’t totally dependent on its own growers: about two-thirds of the cashews it processes were grown somewhere else — like West Africa, which has seen a big jump in production — and are then processed in Vietnam.
That being said, high demand is still putting stress on the processed nuts market, with export prices jumping 22% this year through August, Thanh said, and other experts say global demand will keep rising this year, against supply that will remain flat or slightly below last year.
Cashew Prices Are About to Go Nuts [Bloomberg]
Do you miss Alton Brown's classic cooking show Good Eats? You're about to get more of it... and then some. In a live chat with fans, Brown has revealed that his previously hinted-at internet cooking show will be a spiritual sequel to Good Eats, but w...
Squash should be one of the most widely eaten foods during the fall and winter months, since it's on all the seasonal advertising and decor.
But aside from pumpkin pies people don't eat as much squash as they should during the holidays, and that's a crying shame because squash is super tasty!
Whether it's mashed, fried, stuffed, roasted or tossed in a salad, squash makes a great new veg addition to your fall and winter feasts.
But why stop with the obvious when you can serve up some delicious bacon, spaghetti squash and parmesan fritters? *drool*
How much time should kids be allowed to stare into their screens like zombies? New guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics upturns conventional thinking on the matter, showing that a sweeping one-size-fits-all approach is not the right way for parents to go about limiting their children’s screen time.
Many years ago, I ran a vegetarian restaurant in Bloomington, Indiana. One of our Indian friends and customers gave me this recipe, which I’ve revised over the years. (Thank you, Santosh, wherever you are!)
This is a nice curry for a weeknight since it doesn’t involve too much heavy lifting. There are many versions in India, of course, but this one makes a substantial vegetarian meal.
The official name for this dish is “shahi” cauliflower curry. The word shahi roughly translates as “royal,” and it is indeed a royal dish!
Continue reading "Turmeric Cauliflower Curry" »
