Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Casea Major's TOP Ten All-time Favorite Christmas Movies, The best Cookie Recipe ever, and a $5 Gift Card to All Romance Ebooks

by Casea Major


Christmas is a time of cheer, cold weather, hot cocoa and MOVIES.  Back in the summer on my blog Major Love~~~Major Romance I did a list of my All-time favorite Summer blockbusters. So in the spirit of the season, I am counting down my All-time favorite Christmas Movies.

#10.Christmas Vacation – Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid – The Christmas lights on the house makes me giggle every time.
#9.The Bishop's Wife – Cary Grant, the man of my dreams and romantic comedy legend. They just don't make them like that anymore.The Preacher's Wife with Denzel Washington isn't bad either.
#8.Elf – Will Farrell sitting on Bob Newhart's lap cracks me up every time.
#7.Home Alone– This movie put Christmas movies on the map and made McCaulyCulken a household name. Who can forget this image?
#6.Trading Places – Christmas or not, this movie is one of the funniest ever with Eddie Murphy, Dan Akroid and a very hot Jamie Lee Curtis.
#5.It's A Wonderful Life – Jimmy Stewart stared in so many great movies, but this is him at his best and to anyone who considers themselves a cinema buff it is a must see. Another Jimmy Stewart Christmas movie that's worth seeing – Shop Around the Corner
#4.White Christmas – Bing - The Crooner and his classic song. Even today, does anyone sing the song better than he does?
#3.The Santa Clause – One of the cleverest takes on the story of St. Nick
#2.A Christmas Story – I first saw this movie the year we got cable – 1986. It was a dreary Saturday afternoon in late December. For whatever reason, this movie tickled my funny bone to the extreme and I laughed until my sides ached. At the end of the show I ended up feeling the true Christmas spirit and haven't gone a year without watching it since then.
#1.Miracle on 34th Street – This screen play was written by a child– or at least someone with the heart of a child. And it is the pentacle of the genre and Christmas perfection.  When little Natalie Wood screams "Stop the car! Stop the car!" I still tear up. The remakes are good but nothing tops the 1947 B&W version.
Leave me a comment with your favorite Christmas movie for a chance to win a $5 Gift Card to All Romance E-books.
Here are my favorite cookies – because they are easy and rich (just like I like my men)

Magic Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I actually use 1 cup of chocolate chips, ½ cup of butterscotch chips, and ½ cup of peanut butter chips)
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Instructions
HEAT oven to 350°F.Coat 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.
COMBINE graham cracker crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly with fork.
BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds.
For perfectly cut cookie bars, line entire pan with foil, extending foil over edge of pan. Coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. After bars have baked and cooled, lift up with edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into bars.

30 comments:

  1. Make that a $10 GC to All Romance ebooks - In honor of my birthday (and due to the fact that they don't sell $5 cards.) LOL

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  2. OOh happy birthday!
    My favorite Christmas movie? I think it has to be Home Alone. I've seen it so many times and it always makes me laugh. We watched Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation last night and the bit where they unfasten the Christmas tree inside the house had us all creased up laughing.

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  3. Happy birthday!
    I don't think I have a favorite because there are so many good ones out there. Home Alone and The Santa Clause are the two I watch every year if I catch them on TV. Anything that makes me laugh is always a plus.

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  4. Happy Birthday. My brothers birthday is in December and he always felt like he got gipped on his birthday because of Christmas.My favorite holiday movie is White Christmas. I enjoy the old movies too.I do enjoy some of the newer ones too.Christmas Vacation, Home Alone 1and2,and the Grinch . I hope you have a joyous and safe holiday season.

    seriousreader at live dot com

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  5. Happy Birthday, Casea! I have a hard time pinning down my absolute fave Christmas movie. I will be arbitrary and say that for today it's Scrooge, a musical version of A Christmas Carol starring Albert Finny. The scene when he goes to Hell is my favorite. :) Have a Merry Christmas! (Don't eat too many of your cookies! LOL)

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  6. My favorite is the cartoon How the Grinch Stole Christmas and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

    koonie2888 at yahoo dot com

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  7. Hey Casea!

    Happy birthday, Oh Great CP and friend! I love all Christmas movies. I couldn't possibly pick one. But if you force me to--you wouldn't, would you? :) I'd say How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the one with Jim Carey).

    Have a great holiday season!

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  8. OMG! I made the recipe over the weekend! LOL The measurements were a little different, but all the ingredients are the same. I made 2 batches, one with milk chocolate chips and one with butterscotch chips.

    Thanks,
    Tracey D
    booklover0226 at gmail dot com

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  9. Happy Birthday! Oh, and magic bars are the BOMB, man! They are so sweet, I can barely eat one, but they are divine!!
    My favorite Christmas movie is a split between It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story. I have to see them both, every year. It' ain't Christmas without them!
    Thank you for the generous giveaway chance!

    Happy Holidays!

    Gena Robertson
    robertsongena@homtail.com

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  10. My favorite Christmas movie is Holiday Inn with Bing Croby & Fred Astaire. Irving Berlin actually wrote the song White Christmas for this movie & it plays a very important part in the story.

    Happy Holidays Casea

    drainbamaged.gyzmo at gmail.com

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  11. *wipes crumbs from face* I'm a Polar Express fan. Our family will watch it a dozen times this year. *reaches for another cookie bar* Not that I'm picky, I'll watch them all. Is there any coffee?

    Sherifredricks(at)charter(dot)net

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  12. Happy Birthday!
    That recipe looks delish! I can't wait to try it - thanks for sharing!

    I have so many favorite Christmas movies; the list is too long. I have come upon a new favorite recently to add to my already long list & it's not mentioned here (came on Lifetime) - "On Strike For Christmas"...Talk about some good laughs! This is what happens when men are in charge of preparing for all things Christmas! Yikes!

    May God bless,
    Trisha Wilson
    trishawilson79@gmail.com

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  13. Happy Birthday!!! Those Cookie Bars sound yummy. Can't wait to try them. Lets see.... my favorite Christmas movie...huh. Well, I have a couple. The Bishop's Wife, Prancer, the original Miracle on 34th Street, the Santa Clause, Scrooged and It's a Wonderful Life. I could watch them all year. Sorry, I couldn't pick one.

    e.balinski(at)att(dot)net

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  14. Happy Birthday!

    And favorite Christmas movie? Die Hard. We watch it every year :)

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  15. I love magic bars.I make them every year.
    My favorite Christmas Movie is A Christmas Story.And A Christmas Carol with Alistair Sims comes a close second.

    Happy Holidays

    elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net

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  16. i prefer the cookies it is very delicious..here are my top gifts for this Christmas..hope you will like it.

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  17. Your list is spot on! Your number 1 & 2 are mine as well. Miracle on 34th Street, the original, is a masterpiece with Edmund Gwenn the BEST Santa EVER. When Natalie Wood tugs his whiskers the look on her face is the epitome of what Christmas should be with its childlike wonder.

    And A Christmas Story is equally perfect with conveying what it's like to be a child at Christmas on the cusp of growing up. The father and his turkey obsession, the pink bunny suit, and the scary Santa are bust your gut moments and I happily watch it for 24-hours every Christmas.

    Thanks for the wonderful giveaway and Happy Holidays!

    joderjo402 AT gmail DOT com

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  18. Thank you so much for the wonderful giveaway!
    Happy Birthday to you! It is also my birthday! LOL
    I hope you have a wonderful day! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
    June M.
    manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com

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  19. Oh wow. Those Magic Bars look so rich! Chocolate & coconut is my favorite combination. Thanks for the recipe!

    geishasmom73 AT yahoo DOT com

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  20. Those are one of my favorite cookies, we call them Yummy Cookies around here. As for movies, it's The Christmas Story.

    caity_mack at yahoo dot com

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  21. Great cookie receipt Casea and you pretty much nailed by top ten movies.

    Happy Birthday my friend and have many more.

    Marika
    maw1725@gmail.com

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  22. My all time fav Christmas show is A Christmas story--I laugh every time I watch it.

    I would like a Red Rider Beebe gun for Christmas!

    You'll shoot your eye out!!!

    Happy Birthday!

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  23. Happy Birthday!

    My favorite movie for the holidays is Rudolf. I just love him and Yukon and Hermie. :-)

    carrieannryanwrites@gmail.com

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  24. My favorite is Christmas Vacation and a close second is Home For the Holidays. I love watching families more dysfunctional than mine.
    We cut down our first tree this year and hoped we didn't find a squirrel in it like the Griswolds.

    elena(at)elenagray.com

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  25. I LOVE all the Santa Clause movies but my all time Christmas movie is It's A Wonderful Life! Every year I have to make homemade hot cocoa and hot cherry tea with my mom's recipe of cranberry nut cookies!

    books4me67 at ymail dot com

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  26. Christmas Vacation - first time I ever saw my Dad laugh so hard he cried.

    Oh and magic cookie bars always rock.

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  27. Love those cookies. Thanks for reminding me of them and the recipe. Just went to the theatre on Sunday to see White Christmas, and it reminded me how much I love those old Bing/Bob movies. I'll have to say this is one of my favorite movies this time of year. But my all time favorite is The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. Love the ending. Thanks for the post. lisagk(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  28. My favorite movie is White Christmas. It's been playing a lot this year on AMC. Love to hear Bing sing the title song.
    lareynolds0316@gmail.com

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  29. Happy Birthday! My fave holiday movie is The Ref. Gotta love Denis Leary!

    Happy Holidays & thanks for the giveaway!

    elizabeth@bookattict.com

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  30. Congratulations JOder! You won the GC to All Romance ebooks. I've contacted you via email. Please respond within 48 hours to claim your prize.

    ReplyDelete