The Most Romantic Time of the Year

The holiday season without a doubt has to be the most romantic time of the year. I mean what isn't romantic about about it? Snowflakes, sleigh rides, fires and hot coco, they all conj our up feelings of love. How many songs can you think of that are specifically about wanting someone and not something for Christmas? So yes, the holiday season is definitely the most romantic time of the year. There was a time when Hollywood turned out high quality Christmas romances, but that time seems to have passed for the most part but I have managed to come up with a few that are certainly worth adding to your holiday collection. I mean, honestly, with stars like Meg Ryan, Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz and Carey Grant, how can you not want to watch one of these while curled up with someone special? Christmas romance movies are the best, and I wish Hollywood would make more of them.There's just something really magical about Christmas trees and snow on the ground that adds to the romance. The days are infused with the spirit of festivity and joy and romance seems to float through the air making lovers feel even more in love. Ahhhhhhh... so with that tingling feeling in mind....

Here are my picks for the 10 best Christmas Romance Movies of all time, and with exception to the first two they're in no particular order.

The number 1 spot has to go to the classic An Affair to Remember (1957)

It has been said that this movie is strictly for the female population. That no man on earth could completely "Get" this movie. From the beautiful opening song crooned by Vic Damone to the tearful last scene, this movie will have you alternately crying, laughing, and crying again. Cary Grant is an amorous playboy aboard a ship heading to Europe and Deborah Kerr is an ex singer.The two meet accidentally and through a series of events, are smitten with one another after only a few days.The catch is that they are each engaged to other people.Torn about their own romantic prospects, they finally decide to break off their respective engagements and meet at the top of the Empire State Building in six months if they feel the same. One of them shows up and one doesn't because of tragic circumstances. When they accidentally meet months later at a ballet, it is awkward, yet the chemistry between them is undeniable. With an ending that requires a full box of tissues but is one of Hollywood's most memorable scenes. An Affair to Remember is one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen and one of the most enchanting love stories ever. This is Not just a chick flick, but a movie for everyone who has ever loved or dreamed of being in love. This movie is great for early morning-watching on Christmas Day with your Christmas sweetheart, you'll fall in love with it forever.

Favorite Quote:

Terry McKay: Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories... And we've already missed the spring!

So if An Affair to Remember is in the top spot the # 2 space MUST go to Sleepless In Seattle ( 1993)

OK so maybe this isn't exactly a Christmas movie, it does start out at Christmas and really has that holiday feel to it. Tom Hanks plays Sam Baldwin, a widower left miserable by the death of his wife, with only his young son, Jonah (Ross Malinger), to comfort him. Seeking to escape from the painful memories that lurk in every nook and cranny of Chicago, the two move to Seattle (the rainiest place in the continental US). Eighteen months later, Jonah can sense that his dad is still sad; and, in desperation calls a nationally syndicated radio self-help guru (Dr. Marsha Fieldstone) on Christmas Eve to wish for his father a new wife. Annie Reed lives in Baltimore and is recently engaged to Walter. Their relationship, is loving and comfortable, but is entirely devoid of romantic sparks. When the pushy radio host invites Sam to reveal his heart, Annie literally cries and it's as if her heart has been touched by "magic". I mean " who can believe this" she actually starts fantasizing about a man she has never met, even going as far as to write him a letter requesting for him to meet her on top of the Empire State Building ( sound familiar?) on Valentines Day. For the rest of the movie, fate-and Jonah-do their best to bring the couple together.This is a brilliantly simple film and honestly one of the things that makes it so great is that it's a movie about our genuine romantic fantasies and sentimental ideals about falling in love. Full of wit, chemistry, laugh-out-loud humor and romance, romance, romance! Sleepless in Seattle is a holiday classic!

Favorite Quote:

Becky: (To Annie) You don't want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie.

#3 While You Were Sleeping (1995)

If like me, you don't mind a heavy dose of sentiment, this romantic comedy has a gentle way of seducing you with its charms. Sandra Bullock portrays Lucy, a tollbooth clerk on the L train in Chicago. Stuck in a dead in job that has her working all the holidays, because after all she has no-one to share them with, Lucy is hopelessly smitten with a handsome, well-dressed daily commuter named Peter Callaghan (Peter Gallagher). When the object of her affection is mugged and falls onto the train tracks on morning Lucy runs to his rescue, saving him from certain death. While Peter lays in a coma, his family is inadvertently led to believe that Lucy is his fiancée. She intends to clear it up but doesn't want to upset the family any more than they already are, so she keeps the truth to herself for the moment. She is included in the family, and really made to feel a part of them, so then she can't bring herself to tell them the truth at all. Lucy, who has never really felt a connection to another man, surprisingly finds herself drawn to his charming, easy-going brother, Jack (Bill Pullman), for whom the attraction is definitely mutual.When Peter does finally wake, all hell breaks loose and how Lucy gets out of this predicament makes for A LOT of laughs and a few tears! This is definitely one of my favorite movies in general, I just love it and can watch it over and over. It's a real feel good movie which makes it a ideal holiday watch.

Favorite Quote:

Lucy (To a Peter who is still in a coma): Do you believe in love at first sight? Nah, I betcha don't, you're probably too sensible for that. Or have you ever, like, seen somebody? And you knew that, if only that person *really* knew you, they would, well, they would of course dump the perfect model that they were with, and realize that YOU were the one that they wanted to, just, grow old with. Have you ever fallen in love with someone you haven't even talked to? Have you ever been so alone you spend the night confusing a man in a coma?

#4 Love Actually (2004)

This is one of the best Christmas romances out there."Love Actually" is just the right mix of romantic comedy and drama to leave you with that warm, fuzzy feeling. With no fewer than eight couples vying for your attention, this movie is like the Boston Marathon of romantic comedies! The stories themselves are interesting so don't worry about the lack of good content.It's Christmas time again in London as unexpected (almost magical) things happen in very simple, heartening ways to the most unlikely people. With love lost and love found, courage found and courage lost, this movie is all about the love we have in our daily lives.The cast is led by Hugh Grant who portrays the British Prime Minister. His dance to the Pointer Sisters' "Jump for My Love" borders on ridiculous but is hysterically fun to watch. Liam Neeson shines as widower Daniel who tries to help his young stepson win the heart of a popular school crush. Equally sweet is Jamie (Colin Firth), a man recovering from a broken relationship in who falls for his monolingual Portuguese maid. One of the things that make this movie so special is that it doesn't wrap up each story up in a happy little Christmas package. There are a few sad, realistic moments but overall love, in all its manifestations - wonder, joy, pain, happiness, passion, grief... is the theme of the film. Overall it's a roller coaster of laughs and cheap humor that will make you laugh and make you cry. Watch it with someone you love.

Favorite Quote:

Sam: But you know, the thing about romance is... people only get together right at the very end.

#5 The Family Stone (2005)

For anyone who views holiday gatherings with equal parts joy and dread, The Family Stone offers plenty to identify with. The fun starts when Everett (Dermot Mulroney) brings his fiancé Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) home to meet his dysfunctional (is there any other kind?) family for Christmas and things don't go as smoothly as they'd hoped. The gathering becomes an instant disaster when parents Sybil (Diane Keaton) and Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) agree with their gay, deaf son Thad, pot-smoking son Ben (Luke Wilson) and daughters Amy (Rachel McAdams) and Susannah (Elizabeth Reaser) that Meredith is way too uptight to be welcomed into the family. Rachel McAdams shines as the little sister with tenacity and twisted pleasure who hides her softer side under sarcasm. She is the perfect foil to Sarah Jessica Parker's shy and awkward character. My favorite scene has got to be SJP and Luke Wilson getting drunk while singing along to a disco favorite in the local bar. I love the unlikely blend of yuletide cheer, petty animosities, and romantic tables that are turned in the blink of an eye.They all add up to a movie that's a sad - happy tearjerker. If you don't recognize at least part of your own family in this movie, you probably haven't been paying attention.

Favorite Quote:

Ben Stone: (to Meredith) You have a freak flag. You just don't fly it.

#6 Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

I'm a big fan of classic movies and this has got to be one of my all time favorites. Christmas In Connecticut is a delightful romantic comedy from beginning to end. Barbara Stanwyck plays Elizabeth Lane, a single working girl who writes a cooking column forSmart Housekeeping magazine. Her enticing descriptions of the exquisite meals she prepares for her husband and baby on their bucolic Connecticut farm earns her fame as "America's Best Cook." A writer, she is; a cook, wife and mother she is not. But her writing is so convincing that her boss (Sidney Greenstreet) believes her elaborate lie --husband, baby, and farm in Connecticut! So he arranges to have a sailor, Mr. Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan), who has just recovered from spending fifteen days at sea on a raft after his ship was torpedoed along with himself to spend Christmas "on her perfect farm. Of course she can't refuse her boss, but there are problems; not the least of which is the fact that she has no baby, can "only cook on the typewriter." and writes her column from the comfort of her Manhattan bachelorette apartment.What's a girl to do? Complication piles on top of complication for Elizabeth as wealthy suitor John Sloan "lends" her his farm and "borrows" a local factory workers child to make up the family she needs as well as recruiting her good friend Felix Bassenak a gourmet chef from a local restaurant to play "Uncle Felix'. He is instructed to "assist" Elizabeth with the cooking because of course as Elizabeth tells Yardley "she taught him everything he knows!!" What follows is a charming and delightfully romantic comedy that transports you back to a seemingly more simple time and place, to share a Christmas Past where a warm hearth, good food and kindness prevail. I cannot recommend this movie enough for your holiday collection. It's a simple, old fashioned story filled with good cheer, a warm cozy feel and the ultimate message of caring for other people.

Favorite Quote:

Dudley Beecham: Liz, don't waste time with him. You have to decide what you're going to say to the old man.
John Sloan: What old man?
Elizabeth Lane: Oh, it's Yardley. He's sending me a sailor for Christmas.
John Sloan: Oh, how nice... A sailor? Really, Elizabeth!

#7 The Holiday (2006)

How do you get over a horrible relationship? Well, you can drown your sorrows in ice cream while watching hours of lousy T.V. Or, if you have the financial resources, you can do what the leading ladies of The Holiday do: exchange homes with someone you've never met who lives in a city far, far away from the man who killed your desire for romance. Amanda (Cameron Diaz) who can't cry, despite being in a relationship with a man who has cheated on her, lives in an exclusive neighborhood in Los Angeles and owns a hugely successful company that puts together trailers for movies. Iris (Kate Winslet) who continues to love a man she can't have lives in a small community outside of London and works as a wedding columnist for the Daily Telegraph. The two ladies are fresh out of troubled relationships and heading into the holiday season without much to look forward to. So after exchanging emails and several instant messages they decide to swap "lives for 2 weeks. But this is not your typical romantic comedy. In a genre that focuses on true love and love at first sight, this movie takes alook at the other side: the unrequited love and the unfaithful; at least that's what the movie claims in Kate Winslet's opening monologue. Of course, men are everywhere and both wind up meeting new guys in their new locales complicating matters further because now, instead of getting away, the women find themselves falling in love with people in places they are supposed to leave soon. The Holiday, is a chick flick if ever there was one and I simply adore it! Curl up with the one you love and cry on his shoulder.

Favorite Quote:

Amanda: You know Graham, I just broke up with someone and considering you just showed up and you're insanely good-looking and probably won't remember me anyway... I'm thinking we should have sex... If you want.
Graham: Is that a trick question?

#8 The Family Man (2002)

Not since Casablanca have I enjoyed a love story as much, and though they both end at the airport, the similarity ends there. This one is about marriage, family, and the connections and sacrifices that make marriage, parenthood and yes, love, worthwhile. High-powered Wall Street bachelor Jack Campbell (Nicolas Cage) is a career driven man who has everything a man could want, or so he thinks, until Christmas Eve, when his round-the-clock routine of empty luxuries is disturbed one when a gun-packing punk attempts to hold -up a convenience store. An angel of mercy--responding to an altruistic gesture from Jack gives him "a glimpse" of the life he could have had. If he'd married Kate (Téa Leoni) the girlfriend that he abandoned 13 years earlier. Thrust into this "glimpse" of the path not taken, Jack wakes up on Christmas morning with a new life in the suburbs of New Jersey: married to Kate, raising two children (Josh & Annie), and selling tires for his father in law. Suddenly his entire world is turned upside down and it's a living nightmare at first, but the harder he tries to escape it, the more he begins to see that there are values and rewards that he somehow missed in his previous executive penthouse lifestyle and he realizes that money isn't everything. The Family Man is a romantic holiday comedy that's an irresistible what-if fantasy, that will warm your heart. Put the kids to bed, curl up with a bowl of popcorn, a glass of wine and the one you love, you'll be glad you did.

Favorite Quote:

Annie: Do you like kids?
Jack: On a case-by-case basis.
Annie: Do you know how to make chocolate milk?
Jack: I think I could figure it out.
Annie: Promise you won't kidnap me and my brother and plant stuff in our brains?
Jack: Sure.
Annie: Welcome to earth.

# 9 Serendipity (2001)

Magic can happen, if you let it; and sometimes even fate or destiny-- or whatever you want to call it-- steps in to lend a hand. But when it comes to love, and finding the person you're going to spend the rest of your life with, should you risk tempting fate with a test of that love or what is seemingly meant to be, or should you just follow your apparent destiny and embrace it? These are the questions that two people must face and answer in the romantic holiday comedy/drama Serendipity. Jonathan Tragger (John Cusack) meets Sara Thomas (Kate Beckinsale) by chance in the Christmas eve, in Bloomingdale's. They're both hoping to buy the unique pair of black gloves that are sale for their respective lovers. But it's Christmas Eve the most magical night of the year and a evening shopping turns into romance as the two proceed to spend the next few hours together, including a romantic interlude skating in New York's Central Park, were the sparks fly between them. For Jonathan, it's a significant emotional experience, and he realizes something has happened and that something has changed in his life; Sara feels the same, but is a firm believer in destiny and needs a sign that this is meant to be before she'll consider pursuing whatever it is that's happening between them. So she puts fate to the test, deciding at the end of the evening when John wants to see her again, that if it's fate that they should be together, they will find each other again. Years go by and both of them are about to be married, but each still has this nagging feeling that the other was his/her one true love. Of course fate conspires to bring them back together (after about a dozen near misses) as they each simultaneously undertake one last attempt to find one another just before they get married to someone else. This movie is so magical, I just love the idea of fate bringing two people together. It's a MUST see for the holiday season or anytime of the year really.

Favorite Quote:

Jonathan: This is the ultimate blend to drink. How'd you find this place?
Sara: I first came in because of the name: Serendipity. It's one of my favorite words.
Jonathan: It is? Why?
Sara: It's such a nice sounding word for what it means: a fortunate accident.

Well there you have it, my picks for the err.. 9 best holiday romances. I know that I initially said 10 but to be quite honest I could only come up with 9. But I hope that you'll curl up with someone you love and watch them anyway.

Happy Holidays!