Christmas Films: The most wonderful time of the year for family flicks

GP and owner of online bookshop geniusjuniors.ie, Dr Christina McDonnell is mum to a four-year-old girl and 10-month-old boy.

“I’m looking forward to the seasonal special adapted from Julia Donaldson’s books. We love her books and it’s so exciting to see them become a reality on the screen. Last year it was The Smeds and The Smoos. It’s Tabby McTat this year. It’ll be released on Christmas Day on BBC One.

“We’ll watch Robin Robin too. I think my daughter will take more out of it this year. It’s based on a book and it’s all about being different — he’s born into a family of mice and he wants to learn to fly.

“And there’s Angela’s Christmas, an animated short movie set in Limerick in 1914, about a really poor family and a little girl, who goes to Mass with her family, in her big brother’s coat and with holes in her boots. At Mass she sees the baby Jesus and doesn’t want him to be cold, so she hatches a plan to rescue him and keep him warm.

“Watching a movie together, we do all the cosy things — dim the lights, light candles, have blankets and cuddles on the couch. It’s great for bonding and making memories.

“My favourite movie as a child was Home Alone — I was so enthralled by the mischief and the craic. It’s so innocent. I’ve nice memories of watching it with my parents in the ‘90s.”

Children’s books author Eve McDonnell, recently nominated for a Carnegie medal, is mum to 13-year-old twins Bobby and Faye.

“My favourite movie to watch with them has changed now they’ve got into their teens. Home Alone was the favourite for years. I liked its slapstick humour and its really easy plot for all ages. Children can drop in and out of it — if they’re distracted for 10 minutes it doesn’t matter.

“Now they’re older, we’ve all settled on Forrest Gump, which they only discovered this year. We’ll watch it over Christmas. The music is what first attracted them — they find it so cool. They also recognise some of the historical events. It’s quite a strong movie emotionally. They’re ready for that now.

“Our biggest [movie-related] ritual is going straight to the movie pages of the RTÉ Christmas Guide and highlighting which [films] we’d like to see. Christmas doesn’t start until then. Inevitably there are a few we all want to watch.

“My favourite movie from childhood is the same as my favourite book: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I just loved it and I’m so glad someone hasn’t made a more recent version. There’s a moral message but for me it simply delivered pleasure.

“Faye’s favourite movie character is Spiderman. She has always been fascinated, I think because he’s just an ordinary boy who’s able to put on a mask and be a superhero. I think what she got out of it is ‘you can be anything, do anything’.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Apollo 13 with them — I’m hoping it’ll be on TV. It’s thrilling, based on events that happened and so perfectly done. They’re ready for that now.”

Dr Malie Coyne is a clinical psychologist and author of Love In, Love Out: A Compassionate Approach to Parenting Your Anxious Child. She and her husband first brought their now 10- and 12-year-old girls to see Home Alone at the cinema in Salthill.

“It was just brilliant. The girls loved it because there’s so much divilment in it. For a child, it’s really about empowerment — being left alone by your parents, it’s all mad in the house, loads of kids, loads of stuff happening, really funny. Subsequent Home Alone movies haven’t been as good but we’ve watched that first one several times and they love it.

“When they were younger both my girls loved Frozen. When someone dressed up as the snowman and [my younger girl met him], she followed him everywhere, [saying] ‘Olaf’. We’re really looking forward to the next one coming out — you’re never too old for a Disney movie.

“We’re also big into musicals. The girls perform as dancers in the yearly Renmore pantomime. This year it’s Puss in Boots. They perform in summer shows too. We watch back the recordings and they see themselves, the performance and all the people they remember. It’s really lovely to do as a family.”

Children’s author Sarah Webb works as events manager at Halfway up the Stairs children’s bookshop in Greystones.

“We’re big film lovers in this household. They’re 17 and 20 now, but we still love watching films together. We’ve very different tastes [so] it’s often hard to find a film we all enjoy. We love the Studio Ghibli animated films — always a winning choice. If I had to pick one it’d be the classic, Spirited Away, an extraordinary fantasy adventure with real (but not too scary) peril. And we adore the work of Cartoon Saloon, especially Wolfwalkers.

“My daughter has been a Studio Ghibli fan since she was young and she’s now a keen cosplayer, which I think has been largely inspired by her love of anime — Japanese films and cartoons. She really connects with strong female characters in the Ghibli films such as Princess Mononoke.

“I loved watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with my teenagers. It makes me laugh. It’s a little dated [but] still great fun. We recently watched The Breakfast Club together, another teen classic they both really enjoyed.”

Laureate na nÓg (Children’s Literature Laureate) Trish Forde writes children’s books. Her children are now in their 20s.

“When they were young they loved E.T. We watched it a lot. They’re great readers so a lot of what we watched was based on books, like The Hobbit. One of my daughter’s favourite films was How to Train Your Dragon, based on Cressida Cowell’s book.

“When they were small they’d wait for the film all afternoon — the excitement would keep them going. They’d be in their PJs, wrapped up on the couch, with a big bowl of popcorn. Inevitably, one or the other would fall asleep and we’d end up carrying them upstairs.

“I often forget the details of films but remember them for the circumstances in which I saw them. Like going to see Love Story at the cinema with my mother and grandmother — it was so unusual for the three of us to be out together at night.

“I still go to the cinema with my kids. I go for the commonality and to hang out with them. And despite Netflix, it’s always a thrill to go to the cinema, getting in the car, and all of us sitting in the dark waiting for the film to start.”

• Genius Juniors (geniusjuniors.ie) runs ‘Donate a Book’: Customers donate €10 towards purchasing books for children’s hospitals nationwide; books dispatched to hospitals in time for Santa’s arrival.