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| Miracle on 34th Street (C) 20th Century Fox |
Having watched a few – I have to say ‘schmaltzy’ – Christmas
movies, I’ve come up with a formula for the perfect story. The ingredients you need are:
- Small US town
- Snowy region (preferably near Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Buffalo etc – cities in the ‘snow zone’ or miraculous snow in New York)
- Single parent family (this facilitates the inclusion of children whilst permitting a romantic storyline)
- The children are polite and well behaved
- A problem (St Nick has lost something, one of his elves is in trouble, his ‘magic’ is being depleted, family home about to be repossessed etc)
- A ‘miracle’ themed object (star, angel, animated snowman, special house etc)
- An ‘unbeliever’ (cynic who has had a negative Christmas experience, loss of family, etc)
- A supporting cast of friendly uncles, aunts, neighbours, friends
- A reluctant romance
- A penchant for choosing the rural career over the city life
- The conversion (cynic is provided with undeniable evidence that ‘Christmas miracles’ exist – whether Santa is real or that against all the odds lost family members are found)
- The ‘spirit of Christmas’
- A happy conclusion
And by observation, it seems to be a largely white, middle
class cast of characters - though I think we can dump that in the ‘historical’
bin and be a bit more inclusive! Sometimes
(but not always) there is a bit of religion.
By contrast, UK Christmas stories seem to contain a mix of
the following:
- Disaster (sometimes averted)
'Nativity' - Unlikely romance with a specific challenge (societal, etc)
- Badly behaving kids
- A nativity play
- A supporting cast of idiots/comedians
- Cynicism in the majority
- Conflict resolution
- A happy conclusion
What’s do you think – do you have a ‘top ten’ (or top three)
ingredients for Christmas stories? Post your thoughts in comments below.
Liked this? Try: A coat of age
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