Christmas Eve Traditions

I once had a few Christmas Eve movie traditions that have fallen by the wayside. One of them was, of course, watching It’s a Wonderful Life (which I have yet to watch this holiday season), but others included mostly Christmas TV specials (A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, etc.). One film I first saw in the 1980s that became a favorite was The Bishop’s Wife (1947) with Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven. It was one of the first VHS tapes I owned, but I haven’t seen the film in years, so maybe I’ll catch it later. (The VHS tape is long gone.)

Not exactly a family tradition, but when I was younger and visited my brother in Dallas, it was not unusual for us to venture out to the theaters on Christmas Eve (or sometimes Christmas Day) to see movies. I recall seeing The Dark Crystal (1982) on Christmas Day, Starman on December 23, 1984, and others. Today, my brothers-in-law Dave and Pete and I plan to venture out to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story today. I doubt the three of us will make going to see a movie a Christmas tradition, not because we usually don’t spend Christmas together (we normally do), but because with Dave’s two kids and Pete’s three, it’s hard for those guys to get away. But I’m looking forward to hanging out with these guys.

So what Christmas Eve or Christmas Day movie traditions do you have?