Our First Christmas

“Our First Christmas” was released in 2008.  It stars Dixie Carter, Julie Warner, John Ratzenberger, and Steven Eckholdt.

To read my review click here.   I want to warn you this blog entry contains spoilers.

This movie is about widower Tom Baer, a school counselor, and his new wife, widow Cindy Noll.  Tom has a son and a daughter and Cindy has a daughter.  This is about the family trying to blend their two families’ traditions and Cindy’s former mother-in-law trying to find her place in the family.

I’ve decided to change how I do these spotlight movie blogs.  Rather than just giving you a rundown of what happens in it, I’m going to tell you why I love it so much.

In today’s society so many of us are familiar with blending families and the compromises that come with it.  Our traditions are important to us because they remind us of people we’ve lost and they represent a comforting constant in an ever changing and stressful world.

In this movie, the brunt of this emotion is on the children.  Lily and Jacob want to do what they always did with their mother to keep her with them and a part of the holidays while Tory wants to do what she always did with her father for the same reason.  I can’t imagine how hard it is to lose a parent when you’re a child and then to have to face giving up on the holiday traditions that make them feel like they’re with you.

The parents are just trying to find a way to make everyone happy.  They try desperately to get the children to work with them to find a middle ground but the children have their heels dug in.  I can’t blame them.  In the same situation I would probably have done the same.

The children devise a plan to make the parents think they are so miserable the only solution is for the family to split for the holidays and each do their own traditions.  The best part of this is watching them fall in love with each other as they work together on a shared goal.  They realize it won’t be Christmas without each other.  They begin to value what they have in the people around them.

All the characters are well-meaning and very likable.  The movie has love woven throughout.  It’s truly a feel-good movie that exemplifies family and values.  I hope you give it a try.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie.  Happy Viewing!