Peppermint Pop Quiz

No, I did not steal this one from Upton, I promise! Even though he has the BEST quizzes, this one came to be because I was thinking about something holiday appropriate. Right off the mini-fest of Giving Thanks we immediately move into the juggernaut of all holiday: Xmas.

So let's see:

Favorite xmas dish or dessert? 

 Panettone. My mom used to bring it home when we were little (her dad apparently used to give her Panettone every xmas and she kept the tradition). I like them all! With chocolate, with caramelized fruit, anything! I have been known to eat a whole Panettone all by myself in one week. Yes, it's that bad.

My 'perfect' xmas celebration would include: some cookies, a xmas tree (natural, but a nice artificial one would do) and apple cider. Yep, I agree with Maddie on this one. Apple cider is my beverage of choice for xmas (and beyond). BTW, Bae used to bring me xmas cookies when we were seeing each other and I'd run through those puppies like a wildfire. The second day, I had to take them to work to share the chunk, because that's what people do during the holidays: they share the chunk. 

What is my favorite thing about xmas?

The lights. I love that there's lights everywhere. You have seen my house, I practically live a xmas-lite experience year-round because of the fairy lights I have everywhere. I love the lights and the candles and the fireplaces, even though I think they are too much when they're gas. I prefer wood-burning fireplaces because gas fireplaces make me paranoid. Also, I've discovered I like staying home. Getting to stay home has become a thing these last years. Especially if it's snowing. I know. Lame. But I actually like being home for xmas and just chill.... and open gifts, of course. I like the gifts too.

Overall, I am not very Xmas-y, as you may have guessed. I don't have Maddie's talent, for example, to transform anything and everything into a holiday-appropriate centerpiece and I don't have the patience (or space) to store all the accoutrements that come with such holiday dècor. But I go along with the celebration. And what I noticed this year is that we're getting some Ho-Ho-Holiday appropriate (read LGBTQ- inclusive) TV movies because the pandemic fucked up plans to see anything in theaters (and producers have discovered the gays flock to watch anything, well, gay) and everything will be streamed, natch. And that may be a good thing.

And the first one came packaged by the most unexpected source: Hallmark. Yep, the Hallmark channel has gone inclusive. After adding some POC to their lily-white estable (I know, progress!), now they've included The Gays. So if you're in the mood for xmas stuff and you don't get dizzy with all the dazzling blandness of the Hallmark Channel, keep an eye out for The Christmas House, their first LGBTQ inclusive xmas movie EVER. It's a milestone, people. 

 The movie is your run-of-the-mill Hallmark experience (lots of sweaters, lots of Better Homes and Gardens dècor and slightly bland but pretty people doing xmas-y things) but the difference is that this time there's a gay couple in the mix. Not the main event, mind you (that's going to be the straight older brother, fresh from the big bad city and back to rekindle a small-town teen romance) but even better (IMHO), they're just added to the mix of the familiar love stories the Hallmark channel usually offers. The better for Middle America to enjoy, I guess. One Million Moms is gonna throw a fit. Again.

The cherry on top (or the mistletoe in the doorway, whatever you prefer) is that the two actors who play the gay couple actually get to kiss in the movie. Oh, honey, if you don't know WHY this is a big deal, you've NEVER watched the Hallmark Channel. There's nothing more bland and homogeneous and Middle America than the Hallmark Channel. Nothing. Even the Tamales they get to eat in this movie one day seem somehow... tidier? 

So do as I did and make sure you have a free hour one of these days and let your remote do the search. It's there, in the basic cable lineup. The Christmas House. Go ahead. Yo know you want some schmaltz for the holidays. With some gay thrown in for good measure. Happy viewing!

XOXO

P.S. The straight brother is quite delectable, too.