Excellent article. But wasn't it (almost always) roast chicken on Saturday nights (the Paul Prudhomme version) and chicken soup on Sunday morning or afternoon, if I'm recalling correctly? The Cajun chicken, which the chef called Slow-Roasted Hen, had too many spices to find in our cramped cabinets and assemble on a workday. Come to think of it, that recipe represented the same sort of homespun happiness that you're writing about.
Not Lifetime Christmas movies (though I've definitely enjoyed many over the years), but I definitely have go-to's when life feels sucky. Things like: the Harry Potter movies, the "To All the Boys" movies, maybe Gilmore Girls when things are really bad (but only the first 4 seasons). I love the idea of considering them certainty anchors rather than guilty pleasures. I don't feel "guilty" about watching them countless times, but have definitely thought: why can't I watch something new!? Answer: because I need the comfort of knowing I'll enjoy it, and that's just fine! Walking works the same way for me. I started walking more during the pandemic, now find I *have* to do 10,000+ steps/day for my mental health. Feel anxious? Go for a walk. Don't walk? Feel anxious. It's a thing.
This is reminding me that I haven't swooned over the "To All the Boys" movies or Jess in Gilmore Girls in far too long! 🥲 Completely agree about the reframing of guilty pleasures to certainty anchors—and so glad Dana made that connection! It's helping me reframe a lot of mine, too.
And +1 on the walking front. When I'm feeling crappy and look down at my FitBit to find that I've taken 2k steps that day, it allllll begins to make sense.
Loved this, Maddie. Your synopsis of the plots and how these movies work is spot on. I know this because I'm trying to write a Lifetime Christmas movie and have spent way too many hours/years researching. My own certainty anchors are five films: Local Hero, The Princess Bride, Withnail and I, The Philadephia Story, and Bull Durham. Which one I choose depends on mood and circumstances.
Oh my gosh, Caroline, I have *so* many follow-up questions! This is amazing—don't mind me, I'll just be over here rooting for your screenplay to hit the small screen. And if you end up sharing more of the details of your journey, I'll be all ears.
Also: I absolutely love that you choose which go-to film to rewatch based on your mood!
Guess what, Maddie? I’ve been ‘certainty anchoring’ with Hallmark Christmas movies for the past month! 😂 It’s always a happy ending and usually with a lot of food and baking. Last Sunday there was a time travel spin “Christmas at the Biltmore” shot at the Biltmore, gorgeous. My sister-in-law and I get teased by the rest of the family for our devotion to these bon-bons, but we don’t care! 😂 and thanks for reminding me about Lifetime Christmas. My sis-in-law and I always joke “who knew there were so many single princes in the world?” 🤣
You (and your sister-in-law) and I are kindred spirits, Jolene!! I might have to stray from Lifetime in favor of Hallmark just to check out the Biltmore onscreen (and visit Asheville too, of course).
“Who knew there were so many single princes in the world?” is, quite possibly, the best thing I've read all day. 😜
I love this framing. It’s the perfect alternative to “guilty pleasure” I’ve been looking for! My certainty anchors are must-see-TV style sitcoms that remind me of evenings with my family in the 90s 💖
I’ve been getting more and more into women’s genre fiction (esp. cozy mysteries) in recent years, and the plots are exactly like these movies (I mean, with a murder thrown in? But somehow the book is still mostly about the yummy recipes at a small-town bakery?). I’ll have to sneak in a few of the Netflix options this year to see if they become my long-winter-nights salve :)
I cackled at the idea that a cozy mystery can be a "Lifetime Christmas movie" too, minus the holiday and plus one murder 😂 If a small-town bakery is involved, that's always the tip-off!
Hot tip: there's some rough stuff to wade through on the Netflix Christmas front, but I thought last year's Love Hard was genuinely adorable!
Ok this is the second time I've heard/read the term "cozy mystery" this month. I didn't really understand it before, but your description has me intrigued! Curious if you have any faves of those, Dana!?
I love the Seaside Cafe Mystery series by Bree Baker! And the same author under a different name, Julie Chase; I've read the first of the Kitty Couture series :)
I loved this. Reading this piece was a certainty anchor! 😍
I never got into Lifetime Christmas movies BUT I saw “A Castle For Christmas” last year on Netflix and thought it was ADORABLE. I think it was Netflix’s version of the Lifetime coziness so I may be a convert now!! If you haven’t seen it, I think you would love it.
I kid you not, I was watching this exact movie the night before you left your comment! Scottish castles, Brooke Shields, and Cary Elwes—what the heck isn't to like?!
I have never watched them. I might have to give one a whirl. One of the good ones! What’s my certainty anchor? The first thing that came up for me was the ocean. Seeing it and cold dipping. For now at least.
Ooh, such a good answer, Kim! I'm with you 100%. Looking out across the water (or looking at a mountain range in the distance!) *always* feels grounding to me, too.
Still waiting for the Christmas movie about filming a Christmas movie. Someday....
My certainty anchor is putting up the Christmas tree. Honorable mention: The SNL Holiday special. Some of the skits I've seen a hundred times and they never get old.
They would certainly film it in Squamish, BC—where (Maddie was correct) most Lifetime movies seem to be filmed! (Virgin River is filmed there as well.) I lived there for a few years and always found it funny to see which parts of the town were closed off/setup for filming. Also, Candace Cameron Bure made regular appearances.
Cait, the Squamish behind-the-scenes intel is EXCELLENT. I love that you got a sneak preview when you lived there! (With lots of fake snow in July, I'd imagine.) I found out that Virgin River was filmed in Squamish after recognizing the outside of Jack's Bar. 🤯
✳️ Okay, I’m curious to hear from you: what’s your go-to certainty anchor? (Bonus points if it happens to be a specific Lifetime Christmas movie.)
Excellent article. But wasn't it (almost always) roast chicken on Saturday nights (the Paul Prudhomme version) and chicken soup on Sunday morning or afternoon, if I'm recalling correctly? The Cajun chicken, which the chef called Slow-Roasted Hen, had too many spices to find in our cramped cabinets and assemble on a workday. Come to think of it, that recipe represented the same sort of homespun happiness that you're writing about.
I enjoyed your piece, Maddie!
Your Dad
These are serious fact-checking oversights. I might need to issue a retraction!!
The "homespun happiness" part is entirely accurate, though. Fortunately, that's the important part 🥰
Not Lifetime Christmas movies (though I've definitely enjoyed many over the years), but I definitely have go-to's when life feels sucky. Things like: the Harry Potter movies, the "To All the Boys" movies, maybe Gilmore Girls when things are really bad (but only the first 4 seasons). I love the idea of considering them certainty anchors rather than guilty pleasures. I don't feel "guilty" about watching them countless times, but have definitely thought: why can't I watch something new!? Answer: because I need the comfort of knowing I'll enjoy it, and that's just fine! Walking works the same way for me. I started walking more during the pandemic, now find I *have* to do 10,000+ steps/day for my mental health. Feel anxious? Go for a walk. Don't walk? Feel anxious. It's a thing.
This is reminding me that I haven't swooned over the "To All the Boys" movies or Jess in Gilmore Girls in far too long! 🥲 Completely agree about the reframing of guilty pleasures to certainty anchors—and so glad Dana made that connection! It's helping me reframe a lot of mine, too.
And +1 on the walking front. When I'm feeling crappy and look down at my FitBit to find that I've taken 2k steps that day, it allllll begins to make sense.
Loved this, Maddie. Your synopsis of the plots and how these movies work is spot on. I know this because I'm trying to write a Lifetime Christmas movie and have spent way too many hours/years researching. My own certainty anchors are five films: Local Hero, The Princess Bride, Withnail and I, The Philadephia Story, and Bull Durham. Which one I choose depends on mood and circumstances.
Oh my gosh, Caroline, I have *so* many follow-up questions! This is amazing—don't mind me, I'll just be over here rooting for your screenplay to hit the small screen. And if you end up sharing more of the details of your journey, I'll be all ears.
Also: I absolutely love that you choose which go-to film to rewatch based on your mood!
This probably won’t surprise you but my go-to certainty anchor is organizing my money. :D
It won't surprise you either, but I can relate. Personal-finance nerds unite! 🤓💰
UnCertainty anchors! Why am I just hearing of these now!! 👏❤️
Such a helpful concept, right?! 🤯
Guess what, Maddie? I’ve been ‘certainty anchoring’ with Hallmark Christmas movies for the past month! 😂 It’s always a happy ending and usually with a lot of food and baking. Last Sunday there was a time travel spin “Christmas at the Biltmore” shot at the Biltmore, gorgeous. My sister-in-law and I get teased by the rest of the family for our devotion to these bon-bons, but we don’t care! 😂 and thanks for reminding me about Lifetime Christmas. My sis-in-law and I always joke “who knew there were so many single princes in the world?” 🤣
You (and your sister-in-law) and I are kindred spirits, Jolene!! I might have to stray from Lifetime in favor of Hallmark just to check out the Biltmore onscreen (and visit Asheville too, of course).
“Who knew there were so many single princes in the world?” is, quite possibly, the best thing I've read all day. 😜
😂 🤴 so many!! Loved seeing your Chicago photos, I think I’m going to the Christkindelmarket Sunday, I will file a report!
So excited for you (and for me to read your recap)! The big question will be: pancake line or bratwurst line? 🤩
Brats!!!
I love this framing. It’s the perfect alternative to “guilty pleasure” I’ve been looking for! My certainty anchors are must-see-TV style sitcoms that remind me of evenings with my family in the 90s 💖
I’ve been getting more and more into women’s genre fiction (esp. cozy mysteries) in recent years, and the plots are exactly like these movies (I mean, with a murder thrown in? But somehow the book is still mostly about the yummy recipes at a small-town bakery?). I’ll have to sneak in a few of the Netflix options this year to see if they become my long-winter-nights salve :)
I cackled at the idea that a cozy mystery can be a "Lifetime Christmas movie" too, minus the holiday and plus one murder 😂 If a small-town bakery is involved, that's always the tip-off!
Hot tip: there's some rough stuff to wade through on the Netflix Christmas front, but I thought last year's Love Hard was genuinely adorable!
Ok this is the second time I've heard/read the term "cozy mystery" this month. I didn't really understand it before, but your description has me intrigued! Curious if you have any faves of those, Dana!?
I love the Seaside Cafe Mystery series by Bree Baker! And the same author under a different name, Julie Chase; I've read the first of the Kitty Couture series :)
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14957369.Julie_Chase
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17203366.Bree_Baker
Ahhh, gotta love a good pen name switch-up. Thank you so much, Dana!
LOVE the pigeon photo.
Kay, this means so much to me! Truly: thank you for taking the time to leave this note. 🤗
You are SO welcome!
I loved this. Reading this piece was a certainty anchor! 😍
I never got into Lifetime Christmas movies BUT I saw “A Castle For Christmas” last year on Netflix and thought it was ADORABLE. I think it was Netflix’s version of the Lifetime coziness so I may be a convert now!! If you haven’t seen it, I think you would love it.
I kid you not, I was watching this exact movie the night before you left your comment! Scottish castles, Brooke Shields, and Cary Elwes—what the heck isn't to like?!
Waaaa!!!! I love that!!!
In a world filled with uncertainty, these movies become a familiar and reassuring presence.
I totally agree! 🤗
I have never watched them. I might have to give one a whirl. One of the good ones! What’s my certainty anchor? The first thing that came up for me was the ocean. Seeing it and cold dipping. For now at least.
Ooh, such a good answer, Kim! I'm with you 100%. Looking out across the water (or looking at a mountain range in the distance!) *always* feels grounding to me, too.
Interesting!
I confess I'd never heard of Lifetime Christmas movies. Have I left it too late??
It is *never* too late to be sucked into the abyss of the saccharine American Christmas content machine!
😅
Still waiting for the Christmas movie about filming a Christmas movie. Someday....
My certainty anchor is putting up the Christmas tree. Honorable mention: The SNL Holiday special. Some of the skits I've seen a hundred times and they never get old.
They would certainly film it in Squamish, BC—where (Maddie was correct) most Lifetime movies seem to be filmed! (Virgin River is filmed there as well.) I lived there for a few years and always found it funny to see which parts of the town were closed off/setup for filming. Also, Candace Cameron Bure made regular appearances.
This has even more potential than I realized!
Cait, the Squamish behind-the-scenes intel is EXCELLENT. I love that you got a sneak preview when you lived there! (With lots of fake snow in July, I'd imagine.) I found out that Virgin River was filmed in Squamish after recognizing the outside of Jack's Bar. 🤯
Chris, I deeply regret to inform you that this movie actually exists: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_hollywood_christmas
I was going to propose that exact plot LOL. Then again it's not like there could be any other option.
If this author thing doesn't work out, maybe "Lifetime exec" should be next on your career hit list.
I do think I need to bring my ugly sweater dream to life. Santa. Reindeer. Motorcycles. Chasing bad guys. Easy Rider meets Bad Santa meets Home Alone.