10 Metareferences in the movie Elf

I have just finished watching the movie Elf as I do at this time of the year each year. I was struck by one particular scene where Buddy the elf looks out from a bridge on a snowy night and how it references James Stewart in the Frank Capra film It's a wonderful life. Others have noticed similar things and the movie is described by some critics as being a "meta film" in the way it acknowledges and plays with audience expectations of the Christmas movie genre, tying familiar tropes together to create an original story wrapped in a "holiday classic bow".

1. It's A Wonderful Life Buddy's bridge scene references George Bailey contemplating his purpose in life.
2. Miracle on 34th Street Buddy's trip to Gimbel's is reminiscent of the scenes in Macy's. Gimbel's was Macy's store rival.
3. Edward Scissorhands Buddy makes snowflakes like Edward. He doesn't have the same tools but he achieves the same result.
4. A Christmas Story Buddy's snowball fight is a reference to this film. Buddy saves Michael from school bullies just like Ralphie.
5. A Christmas Story The Ralphie actor has a cameo. Peter Billingsley plays Buddy's elf supervisor Ming Ming.
6. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Leon The Snowman resembles Rudolph's Sam. The snowman Leon and Sam are both mentors to elves
7. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Buddy's elf costume recalls Hermey the mistfit elf's costume.
8. The Santa Clause Elf plays on the theme of nonbelievers being converted by the irrefutable evidence of the Christmas spirit and Santa Claus's existence, with a normal man being thrust into the North Pole environment.
9. The Christmas Star Edward Asner plays Santa again not a crook this time but the real thing.
10. National lampoon's Christmas Vacation Once again there are antics with an oversized Christmas tree.

These metareferences are sometimes referred to as Easter eggs. So Easter at Christmas!

10 Christmas Traditions

1. Preaching six sermons or more on Christmas themes (all from Matthew 1 and 2 this year)

2. Singing most of the Christmas hymns in our hymn book

3. Watching the film Elf starring Will Ferrell

4. Watching University Challenge Christmas Special on TV (five watched so far)

5. Reading the novel Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

6. Reading some Christmas detective fiction (this year Val MacDiarmid)

7. Going through a book of devotions from December 1-24 or 25 (this year J C Ryle)

8. Burning down an advent candle December 1-24 (a red one this year)

9. Going to see Kate Rusby and her band doing one of their Christmas concerts

10. Listening to lots of Christmas music (I now have 575 items in my collection)

Day off Week 51

So it was on with the jeans and t-shirt again and off for walk with Alffi for the last real day off of the year, as next week is Christmas which is always a unique week. I'd forgotten that I had to be in the seminary in the afternoon so despite the attire and the presence of the dog I had to get me to Finchley on the bus. At least it meant I got me 10,000 steps done. Eleri was out for most of the day so I ate out mid-day. I was keen to do something Christmassy so I watched the 2003 film Elf, which is a very funny Christmas film. I've never watched every moment of it before. I also started on a Poirot Christmas story which is alright (I have rather stalled with the Grace Mitchell novel I bought a few weeks ago Murder in the snow [originally Groaning Spinney] as it is not really a Christmas novel at all). I finished Seven types of Atheism by John Gray at last too. Plenty of Christmas music too but mostly the albums in my Christmas present - the box set of Jan Akkerman albums. I particularly enjoyed the live double album 10000 Clowns as well as other tracks and enjoyed putting some visuals with Come closer. I'm sure a day off is indulgent (chance woukd be a fine thing perhaps you think) in many ways but having reported on it now for half a year I am finding it a helpful way to think.

The A-Z of Christmas Icons 05 Elf

vastateparksstaff, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>,
via Wikimedia Commons

A blog's Christmas in Wales

So I'm enjoying a pretty relaxing time with the family in London and Wales. We were up fairly early on Christmas Day to open presents together. Nothing particularly interesting I guess. We gave Rhodri a stylophone, which was fun. Mostly clothes. No CDs or many books for once. All Rhodri and Sibyl's gifts were from Vietnam (even my tie, which I would have expected to come from Tie-land) Eleri bought the boys a portable DVD so they watched Sleeping Beauty and Elf when we hit the road.

We had a decent turn out of around 50 in church, even though several were away. I preached on Luke 2:19.

We had goose for lunch, which was okay but not my favourite. We had invited one or two who were on their own but they declined and so we were on our own. We have also made trips to Wales - to Cardiff and Aber - to see various members of the family including my dad and sister who came to see us in Cardiff. I preached in Childs Hill on the Lord's Day from Isaiah 53 and a new year sermon on James 4. Again we were a decent number. We moved the evening service time forward and managed to fool our South African LTS friends, always a danger however well you publicise.

There's been time to play football with the boys and some friends in Aber on the astroturf, for some fun games (Kids trivia, Headbanz, Last word, Keep on humming, consequences, categories, drawing monsters, etc), eating and talking, TV (Gavin and Stacey - great, 39 Steps - poor) reading (Richard Evans on the Nazis, a festschrift for O Palmer Robertson, A child's Christmas in Wales [aloud] and a little Sense and sensibility) and rewatching It's a wonderful life.