Whatโs up with Hallmark Christmas movies, and why are some Boomers so obsessed with them?
As an aging millennial who has the privilege of living with my parents while I save up to buy a house in this crazy housing market, Iโve noticed something about my parents that I had no clue about, previously: Theyโre obsessed with Hallmark Christmas movies.
U.S. retail sales fell in December for 3rd straight month
(AP Photo/John Raoux)NEW YORK โ Retail sales fell for a third straight month as a surge in virus cases kept people away from stores during the critical holiday shopping season. The U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in December from the month before. Department store chain Nordstrom, lingerie seller Victoriaโs Secret and clothing retailer Urban Outfitters all said sales fell during the holidays. The Commerce Department said shoppers cut back on spending at electronic and department stores. At clothing stores, sales rose 2.4% after dropping 16% for the year.
Scene from 'Elf' comes to life as Buddy meets dad in Boston
BOSTON โ Just like a real-life movie, the story of Buddy the Elf meeting his biological father has come to life, just in time for the holidays. Doug Henning wore a costume like the one actor Will Ferrellโs character wore in โElfโ while meeting his father face to face for the first time last week at Boston's Logan Airport. He even broke into the same awkward song from the 2003 movie โ sample lyrics: โIโm here, with my dad. Just like the movie, the father didn't know about his son. The two met on Zoom and Henning's dad was able to fly to Boston for Thanksgiving.
Hallmark premieres its first LGBTQ holiday movie with a gay lead couple
The Hallmark Channel is known for its cheesy but heartwarming Christmas movies. This year, the channel decided to diversify its casts by featuring its first openly gay lead couple. โIโm proud of everyone at Hallmark Channel for making the holiday table bigger and more welcoming and warmer this year,โ Bennett told NBC News. The Hallmark Channel vowed in July to put more LGBTQ representation in its content following criticism that the movies lacked diversity. Back in August, the channel showed its first same-sex wedding in the movie โWedding Every Weekend.โโThe Christmas Houseโ premiered on Nov. 22.
Sunday is Friendship Day
(CNN) - Hallmark established Friendship Day in 1919 as the first Sunday in August. Psychologists speak about different levels of friendships: best friends, close friends, casual friends and acquaintances (we can have a million of the latter, Degges-White says). Don't hoard your friends: Don't be afraid to introduce your friends to each other. Be OK with disagreement: Our friends don't have to think exactly like we think. "If you're not feeding your social needs through companionship, you're going to feed those needs in other unhealthy ways."