It’s that time of years, guys. Christmas! Hanukkah! Kwanzaa! Winter Solstice! ALL THE GOOD THINGS!

And while everyone is gearing up for the end of the year and whatever that might entail for you, everyone is also fighting that one little devil that seems to appear every winter when the days get shorter and the nights get colder – SAD. Oh yeah. Seasonal affective disorder. I live in California, ostensibly one of the sunniest and warmest of states and it still hits me hard every single year. Add that in with the stress that comes with the end of the year like presents and spending time with family and I’m usually a total mess during this time of year.

So how do I deal with that?

Well, I watch as many holidays movies as I possibly can!

I love movies as a general rule and I love all movies. Good, bad, terrible – sign me up. And this is especially true when romance is involved. I love ALL romance. So when the holiday romance movies really started to explode over the past few years…

I. WAS. HERE. FOR IT.

Let’s put it this way – I try to watch as many Christmas/holiday movies as I can the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas day. Currently it is December 6th and I’ve watched 18 movies. Out of those 18 movies? 14 of them are cheesy romance ones. I CONSUME them.

And look, I know it. YOU know it. They’re beyond cheesy and so incredibly predictable that most of us could write the script for one and it would both be totally unique and totally the same as every other movie. Add in a prince from a made up country that sounds straight out of a Disney movie or a small town that has a ridiculous name like Snow Falls and you’re ready to go.

This isn’t quality entertainment. These movies aren’t changing lives and I’m sure that, while there are many of us that LIVE for these movies every December, there are probably even more people who scoff and roll their eyes at them. Again, they are insanely predictable and ridiculous.

But here’s what I say!

There’s absolutely NO shame in watching movies like these! Like I said before, this time is year is joyous and happy and bright but also the pressure for it to be joyous, happy and bright can be a lot and a lot of us struggle during this time year. SAD is a real thing. Financial burdens happen as end of year expenses come up and we try and give gifts to those we love and care for. It can be hard to deal with the holidays when you’ve lost a loved one that year. There’s so much pressure for this time of year to be perfect and frankly, it’s just not! It’s hard to live up to those picturesque, perfect holidays and all of us are just slogging through sometimes.

Some of us have jobs that get busier this time of year! I know I do. As a lot of you know, I work at the Disneyland Resort at Disney California Adventure park and we’re in the busy holiday season for sure! Things are busy and tensions are HIGH. Sometimes I get home and I’m so tired that I don’t want to even think.

And that’s when I turn on one of those amazing Netflix holiday movies like Love Hard, A Christmas Prince, Single All the Way and so on. They’re fun, silly, they capture all the things about this season that are good and bad. They have cheesy romances and they ALWAYS have a happy ending and sometimes that’s exactly what we need! Sometimes when you’re feeling bad all the time, you need happy and predictable and that’s exactly what these movies provide! I always feel happy and content and calm after watching one of those movies and, really, what more can you ask for?

Yes, they all seem to have the same plot. A big city person finds themselves in a small town world and even though they’ve left a partner behind (someone cold and unloving and has NO Christmas spirit, just a drive to land the deal or close the case!), they can’t help but fall in love with the local baker, innkeeper, prince…you know the deal. This person is kind and selfless and full of love and is so much better than the Scrooge they left behind in the big city. It’s only been a few days but obviously they’re in love and should be together forever and forever.

They’re insane! They’re ridiculous. They’re simple and probably fairly easy to make so they can churn them out by the dozens each holiday season.

Right now I am watching another one of these absolutely cheese-tastic movies, A Castle for Christmas, with Cary Elwes and Brooke Shields and I love it. A famous author falling in love with Scotland, a castle and a handsome but grumpy Scottish duke – sign me up.

My point is – this time of year can be awesome but it also can be really hard and I’m here for anything that can give us some light and enjoyment during that. Plus, I have ALWAYS been an advocate for liking what you like! Who cares what anyone else thinks? Who is it hurting?! NO ONE. So if you love watching all those Netflix and Hallmark Christmas movies – that’s awesome and totally okay!

Because, while I might be married and living an average life in Southern California, I can pretend that I’m a struggling writer who magically falls in love with the prince (or princess, hmmm, can we PLEASE get more LGBTQ holiday movies?!) in a made up country during Christmas.

Sometimes its just nice to dream :)