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Drops of Awesome

Personal Blog of Author Kathryn Thompson

Archives for November 2020

Hallmark Movie Scavenger Hunt

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For the past few years I’ve celebrated my December birthday with an all-day open house binge watch of Hallmark Christmas Movies. When I say “Hallmark Christmas Movies,” I’m talking about an idea, not an actual brand.

You know how people ask for a “Kleenex” but they’re just talking about any old tissue? Or a “Band-Aid” but they really just mean a sticky bandage?

That’s how I use “Hallmark Movie.”

To get an idea of what counts as a Hallmark Movie in my world, check out this year’s scavenger hunt. The boxes next to each item are rectangular, allowing for tally marks because you’ll probably get several of them more than once. [PDF Download Available Below]

hallmark-scavenger-huntDownload

90s Country Music

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I love 90s country songs, specifically those with three verses, plays on words, and a twist at the end. These are the Hallmark Christmas movies of popular music, predictable, cheesy, romantic, and sometimes they make me cry, even though (a little bit) I think they’re dumb.

I’m talking about “Please Don’t Take the Girl” by Tim McGraw. I’m talking about “Love, Me” by Colin Ray. And I’m for sure talking about “One Boy, One Girl” by Colin Ray. “Congratulations… TWINS!!!”

When we moved to Texas in 1994, I was thrust into the world of country music and I pretty much embraced it. I tried on boots. I said, “Y’all.” I attended rodeos with boys who wore large hats. I bought giant earrings to compensate for my egregious lack of appropriate belt buckle.

Fun fact. When my grandpa passed away in 1994, my sister and I BEGGED our parents to let us sing a super cringe-worthy duet version of “Love, Me” at his funeral. They declined and we felt the injustice keenly. Good times. For the record – we sounded terrible and we could NOT get through a single verse without ugly-crying. It was also a cheesy country song, I don’t think my grandpa liked country music, and we wanted to cry/sing it in a somber religious service where “How Great Thou Art” would have been considered an up-tempo number.

26 years later, I’ve convinced my 11-year-old that these songs are awesome. The circle of life is real and one day I’ll write a song about it. The first verse will be about a kid drawing a life cycle in a 2nd grade science class with his female best friend. The second verse will be about him as a young man getting stuck in a busy traffic circle in the big city for the first time while on a date with his girlfriend (THE SAME GIRL FROM SCIENCE CLASS!). In the final verse, everyone will die.