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DrWeb’s Top Ten Christmas Movies…

DrWeb’s Top Ten Christmas Movies – 2025 update

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

[originally published 12/24 in 2004, from my old blog]

Here’s my favorite Christmas movies, with links to see more about them at the Internet Movie Database..

I know I said top ten, but I’m adding a movie to the mix this year, let’s call it an extra listing #11.. see below.. if you haven’t seen the “Office Christmas Party,” settle in for some hilarious, over-the-top spoofing of holiday parties and office culture…

enjoy the holidays…

1) A Christmas Carol – The early version from 1951 with Alastair Sim is still my favorite, and favorite version of this Dickens’ tale…
2) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – The Griswald Family Christmas is a holiday fun treat, with enough silly gags, laughs, and even risque fun.. there’s nothing like an old-fashioned family Christmas…
3) Christmas in Connecticut – Old black and white that never fails to make me laugh, and tug at the heartstrings.. yes, sentimental but a favorite…
4) Love Actually – New onto my list this year, I can’t quite get that Christmas is All Around song out of my head, nor the criss-star-crossed lovers in this homage to British love in all its variety.. a new holiday favorite.. and I want the soundtrack CD…
5) Serendipity – Another romantic comedy, which happens to take place in part at Christmas.. it’s magical, lyrical, funny, and lifts you up where you belong…
6) A Christmas Carol – To my mind, this version with Patrick Stewart steals the thunder of classic-redone well, and puts to shame some other versions other there.. for a modern retelling with power, try this one.. made for tv, but looks very good…
7) Home Alone – The original still sings a tale of lonely boy, loser criminals, and a lost family, at Christmastime.. good, and pass on the sequels…
8) A Christmas Story – Hilarious romp in the 1940s with a boy, a BB gun, Santa, elves, dogs eating turkey, and more…
9) It’s a Wonderful Life – No list would be complete for Christmas without this favorite look at life without *you* and the magic we all make in each life we touch.. always good to view on Christmas Eve…
10) White Christmas – Irving Berlin’s music, Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby and some wonderful ladies led by Rosemary Clooney make a holiday winner.. complete with shows, trains, snow, and post-WWII moments to reflect on…
11) Office Christmas Party – “When his uptight CEO sister threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand…” -IMDB ..it’s wild and wacky, but somehow, it all works.. maybe don’t show to the whole family, has some rough language, etc. But, I laugh every time I watch…

Merry Christmas Eve to all, and to all, a good night…

Dec 24, 2004 10:47:41 AM | Current Affairs, Film #11 #2025Update #Blog #ChristmasMovies #DrWeb #DrWebSDomain #TopTen

Christmas card image 2025 by Perplexity for DWD

Charlotte’s $137M Uptown library delayed to 2027 – Axios Charlotte

Oct 10, 2025 – News

Sneak peek: Uptown’s $137M, five-story delayed library

By Alexandria Sands

GIF: Alexandria Sands/Axios

Construction is progressing, though behind schedule, on Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s five-story Uptown branch at 6th and North Tryon streets. The $137 million flagship location is now slated to open in spring 2027, later than the 2026 target.

Why it matters: The main library — a free, critical community resource — has been closed for four years now. Once reopened, leaders expect a million visitors in the first year, making the 115,000-square-foot branch a major Uptown destination.

Driving the news: Project leadersgave reporters a tour Friday of construction progress on the first two floors. Caitlin Moen, library director, attributed the delay to meticulous work necessary to ensure the building’s longevity.

“This iconic building is something that’s not been built before,” Moen said. “As we try to bring this vision to life, but also ensure that 50-year lifespan, we are doing our due diligence.”

Level three reading room. Rendering: Courtesy of CML

Zoom in: Moen said the features reflect what community members said they wanted in their modern library, including:

15 meeting rooms for two to 40 people
A 225-person, top-floor event space
A reading room with views
A courtyard and two outdoor terraces
Lowe’s Technology Lab with public computers and two laptop dispensing stations with 12 laptops each
The Bank of America Opportunity Center, offering resume assistance, digital skills training and job support
A parking deck, built and financed by Mecklenburg County, at the corner of 7th and College streets

Dr. Joyce Davis Waddell event space. Rendering: Courtesy of CML

Between the lines: The main library is geared more toward adults, since ImaginOn, the flagship children’s and teen library, is two blocks away.

Catch up quick: Mecklenburg County provided $72.33 million for the project. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation still has $8 million to raise in private support to cover the remaining $65 million.

The construction is on the same site as the original 1903 Carnegie Library. Mecklenburg County’s first free library was rebuilt in 1956, renovated and expanded in 1989, and torn down in 2023 to make way for this modernized version.

Zoom out: The library is expected to accelerate this corner of Uptown’s metamorphosis. It’s right next to the newly renovated Carolina Theatre, which is now hosting movie nights and large speaker events.

Mecklenburg County had planned a major overhaul of the land surrounding the library, but the master developer for the public-private redevelopment, called Seventh and Tryon, backed out.