A Charlie Brown Christmas will lower your holiday stress

This week, Chatelaine’s editors are battling it out to convince readers — and each other — that their favourite holiday movie is the most magical. This is the fourth instalment in our five-part series.

Christmas, in its purest sense, is about spending time with your loved ones. But in practice, it's actually about eleventh-hour panicking, raisin-heavy desserts and unchecked perfectionism — procuring the perfect tree, roasting the perfect bird and presenting yourself as a perfectly unflappable hostess.

You know who knows something about falling short? Charlie Brown. It may look like kids' stuff, but at its heart, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a spot-on metaphor for the anxiety seeded by our rabid, Western obsession with material gifts. So what if your tree is flimsy and dropping needles! So what if even your trusty beagle is better at decorating than you!

These 10 moments from Charles Schulz's heartwarming half-hour special will remind you what the holidays are all about: skating dogs, dancing like a maniac, and picking whichever tree makes your heart sing, friends be damned.

10. Snoopy plays Crack the Whip with a bunch of unsuspecting eight year olds.

9. Charlie Brown and Linus rail against commercialism by selecting what is objectively the worst Christmas tree ever.

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8. Jazzy piano stylings, by Schroeder.

7. Chunky snowflakes that remind you what winter looked like before global warming.

6. Lucy’s reasonably priced therapy stand.

5. Snoopy's prizewinning doghouse decorating job.

BeforeAfter

4. This dance break.

(Specifically: whatever this girl is doing.)

3. Linus’ moving (albeit highly denominational) mic-drop of a monologue about the true meaning of Christmas.

2. SERIOUSLY STOP IT, LINUS. I'M CRYING.

1. Eventually, Charlie’s friends stop berating his evergreen selection, decorate the saddest-ever tree and surprise him with the finished product.

And then everyone sings. See? Friendship!

Related:
10 reasons Elf is the best holiday movie of all time Christmas Vacation is the only holiday movie that matters 10 reasons you need to watch White Christmas now