Festive movie tournament drew attention of friends, family. Here’s how they play game

When I was in college, I wrote a theme paper comparing and contrasting storylines and character development in soap operas. It was a case of “write what you know.” At the time, I watched “my shows” with friends every day, and I may have planned (OK, I did) my class schedule around my favorites.

Once I graduated from college, I did record my shows on the VCR (yes, I’m old) but found that I was spending too much of my valuable free time watching soap operas. More importantly, I realized that what I missed most was the camaraderie of watching these shows with other people. What I had thought of as a solitary activity really had a social aspect that was, surprisingly, important to me.

Flash forward many years. While soap operas hold no appeal these days, I do crave the occasional mind-fluff viewing that they provided: I want a romance, I want a bit of drama, I want a lot of predictability and most of all, I want a satisfying and happy ending. I don’t want this all the time, but during times of stress, watching a movie where everything really does end up OK is how I de-stress.

And no time of year is more stressful than the stretch from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.

Hello, holiday movies!

These movies combine the best of soap opera storytelling without the time commitment. But since no one in my family will watch these with me, they lack the social element of my college soap opera days. But so be it. I’ve changed. If the pandemic has taught me one thing, it’s that I don’t require a lot of social activity.

Or do I?

After Thanksgiving, I settled into my usual routine of catching the newest holiday movies. I watched a very good one and thought, “I can’t imagine any other being as good at this.” I scribbled a little tournament for myself on paper to find out. Going forward, after watching a new-to-me movie, I compared it to the previous one and whichever I thought was better, that movie won the round. If a movie was so horrible that I couldn’t finish, it forfeited.

And that was the extent of the rules. Just a goofy personal holiday game. But I was talking with my brother about holiday movies and mentioned my tournament. He wanted to play and thought others might want to as well.

The only argument I could think for not doing it was that I would have to confess, in public, that I watch a lot of these.

Like…a lot.

Sibling-pressured and armed with a new wipe-off tournament bracket poster, I launched the tourney on my Facebook page a few days later. It’s public, so anyone can see it or play. It’s also not very organized or high tech.

If this is where you’re expecting to read that my little holiday game went viral, you may have watched too many of these movies. Not even close. But, more importantly, I realized something unexpected after my friends started to play.

It’s an acceptable form of social interaction. People were commenting on which one they liked and why or why not. One friend was happy to play since no one else in her family would watch these with her. They’re mingling with each other like they’re at a good cocktail party, and I feel like the hostess of a casual soiree.

I don’t think a game like this could have been as successful four years ago. What was important then was to be with the people we love. But the definition of “be with” has changed. Since the pandemic hit and we all had to figure out ways to stay close (but not, literally), we’ve maintained important connections with the most curious array of activities.

Even goofy virtual ones.

Susan is a writer and podcaster who lives in Kansas City. She co-hosts the award-winning, long-running women’s history podcast, The History Chicks, and hosts the far less popular, A Slice From The Middle podcast.