First Friday - Books, Movies, Movies, Books... And Santa Clause!

by Sofie Couch

What is it about the big man in red that says Christmas, hot chocolate, reindeer, cookies... and sexy! Do what?

You heard me. I said sexy... in reference to Santa Clause. He is hot! Okay, maybe I've got a thing for giant men with beards. Mr. French was my first crush. I think maybe because he reminded me so much of Saint Nick when I was in some developmentally sensitive moment. "Mistah Fwench! Mistah Fwench!" And my husband, (hmm, come to think of it, another large bearded man), gave me as a gift one Christmas, the entire first season of Family Affair. Ahhhh, that man knows me well.

I think it's the lumberjack mystique. Santa Clause is the wounded hero, who lives in seclusion, who has disavowed all society, except for his annual practice of attending to the needy. When he's not giving to the poor children of the world, he's running his own sanctuary for put-upon little people. They raise reindeer, don't ya know.

And then there's that other giant hottie, Hagrid. Yeah, I'm talkin' Hagrid of Harry Potter fame. Unsung hero, gentle giant, huge heart, (Robbie Coltrane), layers of clothes, and hair, and mystique. Speaking of which, here's a link to a bit of fan-fiction I've been playing at over at Movellas, HAGRID's HEART. (Note: it's not finished, so this is just a teaser, but if you really want to know, I'll tell ya how it ends.)

Do not judge me. (Yeah, that Santa in the photo has no pants. He also has no head, legs, arms or spirit. He's just there in my office for inspiration.) It's a popular theme this time of year. I'm off to watch THE SANTA CLAUSE 2: The Mrs. Clause. You'll want to catch that one if you haven't already. Then you'll know what I mean. Tim Allen with a beer gut and white beard - hot!