The holidays can be a stressful time for everyone, especially if you’re forced to spend time with relatives and engage in pointless small talk. Having to tell your Aunt Lucy for the 100th time that you do not have a boyfriend and, yes, you’re okay with it can get a bit tiresome. During the holiday season with my family, after the fifth or sixth Christmas cookie and 73rd glass of eggnog, I’m ready to to just relax and watch a nice Christmas flick. Sometimes all we want to do is just go hide in our rooms and be alone. But sometimes that’s not an option, and the closest we can get to some kind of sanity is sitting everyone down to watch a movie. No talking, no stress.

Everyone has their favorites, and I think I’ve collected some of the greats.

initiating the gallery...

I am WELL aware that I missed a ton of awesome Christmas movies, and this list is far from complete. So let me know which are your favorites to watch on Christmas Eve!

Katie is finishing up her undergrad at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. She enjoys wasting hours on Facebook and tweeting things no one cares about. When asked the question, “Do you do marathons?” She promptly responds, “Of course! Which show?” Follow her @KatieGarrity!

The non-stop Elf marathons last week made me realize just how much I love Zooey Deschanel movies. She’s just so…cute! She also happens to be multi-talented. Yup, some of you might not know that she’s also a very gifted singer and musician.  So in honor of her, I bring you: She & Him’s Volume 1. It’s a peppy album with a retro feel that makes me fall even harder for dear Zooey. As if that’s even possible.

About the Band:

She & Him, formed in 2006, consists of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. Ward met Deschanel, and while he knew she had a good singing voice from seeing Elf, he was surprised to know that she had a catalog of songs she’d written and didn’t know what to do with. According to Deschanel, once she met Ward, everything just fell into place.

Top 3 Tracks:

Sentimental Heart

Why Do You Let Me Stay Here

I Was Made For You

Why You Should Listen to It:

This is definitely something to listen to when you’re in the mood for something retro/light hearted/indie. Zooey’s voice is very unique, beautiful and soothing. And the album is just really fun. It’s the perfect music for a girl’s night in, a library study sesh, or a mid-winter pick-me-up. I just love it!

Need some more music recs? See what else Sarabeth recommends. And for the after-finals celebration, we’ve got just the playlist for you.

The holiday season, I’ve come to realize, is all about the traditions. Baking cookies. Listening to festive music. Wrapping presents. Eating way too much in a way too short amount of time. Shopping for days. Decorating. It wouldn’t be Christmas without all of it.

But really, probably my favorite Christmas tradition is the endless Christmas movies. It starts on Thanksgiving day with March of the Wooden Soldiers and continues through the New Year. The perfect excuse for movie marathons and munching on sweets, all I really want to do is grab some hot chocolate and those sugar cookies I bought baked, and settle down with one of my favorite Christmas movies.  Any of these will do.

Click on any movie to get started!

Makeup cases have come a long way since your 6th grade pink plastic Caboodle and I’m not going to criticize you if you still have it sitting on your dresser, but perhaps you could upgrade your travel style for this occasion. Below are some great cases and bags to help bring your necessities abroad.

Mark expandable black cosmetics case- by Avon- $12: This compact black case has an adorable pink lining and with one zip it expands even further to store more beauty supplies. It is super cheap and even includes a pocket to store full sized brushes.

Bare Escentuals Wine Train Case- $40: This train case can store your makeup at home and also on-the-go. The plastic storage unit inside comes out so that it can be cleaned. It is made of shiny, merlot-colored, polka dotted fabric and is perfect for storing all kinds of makeup and brushes.

e.l.f Metallic makeup organizer- $10: Like all things e.l.f, this makeup organizer is cute and cheap. It has magnetic closure and several pockets, and comes in four metallic shades…I’d go with bronze to match your beach tan.

Kate Spade Lawn Chair Cosmetics Case- $93.99: If you have the money to splurge, this Kate Spade bag is gorgeous and will prove to be a good purchase for years to come. At Overstock.com this bag is cheaper than usual and is pretty large so it can store your other toiletry needs as well.

Betseyville On The Prowl Cosmetics Case- $16.99: This Betsey Johnson colorful zebra printed cosmetics case is super small, so it’s probably better for weekend trips. So if you’ve got a short trip planned this break, check it out.

Vera Bradley Travel Cosmetics Case- $48: This makeup case is really roomy with 8 divided areas. Like all Vera Bradley items, this case is bright and springy and comes in 21 patterns.

Another travel tip: When you don’t want to carry your big shampoo bottles and hair gels check out these mini plastic cases from the container store. They are sturdy, perfectly sized, and super cheap. Get a mini shampoo bottle for only $1.29. Just remember to check all these items at the airport- 3oz is the liquid maximum for carry on bags! Have fun ladies, I’ll be thinking of you as I suffer in this north east tundra…

Sperm Brow

There are a slew of brow problems to address, but sperm brow is the most annoying (and the funniest to talk about). You’ve all seen it before – a tuft of hair near the bridge of the nose, and then super over-tweezed little tail for the rest of the brow forming a little hairy sperm. Not. Attractive. Not only is it not cute to have sperm swimming above your eyes, the shape is simply not flattering to your face.

So to remedy this and any other brow issues you may be having, brow expert Anastasia has made it fool proof with some really rad stencils. They’re 20 bucks at Sephora and so easy to use. It comes with several different shapes; find the one that matches your brows best, fill in with a pencil or powder and tweeze anything outside the lines!

Foundation Mask

This is a classic mistake but it seems that some people just can’t wise up. Haven’t you seen that girl with the flawless makeup that looks great until you get to her jaw line and realize what color her skin really is? It’s so scary and unnatural to see someone’s face literally end when their neck starts. You never want to see a line where your foundation ends. So, how do you avoid it? The most important thing is to make sure you have the right shade. Never wear your summer foundation in the winter and vice versa – your skin is not the same color!

Even if you have the perfect shade the best way to avoid the foundation mask is use a foundation brush! E.L.F. has a decent foundation brush for $1. ONE DOLLAR! So you have no excuse to not use it. When you apply foundation with a brush it goes on more evenly and the edges blend out into your neck instead of leaving a straight line.

Bonus tip: If you use bronzer, make sure to use it on your neck and chest too so the color doesn’t stop at your chin!

Brown Eyeliner

Okay so it might sound good in theory – you don’t want to use something as intense as black eyeliner and you want a more natural look, so brown is the obvious choice. The problem is that a lot of brown liners have orange or red undertones. Orange or red around your eyes = BAD. It just ends up making you look tired

If you want to use a brown liner, make sure it’s a dark chocolate brown without any red or orange tones to it. Or try a charcoal grey shade like the Clinique Quick Liner in Slate for $14.50.

Matte Face

Many girls our age deal with break outs and oily skin. So obviously the idea of matifying anything seems appealing. But when you use a matte foundation with matifying powder over it and oil absorbing sheets every hour…you have over done it. The thing about being TOO matte is that your skin should have a natural glow and shine to it. Nothing looks faker than a totally matte face.

You can use any luminizer mixed into your foundation to give a soft healthy glow to your skin. Try Stila’s Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer for $32. You can use it on its own or under any foundation or powder to give a soft subtle radiance to your skin.

Nothing puts me into a more jolly mood than these holiday classics (in no particular order)…

1) It’s a Wonderful Life: You’d have to be a total Scrooge not to tear up at this movie about a suicidal man who is reminded of how beautiful his life is (played by the always amazing Jimmy Stewart). It will forever stand as one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time.

2) Home Alone: This movie made Macaulay Culkin the biggest child star on the planet and had audiences around the world roaring as he gave two burglars a Christmas butt whoopin’.

3) Miracle on 34th Street: This classic story about a man claiming to be Kris Kringle being put on trial for legal insanity will make anyone a believer in Old Saint Nick.

4) Love Actually: Not only does this British flick have a fantastic cast (Colin Firth, Keira Knightly, Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson), but it’s a truly lovey dovey romantic comedy that is guaranteed to make ya feel extra cozy.

5) A Christmas Story: This hilarious 80′s movie about a truly American Christmas has stemmed so many famous lines and scenes, people all over the world recognize them: “You’ll shoot your eye out!” (Get’s me every time!) You can even buy that (in)famous sexy leg lamp.

6) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original cartoon): While the live action re-make with Jim Carrey was entertaining, nothing reminds me that it’s Christmas time like watching the 1966 animated version of the Dr. Seuss book. (Yup, I just watched it on Monday).

7) A Charlie Brown Christmas: This animated special about the beloved Peanuts and their sad little Christmas tree has been synonymous with the holiday for four decades.

8) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: Clark Griswold is up to his usual antics in this movie. You can’t help but giggle at his crazy Christmas decorations and, of course, the Christmas tree/squirrel scene.

9) The Nightmare Before Christmas: Shrunken heads, skeletons, ghosts and ghouls; not exactly what you associate with Christmas, but this Tim Burton film has become a surprise Christmas classic.

10) Elf: Will Ferrell is one of the most hilarious comedians of our time and his role as Buddy the Elf, a human who was raised as an elf in the North Pole and goes to New York City to find his birth father as an adult, is one of his greatest.

11) Scrooged: This off-beat version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” is hilarious, and Bill Murray plays the role of a grinchy TV exec perfectly.

12) White Christmas: Bing Crosby is famous for the tune, and the movie of the same name brings just as much joy.

13) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman: I decided to place these two kiddie classics together because they seem to go hand-in-hand. There’s a reason Rudolph is the longest running TV Christmas special of all time (it originally aired in 1964); this claymation 30 minute special about “the most famous reindeer of all” with the glowing red nose pleases kids and grown-ups alike. Frosty came out in 1969 and is an animated classic about a snowman who comes to life with a magic hat that also has a highly recognizable theme song (thumpity thump thump, thumpity thump thump, look at that Frosty go!). God, I love ‘em both.

14) A Chipmunk Christmas: As a kid, I looked forward to watching this Christmas special every year. Something about those adorable chipmunks with their squeaky voices gets me every time. And how can you not love “The Chipmunk Song” (“Christmas Christmas time is here, time for joy and time for cheer…”)?

15) Die Hard: If you’re looking for a great Christmas movie your man won’t moan about, look no further than Die Hard an action/comedy/Christmas movie all in one. Believe it.

What is your favorite holiday flick?

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When you think of technological innovation, makeup is not usually the first thing to come to mind. But those clever beauty developers are always coming up with new ways to incorporate new technologies into making us all look fabulous. Here are some of the most amazing technological advances in beauty right now.

Lancome Oscillation Mascara – ($34 sephora.com)

Lancome has always been the leader in mascara innovation, but they really did something truly unique with Oscillation. The brush actually vibrates! 7000 vibrations a minute. So what does that mean for your lashes? I know it might sound like a gimmick but it actually does a killer job of separating each and every lash. So not only does it eliminate clumping, but each lashes get coated with a superfab mascara, giving you extra length, curl and volume.

Borba Skin Balancing Water – Clarifying Pomegranate ($28 borba.com)

Scott Vincent Borba creator of the super affordable (everything’s a dollar!) E.L.F makeup line decided to change the beauty game again by creating Borba Waters. These are calorie-free vitamin packed waters that are specifically formulated to make your skin flawless. This tasty drink is the only thing out there that effectively prevents hormonal acne. You know those deep horrible unpoppable zits you get during your special lady time? If you drink one of these waters every day the week before and during your period it actually keeps cystic acne at bay! It works by giving your skin all of the tools it needs to protect and heal itself. Tarte Cosmetics even makes a Borba infused lip glosses!

Two-Faced Mood Swing Lip Gloss ($18.50 sephora.com)

It’s always tricky to pick just the perfect shade of lip gloss to fit every situation. Well, Two-Faced made it easy for us. This lips gloss actually chooses a shade for you! It starts out clear, but changes to the perfect shade for you based on body heat, your personal pH and your mood. Two-Faced was clever enough to take a silly fad from the seventies turn it into something totally useful and fabulous. The best part is your shade will be totally unique to you so no one could ever steal your look.

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For all you elf fetishers out there

I definitely would not consider myself a beauty junkie. I enjoy new products and like experimenting with makeup, I mean, what girl doesn’t? But the overwhelming amount of new stuff coming out each season seems almost impossible to really stay on top of.

Besides the fact that in college, most girls don’t have unlimited funds to spend on super expensive beauty products. We’re lucky to have a few free minutes in between classes and events to run down to the drugstore for a new tube of mascara. So, when a good deal and new brand comes along that catches my eye, I feel the need to share it with the masses who would appreciate it, aka CC readers.

ELF (Eyes, Lips, Face) makeup is my new obsession and recent splurge that I actually don’t feel too guilty about. Why? Because EVERYTHING on the website is only $1! Yes, that is right girls, just one freakin dollar for lip glosses, eye shadow pallets, all over color sticks and so much more…I bought ten items for a total of ten dollars plus some shipping, and voila, I’ve already got 10 things for the price of one product normally. Can’t beat that excitement for a boring summer day.