Don't snow me when it comes to holiday films

Today, I want to share some tips for selecting the perfect holiday movie.

But first, I want to tell you that Sunday evening is movie night at our house.

We take turns picking a DVD, then we huddle together in the back room and watch a flick.

Unless our Newfoundland dog sits in front of the TV screen and refuses to move. Then we huddle together in the back room and yell at her to move her big hairy backside.

Good times.

Anyway.

One of our boys decided that during the month of December, we should watch Christmas movies.

"Great idea," I said."What should we watch this week?"

" 'Dead Poets Society,' " he said. "Our English teacher showed it to us. It's really good."

Somehow, over the past 20 years, I'd missed out on seeing this iconic film, but still.

" 'Dead Poets Society' is a Christmas movie?" I asked.

"Sort of," my son said.

Which is how we came to watch the movie last night. About 20 minutes into the film, however, I became uneasy — partly because Robin Williams often makes me nervous, but mostly because of where things were headed.

"I can already tell this isn't going to end well," I said ...

"Wait and see," my kids said. (Of course they'd all seen it before. They weren't the ones spending the last two decades NOT going to movies in an effort to get caught up on the laundry.)

"Somebody dies in this movie, right?" I pressed.

"We're not telling," my kids said.

OK. I have this THING about people dying in movies. I'm fine with people dying in superhero movies. Those are just all about guys in stretchy pants, anyway.

But when characters who seem like actual people start dying — ESPECIALLY AT CHRISTMASTIME — my anxiety level amps up to 11.

I hate hate HATE it when people die in movies.

"Tell me which person dies, so I won't get attached," I pleaded.

They looked at me like I was covered with drool and sitting in front of the TV set on my big hairy backside.

"Please," I begged.