Sometimes I think about the portrayal of the mom in The Santa Clause, and I get furious. I’m not the only one, either! Today Katie Garrity has a feisty defense of ALL Christmas movie moms: “They all get such a bad, unfortunate storyline, or they’re written to be perceived in the worst possible light.” The icons are all here: Kate McCallister from Home Alone (where was DAD the whole time?); Liz from Jingle All The Way (divorce!!!); and, of course, Karen from Love Actually. Don’t even get me started. Read it — it’s cathartic.

And while we’re at it… justice for the stepdad from The Santa Clause, too. He’s not annoying, he’s just emotionally aware! And those sweaters would earn him a massive fashion following on Instagram these days.

Kelly Faircloth, Executive Editor

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Once upon a time, Jamie Davis Smith’s kids just couldn’t get enough of her company. Not anymore! “When they were little, a trip to the DMV to renew my driver’s license, alone, was cause for celebration. They couldn’t bear to be far from me but now, instead of trying to plot breaks from my offspring, I’ve started to bribe them to hang out with me, hoping to steal moments of their time,” she writes. And she makes a pretty good argument for it, too.