"A Child's Christmases in Wales"

From Amazon, UK

Every Christmas, the peace and quiet of Owen´s house in South Wales--where he lives with his pessimistic father and his rigidly organised mother--is shattered by the arrival of three family members: Owen's two uncles and his cousin Maurice. In this series of vignettes we see episodes from three Christmases dotted throughout the 1980’s, as Owen and Maurice grow from boys into men, while his dad and uncles seem to regress from men into boys, and Owen´s mum watches in despair.

The novelties of Christmas change but the staple routines remain the same: bickering, competitive games and badly-judged presents. Yet beneath all this antagonism is a certain joy arising from the fact that, deep down, everyone knows they couldn´t really have Christmas without each other... or could they?

From a reviewer at Amazon UK:

This is a one-off comedy drama that first aired on BBC Four Christmas 2009. It's loosely based on the Dylan Thomas short story 'A Child's Christmas in Wales'. But instead of focusing on just one Christmas it focuses on three (1983, 1986 and 1989). Each year starts with the family waiting for the brothers and nephew to arrive on Christmas Eve. One of the brothers is a self-made man, one a lovable alcoholic squatter and the other a traffic warden! Each Christmas is celebrated in the same way - the only things that change are the presents and fashions! Some of the themes from the original story are still there. If you've read the story you'll be quite pleased at how they've incorporated them. The set designers have done a really good job of recreating an 80's house.

This made a refreshing change at Christmas. It was great to see Ruth Jones playing the mother of the family. I didn't think about Nessa once! Fantastic actress. I can't really compare it to anything else. Although not laugh-out loud, this contains some clever dialogue and observations. This would make a great stocking filler, especially if the recipient is Welsh!

From the 'friendly choristers' coming to sing every year-- for a FEE-- to the fact that Owen's dad climbed a hill outside of town to use a telephone, rather than spend money for one at home, I found this to be a fun movie!

Available 11-29-10 at Amazon UK.