12 giorni di regali

It's cute and the history makes you like the guy...but giving gifts while you're unemployed and not even worried about to look for a job is non sense.

An outstanding low budget movie with masses of hidden messages that the majority of self entitled Americans will easily miss and overlook. This is a wonderful wonderful movie, and I liked it that much I wanted the movie to be longer.

The low to average ratings show to me quite clearly how much America and Britain as well meed such a film and many more of its kind. The truth is films like this are rare indeed.

There's no Xmas music, no sort of usual Santa etc but there is kindness, heart, warmth and spirit. This is all much more impressive than the other stuff we get lumbered with year after year today.

Take note Americans, you could really learn something here. You want to see yourselves in the mirror? Look at how his fiancée acts! That's you all over.

Loved the story of a lottery winner ($50,000) suddenly deciding to help pay off a stranger's store card balance - we'd do the same in similar circumstances. This snowballed into further anonymous charitable acts. Unfortunately it veered off to a predictable love story.

The girlfriend who appeared to be a little nasty, and an older woman whose son he befriends.

Unfortunately the son, I think, has a disability (similar to Jimmy Clitheroe - growth issues). I thought he was little different, especially to have braces on his teeth at such a seemingly young age. But the story does progress with the hullabaloo of the anonymous acts of kindness and this gives the film the warm, feelgood factor

The only significant part - the idea. Each of us, in his good days, dreams to become a Secret Santa. The romance is the necessary ingredient in this genre of film, but in this case it works as a sort of syrup. Sure, David Blue does a decent job but his eyes are more important than the artistic skills. A story becoming, in few scenes, just creepy- too much photos. But, sure, a single mother, her boy and the charming generous stranger are good pieces of a nice Christmas film.

12 Days of Giving is a syrupy gulp that could seriously escalate a diabetic attack.

Baxter Billings is a photographer who has recently become engaged and he wins $50,000. Instead of using that money for his wedding and squirrelling it away as a nest egg for the future. Baxter decides to act as a secret Santa and give the money away to those that are unfortunate or do not have enough money.

This includes people who cannot afford to buy presents from the department store so Baxter pays over $4000 so various families can have Christmas presents.

His generosity in his small town leads to other people acting kindly to strangers. Christmas shopping is less of a scrum and maybe people have discovered the true meaning generosity, giving and the festive season.

Baxter's fiancée is not too pleased when she finds about Baxter's spending spree. Do not worry she is presented as shallow and not so nice from the word go. Baxter does come across a nice widow and her young son and Baxter falls for her.

I watched this with my son who found it rather cheesy and creepy. What was the deal of Baxter taking pictures through the window of the widow and her son in their house?

This is really a simple story with a simple message, barely sketched out characters, I got bored by the end. I suspect so did the director who quickly tagged on a hard to buy romantic ending.