The Watchers' Advent Calendar: 23rd December

It's Day 23 of The Watchers' Advent Calendar!

Do you ever have trouble getting that perfect gift for a friend or loved one? There's certainly no risk of that happening today- not when the gift giver is the figurehead of giftgiving at this time of year.

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The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe (2005)

The first in a big-budget franchise based on the enduring Chronicles of Narnia books written by C.S. Lewis.

The Pevensie children- Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley)- are evacuated from London to the countryside home of Professor Kirke (Jim Broadbent). Whilst exploring the house, Lucy finds an old wardrobe which is the portal to the magical land of Narnia.

Narnia is a land of ice and snow where it is 'always winter and never Christmas', ruled over by Jadis The White Witch (Tilda Swinton):

However, the arrival of the Pevensie children- 'two sons of Adam, and two daughters of Eve'- is enough to break the White Witch's hold, and eventually Narnia gets a long-awaited visitor...

Father Christmas! (played by James Cosmo)

Along with a new sewing machine and a fixed dam for Mr and Mrs Beaver (voiced by Ray Winstone and Dawn French), Father Christmas has a few presents for the Pevensie children:

A sword and shield for Peter...

A bow and arrows, and a horn for Susan...

and a bottle of reviving potion and a dagger for Lucy.

So much like Q in the Bond films, Father Christmas knows exactly what the children will need later on and furnishes them with it. (At this point, Edmund has allied himself with the White Witch and so is not present).

If it were only so easy in real-life...

Tomorrow (Christmas Eve) will have the final entry in The Watchers' Advent Calendar- I think we've picked a lovely way to finish. Intrigued? Then come back tomorrow and find out...