Merry Christmas you old bar and brothel!

Like all families, we watched the classics around Christmas time. A Christmas Carol in its various forms (the Muppet and Blackadder versions being my personal favorites). White Christmas, A Christmas Story, and of course It's A Wonderful Life.

It's always a relief to see George Bailey realize his worth and the town rally around him, but I ask you:

Was Pottersville really that bad?

It had a lot more going on in it than Bedford Falls did. Sure, you could raise a family in Bedford Falls, but it was painfully dull. So dull that, until he considered suicide and met that angel, George wanted to do nothing BUT leave town.

My mom used to set up little lighted houses on top of our TV center, but she always avoided buying the licensed It's A Wonderful Life houses because they were, if I recall, too "cutesy." My parents agreed that having a lighted house Pottersville village would be way more fun. Tiny dance halls, casinos, and bars dotting the cotton fabric atop the TV stand. Now that's Christmas.

Because, frankly, Pottersville had it going on.

First of all, check out the neon sign. Way cooler than the wooden Bedford Falls sign.

Woo hoo, loose women!

The House of Dolls looks pretty cool man, I'd go in.

Get over it, George. Not like Mary's dancing there.

She's suffering a fate worse than death. SPINSTERHOOD!!!!!!

Yes, without George, Mary faces the hideous life of being an old maid in a rocking town where broads and goons gather every night to drink, fight, and jitterbug.

I guess, based on how horrified George was by everything and how sad Mary looked, they are happier in Bedford Falls. But I'd rather live in Pottersville.

Boooooooooorrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnng