THEME // Our Part 2 :The Godfather

Italian American Christmas

Dec 02, 2022

Hello again! We are back and so excited to finish out the holidays with our Godfather edit. This year happens to be 50th anniversary of ‘The Godfather’, which was released in 1972! Hence, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles has put on their newest exhibit "The Art of Moviemaking: The Godfather”, featuring a wide array of original objects from the first two movies in the trilogy and offering a glimpse into the making of the films.

This Christmas season, we’re swapping Nat King Cole for Andrea Botticelli, our pies for connolis, and our ham for meatballs. Join us!

WATCH//

Beyond the obvious The GodFather I and II, both well worth a multiple watches - we recommend:

The Offer, the wild story of the making of the Godfather that is a work of art in its own right.

Then we have The Sopranos for a marathon binge

The holiday rom-com You've Got Mail, referencing our iconic theme inspiring film when Meg Ryan famously asks “what is it with men and The Godfather?”

The Oceans films if you want a light hearted crime series (personally I could watch these on repeat)- old and new.

DO//

We encourage you this season to make the most of all the holiday experiences, and use our guide as a way to learn, connect, create, and celebrate.

Host a Godfather themed holiday evening:

Put on our playlist
Serve good food from our well curated menu listed below
Have The Godfather (I or II!) playing in the background
Share this style inspiration with your guests for theme attire
Play this game (literally a perfectly themed version of Mafia)

Anytime Activities:

Sit on a park bench and people watch
- Be an Umarell! Read more on Kinfolk here.
Dine in a moody Italian restaurant
Find a pasta making class here
Talk to strangers
Help someone
Write a letter to anyone who equals family to you - a mentor or mentee, a sibling, parent, or long-time friend. Tell them the things you would want them to know if they were ever to swim with the fishes.

LA Activities:

Visit the Academy of Motion Picture: The Godfather Exhibit
Grab an espresso at Pasquini coffee
Dine at Musso and Frank’s
Visit The Italian American Museum of Los Angeles
Visit the historical St. Peter’s Italian Church. St. Peter’s offers Masses in Italian and presents dozens of colorful celebrations, with the feast of Santa Lucia taking place in December. For more information visit www.stpeterschurchla.org
Visit the grave of Italian early-hollywood superstar Rudolf Valentino, who is considered one of Hollywood’s first heartthrobs. Located in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, find him at: Mausoleum, Crypt #1205. www.hollywoodforever.com
Explore Italian art and architecture in Los Angeles! The J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty Villa, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Huntington Library boast impressive Italian art collections. Also worth visiting are the Venice Canals; Rico LeBrun’s Genesis mural at Pomona College; Leo Politi’s The Blessing of the Animals mural at El Pueblo Historical Monument; Giovanni Battista Smeraldi’s murals at the Biltmore Hotel (the Los Angeles Conservancy offers weekly tours – reservations required – www.laconservancy.org)

EAT + DRINK//

The Italian family takes the dinner table, and eating together in general, very seriously. It is a whole-family affair full of lively conversation- food always taking a leading role. While Americans will usually sit down on the couch to catch a movie after dinner, Italians will go out together for passiaggiata- a stroll in the piazza or main avenue.

If you feel like a cocktail, try the aptly named “Godfather”.

We see two main choices of drink within the film The Godfather - scotch, a “man’s drink” and red wine, a family drink. Try one of these Sicilian wines or these classic Italian table wines.

“The drinks start to blur as the line between what “business” and what’s “personal” begins to blur as well.” Neha Zahid

For the Holiday festivities, try an antipasto platter, the traditional first course of any formal Italian meal. Think their version of a charcuterie!

In ‘The Sopranos’, Carmela Soprano’s cuisine is a character of its own. Baked Ziti practically owes its career to the show. We like that this recipe calls it “lasagna without the fuss”.

AND… if you feel extra confident in the kitchen, make your own pasta from scratch!

For dessert, our top shelf choice is a homemade Cannoli, but if that's beyond your grasp try Ben + Jerry’s Cannoli ice cream, or a classic Italian Gelato with a cherry on top.

“Leave the gun, take the cannoli” The Godfather

You won’t stop hearing us talk about the Netflix show Chef’s Table anytime soon, this episode alone convinced us that Sicily and this cafe is up next on our travel plans.