Every family has their own traditions with certain holidays. There is one holiday with a tradition that is very dear to me and that holiday is Mother’s Day. I am very lucky that I have, without a doubt, one of the greatest moms ever and Mother’s Day is when we celebrate this occasion by commemorating the legacy of another great mother.

I am of course referring to Joan Crawford.

In my household Mother’s Day has pretty much become Joan Crawford Day. Every year we do a double feature. First, we watch “Mildred Pierce,” a fantastic film of a woman overcoming the odds and dealing with her venomous daughter, Vida. My mom and I always cheer Mildred on because she deals with everything with such grace, class, and style (I have not yet seen the recent mini-series, but either way this is specific to the great Miss Crawford). We particularly stand up and cheer during Mildred and Vida’s fight.

You go, girl! You tell that cow she’s cheap and horrible!

After that, we watch the coup de grâce of mother/daughter bonding movies. We watch “Mommie Dearest.” For those of you who don’t know, this masterpiece is based off of a the memoir written by Joan Crawford’s adopted daughter, Christina. This memoir was created to reveal how awful and traumatizing of a parent Joan Crawford was (needless to say there has been much debate over whether or not it’s true, but that’s beside the point). My mom and I watch this movie, yet again cheering on good ol’ Joan.

Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you will most likely be aware of its most iconic scene. Yes, my friends. Wire hangers:

That’s right, J-dog. You tell that ungrateful orphan!

Faye Dunaway’s performance is memorable, almost as memorable as her eyebrows. Just like the character Mildred Pierce, Joan Crawford had to overcome a lot. During the parts when we’re not cheering Joanie on and calling Christina an spoiled brat, we’re reciting along with the movie. Especially during this scene:

Each time we watch this movie it we love it more and more. I recommend this for all mothers and daughters to watch together. You may disagree with Joan’s perhaps unique ways of dealing with children, but you can at least bond over the fact that, thank God, your relationship isn’t that bad.

Now you all must excuse me. I have to wrap some balloons around a wire hanger.