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Christmas Movies
Unless you work retail at a mall, the Christmas season is one that is so magical that everyone loves to deck the halls and get jolly. When you're relaxing with a mug full of eggnog, gathering the family around to watch a holiday classic, or wanting some background viewing as you're trimming the tree, Christmas films are one of the easiest ways to get in the spirit. However, there are so many choices that sometimes it can be overwhelming. If you're looking to see something new, trying to start a new family tradition, or appeasing your children with cartoons
The Best Holiday Films
According to Moviefone.com, these are the top 25 best Christmas movies of all time. Some may be no-brainers, but there are those that will surprise you, we're sure.
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A Christmas Story If watching this for 24 hours straight every year on TBS isn't enough, then you might want to pick up your own copy. It's totally worth it though. |
It's a Wonderful Life Despite an undeservingly saccharine reputation, this film, featuring Jimmy Stewart |
Miracle on 34th Street If your town's department store Santa turned out to actually to be the real thing, how would you react? Would you really be able to believe? |
Scrooged This kooky adaptation of A Christmas Carol |
White Christmas Bing Crosby |
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Elf Will Ferrell |
Christmas in Connecticut This tale of mistaken identity stars Barbara Stanwyck |
Home Alone One of the most excruciatingly painful ones here: Macaulay Culkin devises booby traps to chase off burglars intent on robbing his house. |
March of the Wooden Soldiers This Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy |
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation The third Vacation |
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A Christmas Carol Also known as Scrooge |
Holiday Inn Crosby and Berlin do it again, this time with the help of Fred Astaire |
The Nightmare Before Christmas The unrivaled Tim Burton |
The Bishop's Wife Cary Grant |
Love Actually This British ensemble piece arguably has an awful lot going on, but eight romantic comedies are better than one, wouldn't you say? |
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Die Hard Though not the most intuitive choice, if you're not a fan of the typical holiday fare, you'll love Bruce Willis |
The Shop Around the Corner Imagine falling in love with your pen-pal, and then discovering that he or she is one and the same as your nemesis in "real life." Awkward.... |
The Dead Huston directed his daughter Anjelica |
Bad Santa The screwball Coen brothers |
The Santa Clause Is Santa Claus immortal or can someone new inherit the title? This Tim Allen |
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It all starts with bizarre Christmas present: a creature named Gizmo, whose care involves an awful lot of (soon to be broken) rules. |
Joyeux Noël This Oscar-nominated French film details the true stories of the Scottish, French and German Christmas ceasefires during WWI. |
The Muppet Christmas Carol Yes, it's another adaptation of the famous story, but it's the only one with Kermit |
We're No Angels Humphrey Bogart |
The Polar Express Though this one is infamous for having unintentionally creepy-looking animation, the story is based on a well-loved children's book |
Children's Classics
Christmas just wouldn't be the same without these timeless classics: they're the films and TV specials that you've watched for years, and new generations are falling in love all over again. However, there is plenty of room in this category for new favorites too, but it remains to be seen if contemporary hits like My Friends Tigger and Pooh: Super Sleuth Christmas Movie
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A Charlie Brown Christmas From Charlie's pitiful tree to Linus' retelling of the Christmas story to the infamous "Peanuts Dance" (Google it), this is a national treasure. |
The Original Television Christmas Classics All the best Rankin/Bass hits: Rudolph |
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas See the original Christmas scoundrel (if you don't count Scrooge) and his legendary assault on Whoville. |
Mickey's Christmas Carol This adaptation was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short. And a Disney Christmas is really the best kind of holiday. |
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie If you can't get enough of the Muppets (and who ever could?), the gang is back again with another adventure. |
More Favorites
While these choices might not go down in history as the best Christmas flicks of all time, they're sure a lot of fun, and are guaranteed to get you saying "Ho, ho, ho!" in no time at all.
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Babes in Toyland This TV movie starred Drew Barrymore |
Trading Places Eddie Murphy |
Better Off Dead This cult comedy fave features John Cusack |
Ernest Saves Christmas Ernest P. Worrell, played by the much missed Jim Varney |
Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special One of the best "This is for kids--oh no, wait, no it isn't!" holiday specials ever. And Charo |
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Jingle All the Way Yes, California, this is what Arnold Schwarzenegger |
Four Christmases Critics panned it, but the public loved Vince Vaughn |
A Smoky Mountain Christmas OK, it's Dolly Parton |
Eight Crazy Nights Adam Sandler's |
Black Christmas All right, a holiday horror movie! And it's a remake of Bob Clark's |
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