*Also posted on FamiliesofMultiples.com
Christmas is the most magical time of the year. It's a time of giving and a time to spend with family. Plus, it's cold outside, so cuddling up on the couch to watch some great family movies is simply the smart move!
Many movies have been made over the years that catch the pure holiday spirit of Christmas, so many in fact, that you can easily have a Christmas movie every night of December! Count down with us as we review the 24 best holiday movies of the season!
Home Alone
John Hughes made movies from 16 Candles to The Great Outdoors, but this one probably eclipses all of his others. The McCallister family is so big, you can almost understand how one kid could get lost in the mix. Kevin gets left at home alone and has to defend himself and his home against the bungling burglars of Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. Then, prepare for the heart strings to be pulled when mom reunites with her son!
*All ages
Christmas Story
"You'll shoot your eye out, kid." One of the greatest lines in celluloid history! With a grown voiceover telling the antics of his childhood that probably set the template for shows like The Wonder Years and The Goldbergs, Christmas Story tells so many funny adventures of little Ralphie, his friends, and his family, and the Red Rider BB gun. Put them all together and they add up to an eternal holiday classic.
*All ages
Scrooged
Christmas Carol has been made and remade so many times, but what makes Scrooged different is that they updated the classic tale to a current setting with the "Ebenezer" of this movie being a TV producer played by Bill Murray at his jerky best! It's refreshing to see the modern take along with the always hilarious dry humor of Murray. Murray's patented sarcasm get all misty when it comes time for the sappy stuff.
*Older kids and teens
A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Peanuts gang has the market cornered on holiday specials. Good ol' Chuck gets roped in to directing the school Christmas play, and makes decisions the rest of the kids have issues with, namely the tiny, almost needleless Christmas tree he gets. In a great moment, surely meant to be a moral analogy to people and how we should all treat each other, the kids show the tree some love, turning it into a beautiful tree after all.
*All ages
A Christmas Carol (2009)
As mentioned earlier, there have been many renditions of Charles Dickens' classic tale. The 2009 animated version sticks extremely close to the plot and has animation so real looking, you'll question if some of it is animation at all. This type of animation has become a habit of director Robert Zemeckis, who also did Polar Express on this list. Jim Carrey stars as Ebenezer, and the actor embodies the role as you'd assume.
*All ages
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Another story that has been adapted to the screen a few times. You really can't beat the 1966 original TV special, but Jim Carrey's live action version is pretty fun to watch too! The live action version expands the story a bit to try to delve into the Grinch's motivation for being so vile. The 2018 animated version (now in theaters) also adds some new characters and storylines that are different from the original.
*All ages
The Polar Express
This movie is pure magic! The Polar Express is a train that takes kids, who have doubts about the existence a certain big guy in red, to the North Pole on a magical journey that teaches wonder, friendship, and faith. The Zemeckis art choice again looks extremely realistic, so much so that you can really almost see Tom Hanks under the conductor's hat. You'll want to run out and get tickets for the train yourself.
*All ages
It's a Wonderful Life
This quite possibly is THE Christmas movie. Being a classic from 1946 and arguably maintaining its popularity through the years even more so than Miracle on 34th Street. The ultimate "what if" story of what your friends and family would be like if they'd never met you. While that premise sounds sad, it proves to be sweet, heart-warming, and, luckily, life-affirming to George, played by James Stewart.
*All ages
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
You ever notice a difference between watching something as a kid, then rewatching it as an adult? The reindeer and even Santa are incredibly mean to Rudolph, yet he goes out of his way to get their acceptance and admiration. He becomes the best red-nosed reindeer he could be, helping every character that crosses his path, from the elf that wanted to be a dentist to the misfit toys and even the abominable snowman himself!
*All ages
Elf
If you ever want to see a perfect depiction of unbridled Christmas joy, this movie is for you! Will Ferrell plays a normal human sized adult being raised by small elves, and he's a tall guy! When Buddy (Will) figures out he's not an elf, he embarks on a quest to NYC to find his real dad. The only issue is Buddy has never left Santa's Utopian village before and has no idea what's in store for him in the real world.
*All ages
Miracle on 34th Street
Here's another Christmas movie with a decent remake. When a man that looks an awful lot like the real Santa claims he IS the real Santa, people naturally go nuts and think he's crazy and try to institutionalize him. The proceeding court case brings up the question of belief, faith, and hope for ideals and dreams. The ending of the court case, similar apparently to Santa, has to be seen to be really be believed.
*All ages
The Santa Clause
I'm torn on this hilarious take on Tim Allen becoming Santa. Allen becomes Santa because he accidentally kills Santa by scaring him into falling off his roof. I feel like it's a bit wink-wink, he's not really dead...but I don't think that's ever said. You have a hilarious and heartwarming movie where Tim Allen adjusts to being the Man in Red and manages to also fix his personal life with his ex-wife and young son.
*All ages
Gremlins
Gremlins is a fun movie that takes on the feel of a 50's creature feature but keeps it all wrapped up in a comedy. When a dad brings home a special gift for his son, a cute little critter called a mogwai, bad things begin to happen when that mogwai gets water on it, creating more mogwais which eventually turn into hilariously devilish little monsters called Gremlins. The gremlins proceed to try to take over the whole town!
*Older kids and teens
Christmas with the Kranks
Tim Allen's 2nd entry into the list has him wanting to skip Christmas! From John Grisham's "Skipping Christmas", Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis' characters try to get out of town for a holiday cruise. That's easier said than done as the whole town seems to come after them for trying to get out of Christmas. The duo get news that the daughter is coming home after all and the whole town comes together to help.
*All ages
Nightmare Before Christmas
A weird movie in such a good way! It makes both the Halloween list and the Christmas list. Jack the Pumpkin King of Halloween has grown tired of the yearly traditions of his holiday and yearns for something different. He decides to take over Santa's role as the bringer of Christmas. Meanwhile, someone else decides to make a bid for Halloween Town. Claymation action and comedy result before returning to normal.
*All ages
Shrek the Halls
Not only have the characters from Shrek made some great movies, they also have 2 of the best holiday specials out there. In this one, Shrek sets out to make the perfect Christmas holiday for his wife and kids, only he's clueless how to do it. Along the way, the special shows that family doesn't always have to be blood related. Instead, family is all those you love and that love you in return. See what you can learn from an ogre?
*All ages
Surviving Christmas
Ben Affleck stars in this film that deserves a second look. Ben is a lonely, rich guy with no friends or family during the holidays. During a visit to his childhood home, he decides to ask the family that lives there now if he can pay them to let him stay there through Christmas. This turns the holiday proceedings upside down for everyone involved. James Gandolfini plays the grumpy dad of the rented family perfectly!
*Older kids and teens
Frosty the Snowman
This 1969 classic is a yearly must-see holiday special that brings wonder, imagination, and...well...magic to all who watch! Matching the lyrics of the famous Frosty song, the story of the snowman brought to life by a magical hat comes to animated life itself on your TV. This is a great movie for getting your kids hooked on holiday films. Jimmy Durante narrates and the voice is synonymous with the holiday.
*All ages
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
This is one of the funniest Christmas movies ever. At times heart-warming, other times hilarious, the movie does such a good job showing the frustration that can come from decorating for Christmas and trying to host a big family get together. However, it does just as good of a job showing the rewards that can come from successfully pulling off the big get together. Only, hopefully your memories don't involve the police!
*Older kids and teens
Rise of the Guardians
There's a team of guardians that protect the Earth. You know them by name already, Santa (or "North" in this movie), the Easter Bunny, Sandman, and the Tooth Fairy. When Pitch, an evil creature determined to ruin the innocence of all children, decides to attack, the Guardians team up with potential new member Jack Frost to stop him once and for all. It's a Christmas movie for those who like superheroes. Finally.
*All ages
Arthur Christmas
Santa has two sons in this movie. The first is being trained to be the next Santa, he's bold, commanding, and ready to lead. The other son is Arthur. Arthur's clumsy and timid, but has a love for all things Christmas that surpasses everyone else. So, when one present accidentally doesn't get delivered but there's only 2 hours left to do so, only Arthur presses to get it done. Great movie with a great message.
*All ages
The Christmas Chronicles
Another in the long list of Christmas movies, Kurt Russell takes a turn as Santa continuing his extremely long tradition of family films. There's no fat suit for Kurt, though, which brings on a number of jokes since he doesn't look like the big jolly Santa with which everyone is familiar. A brother and sister trying to get a picture of Santa get the plot rolling as they disrupt Santa's Christmas Eve delivery plans!
*All ages
A Muppet Christmas Carol
Another great rendition of the Dickens' classic. What makes this one stand out? Muppets of course! Also, Michael Caine is at his amazing best (as usual) as Ebenezer Scrooge. Aside from Caine, all other characters are played by your favorite Muppets characters. Unfortunately, though, you sadly don't get to see Scooter in the movie. Rizzo the Rat was given a prominent role while Scooter wasn't seen at all!
*All ages
Jingle All the Way
You ever think Christmas is all about presents and commercialism? This movie isn't going to change your mind since it is all about Arnold Schwarzenegger's character trying to get that one perfect gift for his son because he waited until the last minute to shop. Comedy ensues as anything and everything that could go wrong in his pursuit does. However, what the movie does emphasize, as does the holiday, is family.
*All ages
There you have it. 24 days of Christmas movies to get you through the whole month!
There are so many Christmas movies that many have been left out to cull the list down to just 24. You can also check out these that were missed:
Religious theme: 2006's Nativity Story and 2017's animated The Star for Christians or for Hanukkah, watch 8 Crazy Nights and the Hebrew Hammer.
Classics: Meet Me in St. Louis or Bing Crosby's White Christmas.
Television Specials: Rankin and Bass' The Night Before Christmas, Mickey's Christmas Carol, the Toy Story Christmas Special, The Garfield Christmas Special, and Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.
Rom-coms: Put on Love Actually, The Holiday, or Four Christmases.
Action: Die Hard or Die Hard 2, and Lethal Weapon.
Horror: You have Krampus and Black Christmas.
Comedy: Bad Santa, Office Christmas Party, and A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas aren't really family related at all but, depending on your comedic tastes, they may make your grown up list.
Did we miss any of your classic holiday favorites in our list? Let us know!
Also don't forget to check out our other movie lists.