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With the holidays comes one of the greatest seasonal art forms known to media: the Christmas movie. These are movies that make us laugh, cry, and think about what it truly means to embrace the Christmas spirit. The lessons of the holiday seasons are simple ones, but they always bear repeating year after year: it is better to give than receive, love and joy are contagious, and of course "The best way to spend Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." In honor of this fact, we’re recommending some of our favorite films that you may want to enjoy this season, ranging from comical to dramatic to "Die Hard."
Elf
Will Ferrell plays Buddy the Elf, a human child who accidentally found his way into Santa’s knapsack and was eventually taken back to the North Pole to be raised as an elf. Once Buddy realizes he is not in fact an elf by birth, he sets out on a grand adventure to New York City to find his family. Along the way, he falls in love with a blonde Zooey Deschanel and puts maple syrup on his spaghetti. It's one of the funniest Christmas movies ever made.
Price: $3.99 (to rent) to $12.99 (to buy)
Home Alone
"Home Alone" has probably inspired more mischief than any other holiday film. After his family forgets him in their frenzy to catch a flight to Paris, Kevin McCallister is left, well, home alone. In fear of the "Wet Bandits" who have been ransacking houses around town, Kevin prepares a series of booby traps that should inspire any young aspiring engineer this holiday season.
Price: $3.99 (to rent) to $12.99 (to buy)
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Christmas hijinks at its finest. Clark Griswold just wants to have a good old-fashioned family Christmas, complete with gifts given with love, stockings hung on the hearth, and of course a triumphant Christmas tree. But, as is many times the case when a Griswold puts effort towards doing something for the good of his family, they run into a few bumps along the way. As with any good Christmas film though, it has a happy ending, albeit one that also includes a Santa Claus caught on fire.
Price: $3.99 (to rent) to $12.99 (to buy)
A Charlie Brown Christmas
This year marks the 50th anniversary of "A Charlie Brown Christmas." There’s so much to love in this half hour. Valuable life lessons are taught including “The biggest tree is not always the best tree," to Lucy’s preference in eating snowflakes: “I never eat December snowflakes. I always wait until January.” Most importantly, Vince Gauraldi’s jazz score is all the holiday music you should ever need.
Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas
A common theme in Christmas films is that giving gifts is a much more fulfilling experience than receiving them, and no movie better illustrates this fact than when the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes that day. Try to plan watching this one as part of a feel-good animated double-feature with Charlie Brown.
The Santa Clause
After Santa falls off his roof on Christmas Eve, divorced father Scott Calvin dons the big red suit out of curiosity, only to realize soon after that, in doing so, he has formally accepted the role of Santa Claus. Milk, cookies, and hilarity ensue.
Price: $3.99 (to rent) to $17.99 (to buy)
A Christmas Story
Just don’t shoot your eye out.
Price: $3.99 (to rent) to $12.99 (to buy)
It’s A Wonderful Life
Argued by many as the greatest Christmas film of all time, "It’s a Wonderful Life" tells the tale of George Bailey, portrayed by Jimmy Stewart, as he contemplates suicide on Christmas Eve. Moments before attempting to end his life, Bailey is met by his guardian angel who proceeds to show him what life would’ve been like had he never been born, and Bailey eventually sees that his life is still worth living. If you want to reflect on what you’re thankful for this holiday season, this film was made to get you thinking.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
After growing tired of his home in Halloween Town and his title of The Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington stumbles upon Christmas Town, a land of magic and wonder the likes of which was previous unbeknownst to him. Jack sets out to take on the responsibilities of organizing the Christmas holiday, much to the confusion of his ghoulish companions. This is as good as Tim Burton gets.
Price: $3.99 (to rent) to $12.99 (to buy)
Miracle on 34th Street
Probably the best movie on this list to watch with someone who still believes in Santa Claus.
Price: $3.99 (to rent) to $4.99 (to buy)
Love Actually
A feel-good anthology of stories about love and all of the gushy, messy, beautiful, yet complicated feelings that come along with it. Watch this with your significant other and compare and contrast your feelings on Bill Nighy.
Price: $3.99 (to rent) to $12.99 (to buy)
Scrooged
There are so many versions of the "Christmas Carol" story, from the Muppets to Disney’s Scrooge McDuck to almost countless film adaptations over the years, that at least one had to be included on this list. We're picking "Scrooged" as it is the only version of the story that includes Bill Murray, and when deciding which movie to watch, leaning towards whichever film includes Bill Murray is usually a solid play. It’s a fun meta-telling of the classic tale that’s great if you’ve seen your fair share of Ebenezers in the past.
Price: $3.99 (to rent) to $14.99 (to buy)
Bad Santa
The Christmas film industry was severely lacking a raunchy comedy until Billy Bob Thorton gave us his best (well, probably his worst) as Willie T. Stokes in "Bad Santa." Stokes is a professional thief who spends every Christmas posing as a mall Santa and using his temporary job as a cover to steal whatever he pleases. But when he meets Thurman, an overweight and extremely naive child who believes Stokes is the real Santa Claus, he turns around and becomes a better…. oh wait, no, he’s still basically a sex-addicted jerk, at least until the very end of the film. This is a good one to watch once the younger members of your family have gone to bed on Christmas Eve.
Price: $3.99 (to rent) to $14.99 (to buy)
A Year Without a Santa Claus
How could we forget about the Heat Miser? Santa is sick and decides to take a year off from the whole gift-giving thing, citing that kids don’t believe in Santa Claus anymore anyways. He leaves it to two of his elves, Jingle and Jangle, to go out and find proof that the people still need Santa. Their adventures lead them to meet the Heat Miser and his brother the Snow Miser, and eventually with a little help from Mrs. Claus, Christmas is saved.
Die Hard
The perfect Christmas movie for people that aren’t interested in Christmas movies: "Die Hard" is the greatest action movie ever made and it just so happens to take place on Christmas. John McClain, a New York cop who doesn’t always play by the rules, is just trying to reconcile with his wife at her company’s Christmas party. But before he can apologize for his past mistakes, terrorists take over the gathering, and John is the only man who can stop them. Complete with Alan Rickman as villain extraordinaire Hans Gruber, and not one, but two FBI agents named Johnson, "Die Hard" is the perfect movie for any occasion, especially Christmas.
Price: $3.99 (to rent) to $12.99 (to buy)
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