Christmas Movies

Christmastime is here!!! I love the Christmas season. Of course there are a lot of things about Christmastime that I don’t like, but those things all have to do with the commercialization of the holiday. I loathe shopping… I don’t like the crowded stores. I dislike the feeling that I’m spending too much for something at a particular store, but hate the thought of shopping multiple stores just to save a few bucks. The to-buy list plays on a continuous loop in my mind for a month, and then I inevitably experience the deer-in-the-headlights BLANK OUT brain the moment I walk through a store’s doors. “Why am I here again?”

But I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Christmas season, and one of my favorite things to do is laze about and watch Christmas movies. I've put together “Lyn’s Top 15 Christmas Movies” list for your perusal. First of all, some of these movies aren't your momma's Christmas movies. Second, If you’re a big musical fan, you won’t find any of your favorite Christmas movies on this list as I am not a fan of musicals. Third, I have not included all the Bass/Rankin stop motion or other animated television specials either, although I love them and find them comfortingly nostalgic. This is a list for full-length, theater-released films only. You have probably seen most of them, but maybe you’ll find a few on my list that you haven’t…


15. Scrooged (1988)~ Modern(ish), dark-humored interpretation of Dickens' story, with Christmas spirits visiting a cynical, selfish TV exec, played by Bill Murray.




14. Die Hard (1988) ~ Terrorists take over the Nakatomi Plaza on Christmas Eve, and John McClane must stop them.




13. The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) ~ Amnesiac,former spy, Samantha Caine, must stop terrorists from detonating a chemical bomb in downtown Niagara Falls on Christmas Eve.




12. The Santa Clause (1994) ~ When Santa falls off his roof, a harried ad exec is required to assume the mantle.




11. Love Actually (2003) ~ Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.




10. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) ~ Kevin mistakenly travels to New York City without his family on Christmas.




9. Home Alone (1990) ~ Kevin is mistakenly left home alone by his family on Christmas.




8. The Ref (1994) ~ A thief can’t imagine what he’s in for when he holds a family hostage in their home on Christmas Eve.




7. The Holiday (2006) ~ Two women swap homes for the holidays and meet up with their dream men.







6. The Family Stone (2005) ~ A woman wants acceptance from eccentric clan at Christmastime.




5. Home for the Holidays (1995) ~ Recently unemployed, 40-year-old, Claudia, returns to her childhood home to spend Thanksgiving with her dysfunctional family.




4. Elf (2003) ~ A human who thinks he is an elf searches for his family in New York.







3. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) ~ The Griswold family plans turn to disaster, this time at Christmas.




2. A Christmas Story (1983) ~ All Ralphie wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB gun.




1. A Christmas Carol (too many adaptations to name) ~ The Charles Dickens classic Christmas tale. My favorite adaptations of A Christmas Carol have got to be the one from the 1970s with George C. Scott, the Muppets Christmas Carol with Michael Caine, and the newest Disney adaptation with Jim Carey. This story gets me EVERY TIME. I don't feel as if it's Christmas if I haven't seen some form of A Christmas Carol. I love the message that no matter what, if you're still breathing, you can TURN YOUR LIFE AROUND. There is always hope and a chance for redemption.

So, Dig out your favorite Christmas movies on VHS and DVD. Pop a big bowl of popcorn. Plop down in front of the tube, and enjoy!

P.S. Let me know what YOUR favorite holiday movies are too.