Christmas is, inarguably, the best holiday and time of the year. Out of all the great aspects of celebrating the holiday, the most enjoyable part is watching Christmas movies. It’s impossible to pick just one favorite, so here are the top five holiday-themed movies for your viewing pleasure!
1: A Charlie Brown Christmas. Chronicling the adventures of Charlie Brown attempting to direct a Christmas play with his friends and find the perfect Christmas tree, it’s a heartwarming tale about family and holiday cheer. The true meaning of Christmas becomes apparent through this movie; love and support from your family and friends. This holiday movie is great for everyone!
2: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Rudolph, ostracized by his fellow reindeer because of his red nose, runs away from home and goes on an adventure with his elf friend Hermey and the Great Prospector Yukon Cornelius. After a couple of years, Rudolph decides to return home and ends up being able to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to the children on Christmas Eve. Filled with some classic holiday songs, like ‘A Holly Jolly Christmas’, this is a great movie to watch with the children in your family.
3: The Nightmare Before Christmas. Although this pick tends to be a bit polarizing regarding whether or not it’s truly a Halloween or Christmas movie, the flick is so enjoyable it can be watched during both seasons. Following the plight of Jack Frost, the Pumpkin King, as he tries to morph Christmastown into the way he wants it to be, it’s a wonderful movie with great character development. Jack Frost learns a lot about himself, and the relationship with the people in his life, especially a girl named Sally. Directed by the mastermind Tim Burton, it’s a bit creepily styled, so it’s best left for the older kids and adults in the family.
4: The Polar Express. One of the most poignantly emotional Christmas movies on this list, The Polar Express is a beautiful musical that acts as testimony to believing in the Christmas spirit. So acutely does this theme run through the movie that there’s actually a song called ‘Believe’ in it! It tells the story of a boy who finds himself on the Polar Express train to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, going to see Santa Claus and hopefully get the first gift of Christmas. By the end of the movie, the boy realizes that Christmas is about much more than presents; it’s the spirit of Christmas, and all it entails, that matters the most. This movie is best fit for all the Christmas music lovers out there!
5: Elf. Is a best Christmas movie list complete without Will Ferrell’s hilarious rendition as one of Santa’s elves who goes on an epic journey to find his real dad in New York City? Of course not! Filled with uproariously funny quips, adorable antics, and great character development between Buddy and his newfound family, it isn’t truly Christmas before this movie is watched. Elf is another one of the movies on this list that everyone will enjoy; Buddy’s jubilant self is just that infectious.
There are so many amazing Christmas movies out there that this list could have gone on for far longer. These are just some of the quintessential ones that are great for spreading Christmas cheer!