‘Tis the season to deck your bedroom with fairy lights galore, grab a bowl of popcorn, and watch a surplus of films guaranteed to put you in the festive spirit. Whether you want to finish putting out your Christmas decorations as the film plays in the background, wrap some presents, write your Christmas cards, or curl up with a “special” (boozy) hot chocolate, now is the perfect time to detach from your adulting realities and do absolutely nothing but revel in holiday spirit and cheese for two hours.
If you’re stuck for ideas, or need some watching-inspo that isn’t just the typical Christmas favourites, then here’s my watchlist for you…
Die Hard
Starting this watchlist off with a controversial one… While some may be shouting at their screens that this “is not a Christmas movie!”, I vehemently disagree. A dead guy is wrapped up in Christmas lights strapped to an office chair, Bruce Willis struts around sweaty and topless (a Christmas gift for all), oh yeah and it takes place on Christmas Eve at a Christmas party. Case in point.
So there you have it, the perfect amazingly violent, John McClane versus evil-German-Alan-Rickman, non-child-friendly film for you this holiday season! Just maybe don’t choose to watch this one with Granny.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Jim Carrey as the Grinch is the gift that keeps on giving every Christmas. If you’re like me and are prone to rooting for the unconventional, unlikeable, and bordering-on-villainous character, then Whoville do I have the film for you.
Be transported to the town inside a snowflake, south of Mount Crumpit, where Christmas cheer reigns all year, and prepare to fall in love with the green Mr. Mean whose heart is just “two sizes too small”. This film has been a favourite of mine since I was a child, and it never fails to make me feel all disgustingly warm and festive.
Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince
A double serving of Alan Rickman is exactly what the doctor is prescribing for you this festive period. While the Harry Potter movies are not explicitly Christmas films, they do provide the heartwarming nostalgia that the holiday season calls for.
The Half Blood Prince dishes up a Weasley Christmas at the Burrow, the golden trio stumbling drunkenly through a snowy Hogsmeade, and a Hogwarts Christmas party where Draco Malfoy is determined to stir up chaos…what more could you ask for?
Nativity!
If us Brits have any culture to claim and be even slightly proud of, it’s our sarcasm, mindless small talk about the weather, Alison Hammond, and a feel-good Christmas flic. The combination of primary school Nativities’ mayhem, Martin Freeman’s deadpan humour, and a bunch of incredibly British school kids left to their own devices is the perfect festive entertainment recipe.
Grab your favourite Christmas tipple, gather with your friends and family, and prepare to have a good chuckle, sing along and be reminded why this is one of our nation’s greatest achievements.
The Holiday
My watchlist would not be complete without this iconic Xmas rom-com. Sprinkled with some of our favourite celebrity faces, The Holiday is the film equivalent of a warm hug. As Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz spontaneously decide to swap homes for the Christmas period, both their lives are about to be kissed by the ghost of holiday romance.
So allow Jude Law to bless your eyes and your TVs this Christmas, and be bundled up in warm Merry Goodness…and maybe even shed a shameless festive tear.
And with that, my December Watchlist is complete. I hope you enjoy even just one of the films I’ve recommended, and that it helps you to ramp up that festive spirit.
In the words of our lord and saviour GG, Gossip Girl, happy watching and have a holly jolly Christmas xoxo