As everyone is getting ready for finals and finishing up the semester, I thought I’d spread a little holiday cheer and offer a few of my favorite holiday movies to watch as we start off this holiday season.
10. Home Alone – available on Disney+
Everyone loves a good classic, so I’ll start off with Home Alone. If you don’t know the story by now, here’s a quick synopsis. The 1990 film stars child actor, Macaulay Culkin, as Kevin McCallister. Kevin is part of a huge family, and they are getting ready to leave for a Christmas trip to Paris. The morning of the trip, Kevin wakes up to an empty household, at first, he loves it because he believes his wish of never having a family came true. He lives on his own for a while but soon realizes it’s not as great as he anticipated. Simultaneously, two local house robbers plan on breaking into the McCallister’s house as they are away on vacation. The film turns into a fight against Kevin and the wet bandits, the robbers, as Kevin tries to protect his home.
9. Christmas Vacation – available on HBO Max
Another great classic Christmas movie is Christmas Vacation. This is one that I grew up watching every year with my family, so it holds a special place in my heart. Christmas Vacation is about a family of four, hosting the rest of their family for the Christmas season. Clark Griswold, Chevy Chase, wants his family to have the perfect Christmas together so he does everything in his power to make that happen, including decorating every square inch of the house with Christmas lights, cutting down a massive tree for their living room, and buying an enormous surprise for his family with his supposed Christmas bonus check. But everything seems to go wrong for him.
8. Love Actually – available on Peacock
If you love all things romantic, Love Actually is always a good winter romance watch. The film follows multiple storylines about love that seem to all interconnect in the end. There are storylines such as: a politician who falls for his employee, a young boy who falls hopelessly in love with a classmate, a recently single man who falls for a woman in another country, and a married couple who struggle as the husband becomes interested in his assistant. The film shows many forms of love in a raw, sometimes heart-wrenching way. It is a unique style of film in which all the storylines converge and come to a climax on Christmas Eve.
7. The Nightmare Before Christmas – available on Disney+
If you’re still not over Halloween, you could always watch The Nightmare Before Christmas. I think The Nightmare Before Christmas is the perfect movie to watch to end your Halloween/fall season and get ready for winter. The film tells the story of Jack Skellington, Danny Elfman, Halloweentown’s pumpkin king who becomes bored with the routine he feels stuck in. One night, he happens upon Christmastown, full of bright colors and warmth. He decides to kidnap Santa and replace his role. But things don’t always go as planned. The film is a perfect mix of spooky, music, and Christmas spirit.
5. A Christmas Story – available on HBO Max
If you want something a little old-fashioned with many laughable moments, A Christmas Story would be great for you. This movie follows the adventures of Ralphie, Peter Billingsley, as he attempts to convince his parents and Santa to give him a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. The storytelling is really unique in this film, as it has many imagined scenarios from Ralphie’s mind come to life. The film also has many laughable moments throughout that make it an incredibly funny and exciting Christmas story.
6. Elf – available on HBO Max
If you’re looking for something funny and heartwarming, Elf is always great. Buddy the Elf, Will Ferrell, is the outcast among Santa’s elves in the North Pole. He is too tall and too human-like. Santa decides to tell him the truth and explain that Buddy has a father in New York. Buddy decides to make the dangerous journey away from his home and meet his real father. It is hilarious seeing Buddy explore the “real world” for the first time as opposed to his happy, childlike life in the North Pole. The story follows Buddy as he explores romance, reuniting with his father, and adjusting to a new life.
4. Holidate – available on Netflix
A newer holiday film that I enjoyed a lot was Holidate, which came out in 2020. The film stars Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey as unlikely partners who decide to become each other’s “holidate” after discovering how annoying it is to be left without a date for holiday events. The “holidate” is a set date for every holiday so that you aren’t left without a date and pitied by your peers. They start out friendly, only really using each other so as to not be outcasted by their friends, but, soon enough, they discover their true feelings for one another. This is a really funny movie, and it had a heartwarming romance at the center of it.
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas – available on HBO Max
If you’re looking for something funny, a little odd, and heartwarming, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is your best bet. This was another classic in my household. There have been many iterations of the Grinch’s story, but my absolute favorite is the Jim Carrey version, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The film has such a unique aesthetic which is almost Tim Burton-esque. The story is about the reclusive Grinch who keeps getting disturbed by the people of Whoville until one day, he decides to ruin Christmas for everyone in return. He dresses himself up like Santa and uses his dog as a reindeer. He sneaks into all the houses and steals everything Christmas related. However, his plans collapse when he meets the endearing Cindy Lou Who who teaches him about the importance of Christmas.
2. The Santa Clause – available on Disney+
One of my all-time favorite Christmas movies is The Santa Clause and if you can’t get enough of that, there’s The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and most recently, a tv series on Disney+, The Santa Clauses. The Santa Clause is a really great story about a divorced father who gets to have his son for Christmas. They spend some time together, but Scott, Tim Allen, has trouble connecting with his son. Eventually, on Christmas night, they hear a clatter on the roof and Scott goes to investigate. He finds the clothes of Santa Clause and a small index card which reads “If something should happen to me, put on my suit. The reindeer will know what to do.” Scott obliges and is sucked into the role of Santa Claus for the evening. Over the course of the film, he must learn how to be Santa and how to prove to his ex-wife that Santa is real, and Scott and his son aren’t losing their minds.
1. Harry Potter – available on HBO Max
Finally, my favorite holiday season pastime is binge watching all the Harry Potter films. What would Christmas be without binge watching all of the Harry Potter movies with a warm blanket and some tasty hot chocolate. If you don’t know the storyline of Harry Potter by now, I’ll give you a quick recap. Harry Potter is a lonely boy who lives with his mean aunt, uncle, and cousin. Surprisingly, Harry receives mail which tells him that he is invited to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His uncle is completely against him going to school there, but eventually Harry makes his way there. He is emerged in a completely new world of magic where he meets Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger who become his best friends. The 8 movies follow his journey through school as he encounters many obstacles and dangers such as the evil “he who shall not be named”. This film series always seems to be the perfect way for me to get into the holiday spirit.