As you submit your final papers and complete your last exams, you can finally stop stressing and begin to get into the holiday spirit. Nothing gets me more in the Christmas spirit than curling up on the couch with some popcorn to watch a holiday movie. So, here are some movies that get me feeling festive without fail. Hopefully they’ll do the same for you!
Home Alone
A holiday classic if there ever was one, Home Alone is a must-watch movie during Christmastime. The movie chronicles the hilarious high jinks of eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) after he is accidentally left home alone by his family. Although he enjoys his newfound freedom at first, things soon take a turn for the worse when he realizes that two burglars are planning to break into the house and he has to hold down the fort. The antics that follow suit are sure to keep you laughing through to New Years!
The Holiday
Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet), a wedding columnist in London has been in love with her coworker, Jasper, for three years. The only problem? He just got engaged. Heartbroken, she craves a major change to gain some new perspective. Across the pond in Los Angeles, workaholic Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) discovers that her boyfriend has been cheating on her. Also needing a change, she goes on a home-exchange site and ends up selecting Iris’ cottage. The two women swap lives for the Christmas holiday and learn a lot about themselves and, of course, love. The film features swoon-worthy sweethearts, Jude Law and Jack Black, as love interests, making the holidays seem that much sweeter. The fact that it’s a Christmas movie is just a bonus in comparison!
Elf
In this comedy, Buddy (Will Ferrell), one of Santa’s elves, learns that he is not, in fact, an elf, but a human. He is shocked to find out from Santa that his biological father is on the naughty list. So, he leaves the North Pole and heads to New York City on a quest to help his father redeem himself. Although the human world is harder to navigate than Buddy initially anticipated, he is able to overcome the challenges he faces, spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics.
Love Actually
I’d be remiss if I didn’t include Love Actually on my list of Christmas movie recommendations. The movie, which takes place in the five weeks leading up to Christmas, weaves together ten different stories that all explore some aspect of love. The film’s star-studded cast includes Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, and Emma Thompson among many others. As the DVD cover advertises, Love Actually is “the ultimate romantic comedy,” if only because it manages to incorporate every romantic trope you can imagine into its plot. If nothing else, it’s a fun watch.
It’s a Wonderful Life
It’s a Wonderful Life is not only a Christmas staple, but also highly regarded to be one of the most loved films in American cinema. The film begins on Christmas Eve, following George Bailey (James Stewart), a man contemplating suicide. Prayers for George reach Heaven and an angel (Henry Travers) is dispatched to save George. The guardian angel shows George all of the good he has done within his community and just how different it would have been if he had never been born. Although it was not successful upon its release in 1946, the movie has won the hearts of many audience members with its uplifting message of the good that an individual can do.
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