You have successfully survived the fall semester and now it’s time to head home for winter break. The least you can do is enjoy yourself, collegiettes™! You’ve earned it! After you’ve decorated the Christmas tree with your family and finished the last of your holiday shopping, relax on your comfy couch with a good Christmas movie. With hot chocolate in hand and a plate of snowflake-shaped cookies by your side, take a little trip down memory lane. Here are a few classic Christmas movies you can watch over winter break.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
In this timeless Christmas movie, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer is excluded from the reindeer games because of his bright and shining nose. He makes friends with an elf as well as the Abominable Snowman. Together, they find a place called the Island of Misfit Toys. Rudolph wants to see if Santa will be willing to help all of the misfit toys, so he goes back to the North Pole. Its Christmas Eve now, but Santa’s sleigh can’t fly because the skies are foggy. Luckily, when he sees Rudolph, Santa comes up with the perfect solution. The song of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is one we all remember, so sing along to the movie, available on Netflix.
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) / (2000)
Based on the children’s book by Dr. Seuss, this movie tells the story an angry Grinch who lives up on Mt. Crumpit. He hates Christmas and all the Whos in Whoville who celebrate it. Cindy Lou is an 8 year-old girl who believes there is more to Christmas than just the gifts, the part the Whos love most about the holiday. One day in the post office where her father works, Cindy sees the Grinch and starts looking into his story. Unfortunately, she finds a sad one and understands why the Grinch despises Christmas. She decides to invite the Grinch to Whobilation, a celebration for the whole town. Reluctantly, the Grinch accepts, but only to ruin the party. Later on Christmas Eve, he steals all of the gifts from the homes of the Whos. But instead of his bad deed removing the spirit of Christmas, it reinforces. Both versions of this movie, animated and live action, provide the truth: that Christmas means much more than material gifts.
Home Alone (1990) / Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
In the first Home Alone movie, Kevin McCallister is accidently left at home while his family flies to Paris for the holidays. At first he is living the dream of every eight-year-old kid to be left home alone, but soon he has to battle burglars with booby traps. There’s funny and heart-warming moments throughout this movie, which leads to the second one. In the second movie while the family flies to Miami for the Christmas holiday, Kevin accidently gets on a flight to New York City where he encounters the same criminals. Fortunately, he has his father’s wallet and stacks of money. Watch these two family movies that are available on Netflix.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
This mash-up of Halloween and Christmas is filled with fun musical numbers and countless creepy creatures! Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town who accidently enters Christmas Town through a magical portal. He is bored of celebrating Halloween over and over every year so he decided to celebrate Christmas instead. He abducts Santa Claus and attempts to fill the role by delivering presents to children. Everything that could possibly go wrong, does! Luckily, if you need a refresher of this comical Christmas film, it is available on Netflix too. Based off of a poem written by Tim Burton, flashback in your childhood to a movie that hopefully doesn’t scare you as much as it used to scare me!
Elf (2003)
In this movie, Buddy is an orphaned baby raised as an elf in the North Pole. He can’t do what the other elves can do simply because he’s a human. When Buddy is an adult, Santa allows him to go to New York City to find his real father, Walter Hobbs. Too bad for Buddy, Walter is on Santa’s naughty list because he is a jerk who spends too much time at work and doesn’t care about his family. Although Walter resists him, Buddy strives to enter into Walter’s world while also enjoying New York City and meeting new people along the way. With great lines like, “Smiling’s my favorite,” as well as, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear,” this movie the perfect choice for a night full of hilarious fun!
The Polar Express (2004)
The Polar Express is based on the picture book by Chris Van Allsburg where a train takes children to Santa’s workshop on Christmas Eve. The main character is a young boy who isn’t sure if he believes in Santa Claus. He boards the train where he meets other children who hope to see Santa. Unlike them, he is doubtful during the entire trip but still manages to enjoy the ups and downs. Their adventure is filled with icy train tracks, hot chocolate, beautiful Christmas decorations and countless Christmas songs. This movie is a sweet story that will simply make you smile.
Other great Christmas movies include: Frosty the Snowman, The Santa Clause trilogy, Miracle on 34th Street, A Charlie Brown Christmas and so much more. Most of these movies are available on Netflix or DVD and will also start playing as television specials soon. Hopefully these holiday movies will fill you with happiness. Have a wonderful winter break, collegiettes™!