Now, I know it’s only November, but I’m already in the mood for Christmas – and what better way to celebrate Christmas than with a bunch of Christmas movies? I spent last year watching one Christmas movie every single day leading up to Christmas, and have compiled the perfect list of Christmas movies to watch – movies that are simply too good, a classic, or they’re cringiness makes for an entertaining experience.
1. Love Actually
Call me biased, but Love Actually has always been my number one pick for Christmas movies, and will continue to be. It paved the way for holiday movies that featured multiple love stories, but nothing could ever beat how beautiful and magical Love Actually is. It features many iconic scenes, such as Andrew Lincoln’s confession to Keira Knightley– though, thinking about it in retrospect, their “love story” was relatively weird and creepy, at least, on Andrew Lincoln’s part. Of course, like every Christmas movie, it’s not perfect, and some stories are underdeveloped, or leave a bitter taste in your mouth. However, it is still an entertaining film, and even if you hate cheesy romantic comedies, you can’t deny that Colin Firth’s story tugs at your heartstrings every time you watch it (and if you haven’t, you really should, it’s my favourite story out of the eight).
2. Home Alone
If you want something a bit more classic, Home Alone is definitely the movie for you. It’s funny, and entertaining, and it gets in touch with your inner child– something I’m sure many people would love as they enter adulthood. Some people enjoy the sequel more, but I do think that the first movie holds up pretty well, and it makes for a fun movie to watch with friends and family, or even alone.
3. The Princess Switch and The Princess Switch: Switched Again
Before you say anything, yes, I know Vanessa Hudgens has starred in many Christmas movies, and The Princess Switch is definitely dumb and cringey for a variety of reasons. However, I couldn’t stop watching. Prince Edward is definitely the most boring and blandest character I have ever seen, yet I always love the classic trope of normal girl meets royal prince and changes him for the better because I’m a sucker like that. As for its sequel, Switched Again introduces a third character played by Vanessa Hudgens, but I do think that she really carries the movie, as bad as it is.
4. Last Christmas
I won’t lie, I watched this movie just to see Henry Golding. Hey, we don’t get a lot of Asian representation in Christmas movies (or movies in general), so of course I would watch a movie that features someone who has the same features as I do. The movie isn’t exactly bad, per se, but I do think it’s a bit slow-paced with a fairly predictable twist at the end. However, it’s named after my favourite Christmas song of all time (Wham’s “Last Christmas”), and romance aside, it was very enjoyable to see the dynamic relationships between Emilia Clarke,Michelle Yeoh, and Emma Thompson.
5. A Christmas Prince (All three movies– yes, there are three movies)
Now, this last movie I am recommending is a trilogy, and I would like to say that this really is a trilogy that I personally enjoyed. Objectively speaking, this is a bad Christmas movie. I don’t really want to root for any of the characters, the plot is predictable and stupid, and the fact that it was successful enough to have two more movies made after the first one completely blew my mind. However, much like The Princess Switch, I couldn’t stop watching, and it just kept going. The plot is ridiculous and predictable, but I think I liked the comfort of knowing exactly what was going to happen, because for some reason, I genuinely enjoyed the last movie. I think after watching the first two movies, I got completely used to the characters and the predictability of the plot, and by the last one, they seemed like fully fleshed out characters to me – though, to be fair, they are playing into a trope – and I went, “Yay! Christmas is saved!” by the time the credits rolled around. I don’t expect anyone to like this unless you just enjoy watching bad movies in general, but it left such a deep imprint on me that I just had to bring it up.
What are some of your favourite Christmas movies?