Now that it’s the Holiday Season, it’s hard to resist the urge to blow off your work and settle down with a nice cup of hot chocolate to watch a classic Holiday film. But, with the thousands of holiday films made, how can you possibly choose between all the classics? Well, here’s a list of my personal top 5 Christmas movies of all time that might help make your decision a little bit easier.
1. It’s a Wonderful Life: If you’ve never seen this 1940s classic, or you just need a refresher on the plot, It’s a Wonderful Life is about a business man named George Bailey who finds his life in shambles when he’s overwhelmed by family responsibilities, a miserable work life and ultimately has utter dissatisfaction with his life. George has watched each opportunity pass him by as he sacrificed his ambitions for his community, leading him to contemplate ending his life. However, before George has the chance to do so, his guardian angel, Clarence, falls to Earth and provides him with the clarity he needed when he shows George what life would have been like for his family and friends if he never existed.
2. How The Grinch Stole Christmas: What I like to think of as Jim Carrey’s best film, How The Grinch Stole Christmas is about a magical land that exists inside of a snowflake called Whoville. Everyone in Whoville absolutely adores Christmas and celebrates the holiday like no other. However, just outside the land of Whoville lives the Grinch, a grouchy, green creature who despises everything about Christmas as well as the Whos. The Grinch sets a plan in motion to steal Christmas from the Whos in Whoville, but after meeting a young Who named Cindy Lou Who, his plan takes an unexpected turn.
3. Rudolf, The Red-Nosed Reindeer: Although there have been many versions of the well known Christmas tale, my personal favorite is the 1964 puppet version. In Rudolf, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Sam the snowman tells the story of how a young Rudolf was ostracized from the other reindeer for having a unique glowing red nose. Rudolf encounters an unusual combination of people when he meets Hermey, the elf who wants to be a dentist; and Yukon Cornelius, the prospector. The group runs into the Abominable Snowman leading them to find the island of misfit toys where Rudolf realizes there are others like him. He tells them he’s going to find a way to help the misfit toys and heads back to the North Pole to find that he must be the savior of Christmas.
4. Home Alone: This has to be my all time favorite Christmas movie and I encourage strongly that this make it into your free time this holiday season. Arrogant 8-year-old Kevin McCallister hates his extremely large family for always mistreating him. While his family embarked on their vacation for Christmas; Kevin gets left behind at home by accident. For Kevin, this is a dream come true and he can finally have the independence he’s been searching for. However, when two dim-witted robbers target the McCallister household, it’s up to Kevin to keep them from getting in.
5. Santa Claus: I’m sure most people know this one, but in case it’s been a while since you cracked this DVD open, here’s the overview. A divorced Scott Calvin is extremely irked by the fact that his ex wife and new husband tried to tell his son, Charlie, that Santa wasn’t real. After reading Charlie a bedtime story and tucking him in for a long night’s rest before the big Christmas morning, Scott is woken up by Charlie telling him he heard something on the roof. When Scott goes out to check what the clatter was, he finds Santa on the roof who, ultimately startled by Scott’s yelling, falls to his death and disappears. Scott puts on the magical Santa suit and embarks on an unusual transformation to becoming the next Santa Claus.
I hope that this helped you on your tough decision of sifting through the numerous Christmas movies you have stored in your attic as you dust them off and pop one in.
