It’s almost time to put on your best fuzzy socks, holiday sweaters, and similar family pajamas, then curl up with a charming Christmas novel as December draws near. Or, if you truly want to embrace the holiday spirit, we advise watching one of these Christmas films:
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A Christmas Story
Ralphie is a little child who repeatedly tries to persuade his parents, his instructor, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder BB rifle is the ideal Christmas present (and misses). There’s a reason TBS airs this movie commercial-free for 24 hours in a row every Christmas; it’s warmly sentimental and seriously amusing.
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Home Alone
Home Alone, the film about Kevin McCallister, a little boy who unintentionally gets left behind as the remainder of his family leaves for a holiday trip, is the epitome of what Christmas is all about. The Wet Bandits, two robbers played by Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci, who become embroiled in a perilous conflict with Kevin, are the characters we remember this film for most fondly.
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Elf
Buddy, a human raised by elves at the North Pole, is portrayed by Will Ferrell. One Christmas, Buddy makes the long journey to New York in search of his biological dad. This film, which was released in 2003 but seems to have been around forever, is one that we defy you to find anyone on the earth who hasn’t at least seen a picture of.
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Die Hard
Is anyone still debating the fact that Die Hard is a Christmas movie at this point now that we are jointly plagued with every year? , but even that doesn’t diminish how fantastic this movie still is. When German terrorists hijack a holiday party, Bruce Willis portrays John McClane, a cop who is trying to save his spouse and other captives.
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Jack Frost
This goofy film, in which Michael Keaton portrays the role of a father and husband who dies in a car crash and then come back to life as an actual snowman, was a complete bomb when it was first released in 1998, but it has since gained a lot of cult followings.
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A Christmas Carol
Director of Back to the Future Robert Zemeckis cast Jim Carrey as a living cartoon to portray Ebenezer Scrooge and the 3 Ghosts of Christmas in his animated adaptation of the well-known Charles Dickens tale. The twist transforms this well-known story into a more trippy journey through time, though everything may be just in Scrooge’s head (and supports the aging businessman’s gut reaction about the Ghost of Christmas Past: “You may be an indigestible bit of beef, a splotch of mustard, a crumb of cheese, or a break of underdone potato.”).
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Almost Christmas
Few Christmas movies genuinely portray the frantic atmosphere of a home under attack by relatives. Although it isn’t the most complex film on this list, David E. Talbert’s group dramedy Almost Christmas captures how families quarrel, taunt and end up coming together during the holiday season. As the bereaved patriarch of the family, Danny Glover directs the action and lends the film a somber undertone that frees up scene-stealers Mo’Nique, J.B. Smoove, and Romany Malco, to lighten the mood with comedy.
