by Jack Garcia
It's time for Christmas movies!! I hope you enjoy my countdown of my own personal favorites... and be sure to let me know yours in the comments section below!
25. Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
“You’re skipping Christmas? Isn’t that against the law?” I know this movie is pretty stupid, but I like it for some reason. Maybe because Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis are funny… or maybe because this list of 25 had to start somewhere.
24. I’ll Be Home for Christmas (1998)
This movie came out during my Jonathan Taylor Thomas phrase when I had a huge secret crush on him. Now it’s just one of those 90s favorites that I have to watch every year.
23. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Not as good as the first one, but I really love the slapstick humor of the Home Alone movies. I never grow tired of seeing Harry and Merv get their butts kicked. Oh, and this one has Tim Curry in it! Awesome!
22. Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997)
21. While You Were Sleeping (1995)
“$45 for a Christmas tree and they don't deliver? You order $10 worth of chow mein from Mr. Wong, they bring it to your door.” Maybe this isn’t really a “Christmas” movie per se and more of a romantic comedy, but it does take place at Christmas time and it’s all about love and family!
20. Home Alone (1990)
“This is Christmas. The season of perpetual hope. And I don't care if I have to get out on your runway and hitchhike. If it costs me everything I own, if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself, I am going to get home to my son.”
19. White Christmas (1954)
18. Prancer (1989)
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this movie, but I still remember it! It tells the tale of a young girl who finds an injured reindeer who she thinks belongs to Santa. It’s very endearing.
17. Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
“Remember, Scrooge, you fashioned these memories yourself,” says Jiminy Cricket as the Ghost of Christmas Past. This version of the Dickens classic isn’t feature length, but it sure is fun! Scrooge McDuck plays Ebenezer and Mickey plays Bob Cratchit in this Disney animated treat!
16. Arthur Christmas (2011)
This is the newest movie on the list, but I really enjoyed it and I know that I’ll be watching it annually now come Christmastime! Be sure to read my review!
15. Elf (2003)
14. Love Actually (2003)
“If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around.” This movie is about eight different couples during the holiday season in England and it’s full of good moments and a stellar British cast. Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley and others really sparkle in this romantic comedy.
13. The Holiday (2006)
Like Love Actually, this one is another Christmas “chick flick” but I really love it! Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz play two women unhappy with their lives who agree to swap houses during the holidays… and sometimes I wish I could do the same! Jack Black and Jude Law also star.
12. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
11. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
In 1994 they did a remake of this holiday classic, but don’t watch it! Stick to the original! The old man who plays Santa in the Macy’s parade is institutionalized as insane, a lawyer defends him by saying he’s the real Santa and a young girl teaches us all to believe again.
10. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
“I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel. I just don't understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I'm still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed,” Charlie Brown laments. Later Linus recites the story of Christ’s birth and says, “That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”
9. The Santa Clause (1994)
This movie caused me to misspell Santa’s last name for years! It’s C-L-A-U-S without an “e.” A clause is a provision in a contract, making it a witty play on words in the title. Anyway, spelling aside, I’ve always liked this movie and watched it every year growing up. All the many sequels need to die though…
8. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
“You see George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to just throw it away?” Sometimes the holiday season can be a bit depressing, and it’s so good to remember just how wonderful are lives really are.
7. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964)
6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
Who doesn't love Dr. Seuss? His books have inspired many animated shorts and full-length movies and the cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is probably the most popular one. Don't watch the live-action remake with Jim Carrey, but rather the classic 60s version that tells of the Grinch who's heart was "two sizes too small."
5. The Polar Express (2004)
I originally didn’t like motion capture and I was resistant to this film… but I eventually saw it and loved it. Just as the book beautifully invokes a sense of magic and wonder, so does this film by Robert Zemeckis starring the voice of Tom Hanks. I still hear the bell!
4. A Christmas Carol (2009)
This is another movie by Robert Zemeckis using motion capture and a very faithful retelling of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic. Jim Carrey does a terrific job as Ebenezer Scrooge and the animation is just fantastic to behold! “God bless us every one!”
3. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
“Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny f***ing Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse.”
2. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
1. A Christmas Story (1983)
“You’ll shoot your eye out!” My family always watched this movie religiously, every year, multiple times, so this Christmas comedy had to be number one on my list. Everything is so memorable to me, from the leg lamp to the Red Ryder BB gun to the fluffy pink bunny suit… and thanks to this movie, I knew better than to stick my tongue on a frozen flag pole!
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