Add These 9 Christmas Movies To Your Queue

Getting into the Christmas spirit can be as easy as pressing play and because Christmas movies come in every genre, they offer something for everyone. Whether watching John McClane take down terrorists while barefoot in Die Hard or gaining a renewed appreciation for life alongside George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, watching Christmas movies is a great way to enjoy the holidays while escaping the malls and the cold.

Add These 9 Christmas Movies To Your Queue

• It’s a Wonderful Life (1978)

A classic Christmas movie starring James Stewart as George Bailey, a good man worn down by his day to day life and the greedy business practices of an old miser named Mr. Potter. Struggling to provide for himself and his family, George feels trapped and sees only one way out of his predicament. But while staring down over a deserted bridge into the icy water below, a misfit angel named Clarence jumps into the water to save George before George even jumps. George saves Clarence but, in a moment of exasperation, wishes he had never been born, and Clarence grants his wish. A heart-warming movie that examines the human propensity to despair in the face of overwhelming adversary and overlooks life’s beauty.

• Elf (2003)

Will Ferrell stars as Buddy, a human raised by his adoptive Elf father, played by Bob Newheart, at the North Pole. Buddy grows up as an elf but as he gets older and bigger he becomes increasingly more destruction to Santa’s workshop. When Buddy finds out that his biological father Walter, played by James Caan, lives in New York, Buddy sets out to find him. Zooey Deschanel and Mary Steenburgen. Directed by Jon Favreau of Iron Man fame. A hilarious film with a funny premise. Elf also has some touching moments.

• Home Alone (1990)

The McCallister family sleeps in on the day they plan to travel to Paris. They rush to the airport, barely make their flight, and feel as if they have forgotten something as they make their way towards France. What they have forgotten is Kevin, their youngest son. Kevin wakes up to find that he is all alone but instead of acting like a terrified child who has lost his for parents in a grocery store, Kevin soaks up his first taste of freedom. When a couple of incompetent thieves try to break into his house, the physical comedy ensues as Kevin rigs up booby traps to protect his family home. Starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara, and John Heard.

• Love Actually (2003)

Love Actually follows the love lives of many different characters. There’s a widower who’s saving himself for Claudia Schiffer and his stepson who has fallen in love with an American destined to return to the states, a married man with kids and an eye on his sexy secretary, a man who catches his brother in bed with his girlfriend, a Prime Minister in love with one of his aids, a aging rock star with only his manager to care for, and many other unique relationships. Love Actually is a dramatic comedy about reality and love on an everyday basis. Starring Keira Knightley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Bill Nighy, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, and Hugh Grant.

• Scrooged (1988)

Scrooged is a modern version of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. Frank Cross is a cynical, bitter, obnoxious, self-centered TV executive that is visited by three ghosts leading up to Christmas. The ghost shows him moments from his past, present, and future in hopes of melting the ice around his fractured heart. A very funny movie and a great adaptation of a Charles Dickens’ classic, starring Bobcat Goldthwait, Alfre Woodard, Karen Allen, and Bill Murray as Frank Cross.

• Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Halloween and Christmas rolled into one. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is a stop motion film about Jack Skellington, a being from Halloween Town who is bored with Halloween. When Jack stumbles upon a doorway to Christmas Town, he becomes obsessed with Christmas and decides to take it over from Santa. Jack then order Santa to be kidnapped and all the Halloween creatures of Halloween town prepare their eerie version of Christmas. Entertaining and unique, this film is perfect for Halloween or Christmas.

• Christmas Vacation (1989)

Hip Hip Hooray for Christmas Vacation. The Griswold family plans a family Christmas that does not go smoothly. Clark’s bad luck and clumsy nature make the holidays go from bad to worse and his irritating house guests only aggravate the situation. Christmas Vacation is a very funny movie that is probably the best of the Vacation series. Full of holiday cheer and hilarity. Starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis, and Randy Quaid.

• Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

The animated classic that preceded Jim Carrey’s zany portrayal of the Grinch. Narrated by Boris Karloff, who is also the voice of the Grinch, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas brings the Dr. Seuss book to life in a wonderful way. Wonderfully told and definitely worth watching over the holiday season. How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which come out in 2000, is also worth watching, but is very different from the animated movie. Jim Carrey plays the Scrooge-like character bent on taking Christmas away forever. Jim Carrey’s Grinch is just like an old curmudgeon who hates noise and materialism and anything that he is not a part of. But when he discovers that the Christmas spirit is about much more the gifts, and the Whos rediscover this too, his heart grows and he takes on the role of Santa.

• Die Hard (1988)

Starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, and Bonnie Bedelia. John McClane is a New York cop in Los Angeles for the holidays to be with his wife and kids. Upon arriving at the office building where his wife works and the office Christmas party is underway, John, along with all the others at the party, becomes trapped by the terrorists that take control of the building. Avoiding capture, unlike his wife and all the other party-goers, John, armed and barefoot, attempts to signal the police and fight off the terrorists. The first film of the Die Hard series. Funny, action-packed, and Christmasy without snow.