I love Christmas time!!!! Santa, snow, Christmas carols, giving presents, and great TV shows and movies!!! Here is my top 10 list of the holiday season (so far.) I must watch these during the holidays every year:
10. The Year Without A Santa Claus
The claymation movie from 1974 about Santa having a bad cold and wanting to cancel Christmas. So Mrs Claus and some elves want to get the children of Southtown, USA to convince Santa to not cancel Christmas but the Heat Miser and Snow Miser are standing in their way! One of my husband’s favorites!
9. White Christmas
A fun musical about 2 soldiers, who sing and dance, who team up with a singing/dancing sister act to travel to Vermont to save their General’s troubled inn. For us musical fans, it’s always a fun watch during the holidays.
8. Home Alone
Macauley Culkin stars as a young boy who feels neglected by his family and wishes for them to go away so he can be on his own. He gets his wish when his family leaves for France and forgets him and leaves him behind. It’s all fun and games until Kevin (played by Culkin) notices 2 burglars trying to break into his house. He is able to come up with creative ways to get rid of them and finally, after the robbers are arrested, Kevin realizes how lonely he is without his family. His wish comes true and his family comes back to be with him on Christmas. Some funny moments but some really touching ones like when the McAllisters’ neighbor gets reunited with his son and granddaughter for Christmas and you see Kevin’s mom (Played by Katherine O’Hara) doing everything she can to get home to Kevin.
7. The Ref
I know what you’re thinking…Dnnis Leary, really, that’s a must watch? YES. It’s absolutely hysterical and my holidays are not complete until I watch this crazy holiday comedy about a husband and wife whose marriage and family is falling apart and gets taken hostage by a house robber who needs to hide out in their suburban home until the police checkpoint runs its course. While hiding out, Lloyd’s (played by Kevin Spacey) family comes to his house to celebrate Christmas Eve and hilarity ensues. The movie stars Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis, Glynis Johns, and Christine Baranski.6. A Charlie Brown Christmas
6. A Charlie Brown Christmas
Really any holiday isn’t complete without watching a Charlie Brown Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas! This classic Charles Schultz tale revolves around the Peanuts gang putting on a Christmas pageant and when Charlie Brown is down in the dumps about the commercialization of Christmas, Lucy makes him the director. Determined to put the true spirit of Christmas into the show, Charlie goes out to get the famous “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.” When he brings the tree back, the kids all make fun of him and he wonders if he really does know the meaning of Christmas. This is when Linus hits the spotlight and tells the story of Christmas (from the Gospel according to Luke.) Charlie takes the tree home and when he tries to decorate it, he thinks he “killed it” when the branches can’t hold the weight of an ornament. The other kids show up at his house and feel bad about how hard they were on him, and they decorate his tree to surprise him. When he comes back, they shout “Merry Christmas Charlie Brown” and sing Hark the Harold Angels Sing. Awesome!
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
I don’t know one person who doesn’t know the name Cindy Lou-Who and think of that sweet little face who catches the Grinch stealing everything out of her house but still gets her a little glass of water before going off to bed. The Grinch is a great story of the true meaning of Christmas and when even the worst things happen (like someone trying to take Christmas away from an entire village) as long as you have your family and friends, Christmas hasn’t gone anywhere!
4. The Holiday
I love this chick flick that stars Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Jack Black. 2 women who have been unlucky in love, switch houses during the holidays and find love in the most unexpected of places. Everyone in this movie is charming and delightful. And as cheesy as this sounds, this has turned into a guaranteed tear-jerker movie for me. The scene that gets me, is when Iris (Kate Winslet) takes Arthur (Eli Wallach), who happened to be involved in the motion picture industry for years, to “An Evening with Arthur Abbott” where they are going to honor his life work. Arthur thinks maybe 6 people will show up and he wants no part of being there. But when they open the door and hundreds of people are there to give him standing ovation, it gets me every time!! If you want a light, fun, really sweet movie for your holiday list, you must check this movie out.
3. Frosty the Snowman
Another tear-jerker for me. From the time I was little, the scene where Frosty melts and Karen cries her eyes out because she couldn’t save Frosty in time, still makes me cry (I’m crying as I type it….and I’m not kidding.) Who doesn’t love the story of the magic hat who brings the snowman to life and the rush to get Frosty to the North Pole before spring so he doesn’t melt. It’s a classic and I always DVR it every year it’s on.
2. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
The best claymation of all time! I love the music, the story, the characters, and this story never gets old. This movie has everything..Rudolph, Santa, Yukon Cornelius, the Abominable Snowman, Hermey the elf who wants to be a dentist, and the island of misfit toys!!! Rudolph, as we know from the famous song, gets made fun of by the other reindeer because of his bright red nose and Santa doesn’t want him either. So Rudolph and Hermey run away because they are outcasts and no one wants them. Along their journey, they meet Yukon Cornelius and Yukon helps them find their way, saves them from the Abominable Snowman and eventually leads them to the island of misfit toys. Rudolph is determined to find these toys a home and rushes to get back to Santa on Christmas Eve. When he learns Santa is fogged in, Rudolph shows how his bright red nose can help Santa find his way and Christmas is back on! Santa makes a pit stop at the island of misfit toys and grabs them so they can have homes to go to on Christmas. Yeah Rudolph!!!!
1. Miracle on 34th Street
The best Christmas movie ever!!! It is the first movie and the last movie I watch every holiday. And I only watch the original version from 1947. No offense to the cast of the 90s remake but it just isn’t the same. This is the story of Susan and Doris Walker (played by Natalie Wood and Maureen O’Hara respectively.) Doris is a single mom working in a man’s world (an executive at Macy’s) and Susan is her very intelligent and precocious daughter. Doris is in charge of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and when her Santa turns up drunk, a special gentleman, Kris Kringle (Played by Edmund Gwenn), shows up to take over the role of Santa in the parade. He is an instant hit and becomes the Santa at Macy’s for the holiday season. Fred Gailey (played by John Payne) is Doris’ neighbor who has grown really fond of Susie and her mother. He also develops a friendship with Kris and invites him to stay with him. The main part of the movie is the fact that Kris really believes he is Santa and one of the psychologists at Macy’s thinks he is crazy and intends to prove it. Doris isn’t sure what to believe. She always raised Susan to believe in reality and truth and not myths and fairy tales. So neither believe in Kris. Little by little, Kris does things to start changing their minds. One of the sweetest scenes is when Susan watches Kris have children in the store come sit on his lap and ask what they want for Christmas. A young girl from the Netherlands comes to see him. She was recently adopted and can’t speak English and has been very lonely and sad being by herself. Just then, Kris starts speaking Dutch to her and they sing a cute Dutch song about Santa Claus. Tissues please!! Eventually, Mr Sawyer, the Macy’s psychologist tries to get Kris committed and Fred, who’s an attorney, defends him and his sanity. As the trial ensues, many beliefs and relationships are tested. Doris and Susan admit their belief in Kris and really, that is all that really mattered to him. While Doris and Fred admit their love for each other and are willing to put their beliefs in each other and have a life together. In the end, Kris is proven in a court of law to be the one and only Santa Claus and all is right with the world! It truly is a magical movie and it should never be missed this time of year!
I know right now what movie everyone is screaming at me that I missed…..It’s A Wonderful Life. Here’s the problem….I’ve never seen it. I know, it so wrong on so many levels. I plan on watching it this year but since my list is coming out before I watch it, I can’t put it on here…yet. Maybe after I watch that classic, it will bump someone from the list. We’ll see.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? What would be on your list?
No matter what movies and TV shows are your favorite, you should make sure you grab some hot chocolate or egg nog, put on your fireplace, and pop in one of your favorite holiday movies and enjoy with family and friends!!!
For The Love of TV! 