The Best of Them & the Worst of Them: Christmas Movies
By: Patrick Perring
I think everyone can agree that one of the greatest pastimes of the holiday season is Christmas movies! However, some are much better than others. Here’s an overview of movies to watch possibly numerous times, versus those you probably should avoid at all costs in order to keep your sanity.
My favorite category of the abundance of Christmas movies is the classics. The kind where there’s nothing quite like snuggling into your electric blankets and watching every year when the holiday season comes around. Movies like White Christmas, A Christmas Story, Home Alone, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Carol, and my personal favorite, It’s A Wonderful Life are all great examples of Christmas movies everyone must love.
Then you have the comedic Christmas movie category; those that make us laugh until tears are streaming down our faces but still shine light on that Christmas spirit everyone knows and loves. Examples of these movies like Christmas with the Kranks, ELF, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Be cautious of those movies that have a good first or second movie, but the rest are awful. The Santa Clause franchise with Tim Allen is a superb example of this. One could also argue the Home Alone movies are this way as well.
Now come the movies that will have tears streaming down your face for different reasons other than laughter. The Christmas movies that tug at your heart strings such as Miracle on 34th Street, The Polar Express (be careful, this one is borderline overrated), Jack Frost, and Christmas Shoes.
With all the awesome holiday movies like the ones listed above, it’s hard to believe there can be any bad Christmas movies… but trust me, there are. The Muppet Christmas Carol, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause, Jingle All the Way, and Bad Santa are superior examples of these movies.
If you're like me and get a little like Scrooge after a while of seeing your stereotypical Christmas movies over and over again, try Christmas movies with a unique twist like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, or Gremlins.
If none of these holiday inspired movies float your fancy, I advise you to get more in tune with your Christmas spirit! Christmas movies are stellar ways to keep yourself entertained around the holiday season and there are so many to choose from even beyond this list that you can never get sick of. Just remember, for every It's a Wonderful Life or ELF on Santa's nice list, there's a dozen like Home Alone sequels or Jingle All the Way over on the naughty list.