Slide 1Overview One of the best parts of the holidays is curling up on the couch with some hot cocoa or a wintry cocktail and settling in for a true Christmas movie marathon. But, alas, the season is fleeting; don't waste your precious festive time channel surfing or digging through streaming sites—just bookmark our definitive guide of the best seasonal films instead. The Polar Express This whimsical, dreamy animated tale follows a group of pajama-clad kids, roused from slumber, and pulled aboard a train bound for the North Pole. It’s based on the 1986 Caldecott winning book of the same name, one of the best Christmas books for kids. Four Christmases Reese Witherspoon shines as the star of this comedy about heading home for Christmas—to four different homes, that is. Vince Vaughn plays her longtime boyfriend. Elf Elf sits in the top ten list on many best Christmas movie lists because it offers the kind of feel-good hilarity the whole family can enjoy. Prepare for tender moments that depict loneliness and the need to fit in interspersed with Will Ferrell’s brand of madcap comedy. White Christmas It’s one of the most spectacular classic Christmas movies, so feast your eyes on dazzling, over-the-top numbers bursting with the holiday aesthetic as stranded performers put on a show. Bad Santa Amp up the Scrooge vibes in this crass take on the Christmas spirit. Billy Bob Thornton stars as a real-life Grinch—he poses as a mall Santa, so he can rob stores. A Christmas Prince This popular Christmas movie romance offers fluff, flounce, and a sugar-coated love story set during the holidays as an intrepid reporter finds herself falling for the heir to the Aldovian throne. Jack Frost Some of the best Christmas movies thrive on themes of angels, ghosts, and other magical entities coming along to teach people what the holidays are really about. In this case, it’s a wry snowman come to life who wants one last chance to show his family he cares. The Muppet Christmas Carol Out of all the remakes and adaptations of A Christmas Carol, the muppets version rises to the top as it manages to be both witty and heartwarming in a way that both kids and adults enjoy together. Arthur Christmas Arthur Christmas is an unexpected delight with a heartwarming story that captures audience members of every age. The story follows Santa’s son Arthur on his quest to deliver a lost toy before the deadline is up! Love Actually Love Actually feels like a ridiculous and romantic trifle! And it is. Giving into its implausible plots and nutty scenarios is part of the ever-watchable charm that makes it one of the best Christmas movies. Home Alone Macaulay Culkin’s charm steals the show as the kid left alone who fights off bungling burglars while Mom and Dad (Catherine O’Hara and John Heard) freak out from afar. The Nightmare Before Christmas The stop-motion animation looks charming and eccentric while the songs make you tap your foot and sing along in this story about a Pumpkin King who wants to take over Christmas. Don’t worry—Santa ends up safe and sound! Miracle on 34th Street The young Natalie Wood stole everyone’s heart in this drama about the power of belief. The 1994 remake is also winning, but for legit Christmas movie magic, check out the first film—it’s the real thing! Just Friends Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart play Jamie and Chris, old high school friends wrapped up in a similar plot: Chris is in love with Jamie, and Jamie just wants to be friends. Ten years later, Chris returns to his hometown at the holidays and tries to win Jamie’s love. Anna and the Apocalypse Far be it our duty to try and police what is and isn't a Christmas film (scroll on down and see Die Hard exactly where it should be), but Anna and the Apocalypse puts an especially bizarre twist on the genre. Right around the holidays, Anna's neighborhood encounters the worst: a zombie apocalypse. Even worse, she and her friends face it all in a series of musical numbers. It has absolutely no right The Holiday Nancy Meyers is the Queen of Cozy, and this Christmas-set romantic comedy might be her most warm and snuggly film yet. Two women—one in London (Kate Winslet), one in Los Angeles (Cameron Diaz)—face simultaneous romantic disappointments, which leads to them swapping apartments over the holidays and, in turn, finding new men to swoon over. Die Hard Ho-ho-ho, he's got a machine gun—Bruce Willis's John McClane, that is, while battling terrorists in John McTiernan's peerless one-against-many action classic. While You Were Sleeping If Die Hard gets to be a Christmas movie, so does While You Were Sleeping. After Sandra Bullock saves a man pushed in front of an L train on Christmas Day, she finds herself in quite a predicament. After admiring the man from afar from some time, she mutters, “I was going to marry him,” which a nurse mistakes as meaning that she’s his fiancee. Soon after she befriends his family who welcomes her with open arms. The only problem is, she ends up falling for the man’s brother. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Writer-director Shane Black sets virtually all of his films around Christmas (see also: Lethal Weapon and Iron Man 3), although none embrace the season quite as heartily as the filmmaker's 2005 neo-noir comedy starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer as a thief-turned-actor and a private eye, respectively, who wind up partnering on a case. Meet Me in St. Louis Vincente Minnelli's 1944 musical is comprised of vignettes set during a variety of seasons, but none are as famous as the one featuring star (and Minnelli's future wife) Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." A Christmas Story Nine years after Black Christmas, director Bob Clark made another holiday classic— albeit of a very different sort—with this beloved nostalgia-soaked saga of nine-year- old Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), who wants nothing more for Christmas than an air rifle. If you have cable, it'll no doubt be playing on a 24-hour loop on some Turner network this December 25. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Rarely has a series' third installment been the equal of its two predecessors, but such is the case with this threequel involving Clark (Chevy Chase), Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), Audrey (Juliette Lewis), and Rusty Griswold's (Johnny Galecki) mishap- besieged family get-together. The Holiday Calendar In this heartfelt romantic comedy, a woman receives an advent calendar from her grandpa. Once she opens it, the contents of each day seem to magically connect to what’s happening in her life. Last Holiday Queen Latifah gives a moving performance in this rom-com about a woman who decides to live life to the fullest when she’s diagnosed with a terminal illness right before Christmas. LL Cool J plays the coworker who follows her across the globe (in the snow!) to let her know he’s in love with her before it’s too late. Klaus Audiences and critics love this animated retelling of the Santa Claus myth in this moving story about a hapless mailman who joins forces with a reclusive toymaker to bring gifts to the kids in the local village. Holidate Holidate is the ideal romance for anyone who loves, loves, loves holidays. You’ll find every seasonal celebration in this one, including Christmas, as a couple is thrown together during every festivity. Office Christmas Party If you’re in the mood for raucous comedy, this anthem to wild Christmas parties stars Jason Bateman, Jennifer Anniston, Kate McKinnon, and Olivia Munn. Conclusion Above is a smattering of the best of the lot: a good mixture of new favorites, old classics, and a few oddballs that we've adopted into the holiday genre because we love them so much. Nothing goes better with a mug of hot chocolate or mulled wine than a good, if predictable, story set to the jingle-jangle of Christmas bells.
