Top Christmas Films
It feels like 2020 has spanned years, but finally we’re getting close to being done with it. Christmas is here! If we’re honest, the likelihood of it being like a normal holiday is slim to none, but we’re all ready to get in the festive spirit a little earlier than usual.
Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have exponentially expanded their festive section. So to get you ready for a an old fashioned binge, I’ve prepared a viewing list that should last until Christmas.
Whether you’re looking to snuggle up under the blanket or be on the edge of your seat with a hidden gem, these are the best Christmas movies to watch this holiday season.
The Snowman
The Snowman is a gorgeous animated tale of a young boy’s short-lived adventure with a snowman. It’s the perfect length for a quick watch before tucking in, the film’s themes of impermanence and innocence make it a tear jerker for all ages.
One Magic Christmas
Before there were Netflix holiday movies, there was this forgotten 1985 Disney release, which flopped at the box office, in which the iconic Harry Dean Stanton plays an angel who watches over a struggling working-class family whose matriarch, played by Mary Steenburgen, experiences some close calls as she learns the true meaning of Christmas. It has the rare mix of grit and sentimentality, borrows heavily from It’s A Wonderful Life and, call us crazy, contains shades of Groundhog Day, which wouldn’t come out for another eight years.
Office Christmas Party
T.J. Miller and Jennifer Aniston play feuding siblings who have different perspectives on how to run the company they inherited. Tasked with winning the business of a high-stakes client, Miller's Clay sets out throw the office Christmas party to end all office Christmas party—an event so debauched that it might end their company, too.
Jack Frost
Michael Keaton plays a man literally named Jack Frost, who lived his life as a bitter, aging rocker and meets a tragic end in a car accident on Christmas Day. A year later, his son plays a song on his old harmonica and brings him back to life; this time as a snowman. Bad special effects might make this one more of a horror film than a heartwarming Christmas movie, but nonetheless, here it is.
Batman Returns
Okay, yeah. It may be an action film that isn’t really about Christmas despite being set during the holiday season. Tim Burton’s second chance at a Batman film has all of the trimmings of his similarly gothy Christmas tale, The Nightmare Before Christmas—only this one is violent, dangerous, and sexy (we dare you to name a more memorable mistletoe moment on screen).
The Holiday
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.
The Polar Express
The classic tale of a Christmas Eve trip to the North Pole is told in such hyper-realistic animation that you might just start to feel like you’re on the train yourself.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
In 2000, Jim Carrey put on a big green Grinch suit to bring the famous cartoon to life. Because it’s Jim Carrey, there’s a lot of improvised humor. There’s also a pretty gross cheese-eating scene that only passes because Jim Carrey can pull it off.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Charlie Brown is an institution, and can you really say it’s the holiday season if the Peanuts theme hasn’t played in a Starbucks near you? After finding himself in a bout of seasonal depression (relatable), Charlie Brown tries to put together a Christmas play before Linus reminds him what the true meaning of Christmas is.
Elf
Will Ferrell is a clownish orphan raised by Santa and his elves in the North Pole who journeys to New York City to locate his biological father–a cynical book publisher played by James Caan–in this absurd (and surprisingly sweet) fish-out-of-water fantasy.