As soon as Halloween and Thanksgiving are over, the holiday season is nearly everyone's focus, and that means queuing up a variety of The Christmas Chronicles, and feel-good romantic Hallmark Christmas movies for adults who love the genre, there are classics that viewers love to watch again and again.
In fact, there are many Christmas movies that are annual staple viewing for families and individuals. It doesn't matter when they were released, they still hold up today.
Elf (2003)
Jon Favreau created a gem in this classic Christmas movie that became a surprise hit, not only when it was released, but for almost two decades since. Funnyman Will Ferrell plays Buddy, a man who believes himself to be an elf, despite being far too tall and human-like.
After discovering that he was adopted by his elf father and raised with elves following the death of his mother, he headed to New York City to find his real father, who never knew he was born. The result is both hilarious and heartwarming, so it's no wonder that families love to watch Elf again and again, even if they know how it ends.
Home Alone (1990) And Home Alone 2 (1992)
With the sixth movie in the franchise, Home Sweet Home Alone, released in 2021 on Disney+, it's clear that highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time.
Macaulay Culkin stars as Kevin McAllister, a 9-year-old who, following a frantic morning with the family trying to get to the airport on time, is mistakenly left in his lavish home alone. When Kevin gets wind of burglars scoping out the neighborhood looking to break in, he sets up elaborate booby traps to stop them. Somehow, the film gets funnier every time. Home Alone 2 was a solid follow-up that takes Kevin to New York the next year, unbelievably separated from his family once again and running into the very same thieves he put away the year prior.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The perfect movie to watch in the months leading up to Christmas, this stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy melds Halloween with Christmas. Jack Skellington is the King of a place called Halloween Town. When he finds Christmas Town, he becomes enamored with the holiday and wants his town to emulate the jolly traditions.
He then decides Halloween Town can do things better and will take over Christmas this year, tweaking everything from singing carols to making presents to suit their style. The Nightmare Before Christmas is perfect family viewing with kids of all ages.
Bad Santa (2003)
the most iconic characters from favorite holiday movies, is a heavy-drinking, promiscuous, foul-mouthed mall Santa who also happens to be a thief. ed by his assistant Marvin, who works alongside him as an elf, the pair scope out the mall to plan their big hit.
Along the way, however, Willie meets a dimwitted but sweet young boy named Thurman who attaches himself to the man, believing him to be the real Santa. Despite Willie's best efforts, he can't seem to get rid of the young boy, leading to an unlikely pairing and a predictably sweet ending.
Die Hard (1988)
Is it a Christmas movie? The debate has continued for decades, but despite even actor Bruce Willis clarifying that Die Hard is not a Christmas movie, die-hard (pun intended) fans of the franchise can't be convinced. They stick to their guns and queue this film up every holiday season.
The only tie-in with Christmas is that the movie takes place during the holiday season. But that's where the Christmas theme ends. John McClane (Willis) is a New York City police detective who unsuspectingly finds himself trying to stop a terrorist attack in a Los Angeles skyscraper. It's full of action and suspense, so while fans don't get all warm and fuzzy after watching, it remains a Christmastime staple.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
A classic since it first premiered in the '60s, this animated television special based on the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, still holds up today. The Charlie Brown story follows a depressed young Charlie who doesn't feel very cheerful, despite it being the holiday season.
He tries to get involved, but every time he does something, he's made fun of, or his efforts are ignored by the other kids. By the end, however, Charlie learns the true meaning of Christmas. The special is just over 25 minutes long, but it's one families love to watch again and again.
Love, Actually (2003)
This romantic comedy is one that people love to watch again and again during the holidays. Featuring a star-studded ensemble cast including Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, and Emma Thompson, Love, Actually follows several people on their individual journeys in love, all with intersecting storylines.
From platonic love to unrequited love, romantic love, and even love lost, no interpretation of love is left untouched, and no dry eye remains by the end, no matter how many times it's viewed. There are Love, Actually.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
With plenty of movies in the National Lampoon's franchise, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation remains one of the best and most re-watched. Chevy Chase is the goofy, overly excited dad Clark Griswold who is determined to have the best Christmas ever with his family. From setting up elaborate lights around his house to impress the neighbors and ers-by, to trying to find the perfect tree, nothing seems to work out right.
Yet Clark's enthusiasm, and the kids' lack thereof, along with a surprise visit from the extended family, makes this movie thoroughly entertaining every time. The ending, however, reminds viewers what Christmas spirit is all about.
A Christmas Story (1983)
"You'll shoot your eye out!" These five words are instantly recognizable to anyone who watched A Christmas Story, as are references like the leg lamps in boxes labeled "fra-gee-lay" and tongues on icy lampposts. It's a classic movie about a young boy who is desperate to receive a very specific BB gun for Christmas and obsesses over it, despite warnings from his parents and every other adult he mentions it to.
Set in the '40s, A Christmas Story is also about the everyday trials and tribulations of a typical nuclear family during that time, which is why the movie is one of many Christmas movies that keeps getting better with age. The style of the adult Ralphie narrating the events and his thoughts at the time is what truly makes this movie memorable.
Scrooged (1988)
Based on the 1843 Charles Dickens novella A Christmas Carol, Scrooged is one of many interpretations of the story of a selfish and greedy man who is visited by the ghost of his Christmas past, present, and future on Christmas Eve. Their goal is to help him realize what's truly important about Christmas and change his mean ways.
In this story, Bill Murray is Frank Cross, a television executive who is focused on the almighty dollar, forcing his staff to work late on Christmas Eve and being generally mean to anyone he crosses paths with. While the movie originally debuted in the late '80s, many believe it was far ahead of its time in the focus, theme, and approach, which is, in part, why Scrooged remains so relevant today, and why fans love watching it every year.
