Christmas Movie Recommendations (In No Particular Order)!
Written by Wafiya Hasan, Edited by Kaitlyn Randolph
There’s nothing like cozying up on the couch on a snowy Christmas night, pajamas on, hot chocolate in hand, and mindlessly watching a fun and nostalgic movie. Except your family is sifting through every streaming service arguing over what movie to watch, your hot chocolate has gone cold, and it’s not actually a snowy Christmas night because you live in Portland. But, no worries! This list contains a variety of fun, family-friendly Christmas movies that will eliminate any time wasted on arguing over what to watch, and are all just festive and wintery enough for you to forget about the torrential hailstorm outside.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Let’s start with an ultimate classic, a.k.a a Dr. Seuss brainchild. You’re probably thinking to yourself right now: Wait, aren’t there two film adaptations of this? Which one are we talking about right now? Truth is, I’m kind of talking about both. Both the 1966 and 2000 films stick to the classic Dr. Seuss storyline, which is absolutely unbeatable. Although it’s quite old, there is something incredibly nostalgic and fulfilling about the voices and animation style of the 1966 cartoon. As for the 2000 live-action adaptation: sometimes all we need in our life is Jim Carrey going absolutely berserk, even on Christmas night.
Home Alone
This is one of those movies where, no matter what time of the year it is or what sort of weather you’re experiencing (perpetual rain, for example…), watching it will completely transform everything into a white Christmas evening. So, if that holiday spirit is just not in the air and you’re feeling especially naughty this winter, this movie is an excellent choice to rekindle that spirit and fun. It also serves as a comforting reminder that naughty children actually don’t get coal in their stockings, because their families are too busy forgetting them at home for the holidays.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Despite its goofy array of characters and fantastical setting, this movie carries some very wholesome and heartbreaking sentiments via the original dark-yet-sensitive man, Jack Skellington. To be completely honest, as its title states, Nightmare Before Christmas is probably best experienced before Christmas, during that weird gray period between Halloween and Christmas when Mariah Carey is still in the middle of defrosting. But alas, it is just too good to be left off the list. Besides, no time of the year is inappropriate to be jamming out to the Boogeyman.
A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas
This is more a recommendation of a general genre than one of any particular movie; that genre being crappy Hallmark Christmas romance. A crappy Hallmark Christmas romance is the perfect sort of movie to watch with friends and laugh and talk through the entire night. We all see videos online making fun of the copy-paste plotlines of Hallmark Christmas movies, but have any of us actually watched one? The bamboozling decision-making skills of main characters and violently cringe-worthy dialogue are endearingly unique characteristics that you won’t find anywhere but in a Hallmark romance.
