The Ultimate Holiday Movie Watchlist
Here are some holiday classics that should help you to pick what you want to watch and help you and your friends get into the holiday spirit.
By Nathaniel Tamminga — December 19, 2022
One of my favorite holiday traditions is watching movies with my friends and family. It can be a great, free activity you can also do with your friends at college. However, when you get a group together, deciding what to watch can often be challenging. Here are some holiday classics that should help you to pick what you want to watch and help you and your friends get into the holiday spirit.
Christmas Comedies
Over the years, many comedies have taken place during the holidays. To save you the trouble of watching all of them, here are the ones you should watch first. I may be in the minority, but my favorite Christmas comedy is "The Santa Claus." This movie is excellent if you are a fan of Tim Allen;s sarcastic, witty humor. In this film, you follow a successful toy salesman, Scott, Calvin, in his journey to becoming Santa Claus. Tim Allen's comedy is on full display as Scott Calvin goes from denial to a begrudging acceptance to fully embracing his new role as Santa Claus. It is a heartwarming story that also delivers some great comedy.
Another great holiday comedy is "Home Alone." Like the title suggests, "Home Alone" is about a young boy, Kevin McCallister (played by Macaulay Culkin), who is accidentally left at home when his family leaves for a vacation in France. While Kevin is home alone, robbers target his house, and it is his job to defend it. The comedy in this film is like that in movies like The Three Stooges. It mainly comes from all the great ways Kevin dissuades the robbers from completing this robbery. "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" is another excellent holiday comedy.
In this hilarious flick, Chevy Chase plays Clark Griswold, a middle-class working man in the Chicago suburbs trying his best to make it through everything the holidays throw at him. From bickering in-laws to unannounced cousins to a canceled holiday bonus check, Clark is just trying to survive without losing his mind. Chevy Chase brings his classic comedic acting to this hilarious holiday film.
I know that most people reading this will be mad that it took me this long to get to "Elf." However, in my opinion, the aforementioned movies above are funnier. With that said, "Elf" is a funny, heartwarming story of Buddy the elf, played by Will Ferrell, who is trying to find his birth father after being raised as a human at the North Pole. He ventures to New York City in search of his dad, only for his dad to dismiss him as not being his son. The story follows Buddy's journey of reconnecting with his father and stepfamily in this heartwarming tale full of Will Ferrell humor. This is not an exhaustive list of holiday comedies, but these are great ones to start with if you are looking for a hilarious holiday film.
The Classics
Besides comedies, most holiday movies are what I would call feel-good movies. These are like Hallmark movies, but usually a little bit better. One of the most classic of these Christmas movies is "It's a Wonderful Life." This 1940's film is a great story about a hard-working local business owner, George Bailey, who is just trying to do good in his community while keeping his business afloat during the holiday season. As the movie follows George, he seems to have taken all he can and is about to give up when he is shown how the world would have been different without him. With this newfound sense of gratitude and hope, George takes on his challenges, and everything works out for him. With such a heartwarming ending, this is a great feel-good movie to watch this holiday season.
Another feel-good story is that of "A Christmas Carol." This tale has many adaptations, but most movie renditions will do the story justice. In "A Christmas Carol," a grouchy old man named Ebenezer Scrooge does not partake in holiday festivities and is solely focused on his business. One night, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his deceased former business partner, who warns him to turn from his grouchy, stingy, self-centered ways. Scrooge is then haunted by three ghosts, the ghost of Christmas past, the ghost of Christmas present, and the ghost of Christmas yet to come. Each of these ghosts shows Scrooge the past, present, or future. Scrooge awakens in his bed on Christmas morning. Distraught by what the three ghosts revealed, Scrooge changes his ways and becomes a generous, benevolent man.
This story of redemption is a great one to get everyone in the holiday spirit. I would be remiss if I did not include the holiday cartoon classics "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and "Frosty the Snowman." These are great, nostalgic stories for me because I grew up watching them. They are great to put on if you are looking for a good heartwarming tale while also rekindling some childhood memories. You cannot go wrong with any of these feel-good holiday movies. They will all leave you in the holiday spirit.
The Controversial One
The last movie I will suggest is "Die Hard." However, bestowing the title of a Christmas movie on this film is hotly debated. In this action movie, John McClane (Bruce Willis) must save his wife's holiday party from a group of German radicals. The movie follows John's efforts to apprehend the Germans while rescuing his wife. The debate comes because while this movie does happen at a holiday party, it is not great at putting you in the holiday spirit. I will let you decide whether you want to watch this as a holiday movie.
Watching holiday movies is a great excuse to gather friends for a great time. They can help to ease the stress of the end of the semester while also putting you in the holiday spirit. With these suggestions, you can now start to watch some of the best and most classic holiday films with your friends. However, this is not an extensive list, so feel free to venture out and find more holiday movies that you may like better than these.
Nathaniel Tamminga
Nathaniel Tamminga is a graduate student at The Ohio State University, currently pursuing his PhD in Physics. He got his BS in Physics from Azusa Pacific University, where he also minored in Mathematics.
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