By Chris Kavan - 12/22/12 at 06:05 PM CT
Nothing says "Merry Christmas" to me like sitting back with the family, enjoying some great food, good company, gift giving and... A Christmas Story. That's right - every Christmas Eve the family gets together and does all the usual, but we always fire up the 24 hour marathon of A Christmas Story (thank you TBS!) and watch it at least once all the way through. Despite pretty much knowing every line by heart, at this time of year, it's the gift that keeps on giving.
There are plenty of other great holiday movies out there - my Christmas Favorites include classics like It's a Wonderful Life and perennial holiday fare like Rudolph and A Charlie Brown Christmas, but also such diverse entries as action (Die Hard - Ho Ho Ho Bruce!) and horror (Gremlins - the story about Santa is probably the scariest part of that movie). Many people would easily hold National Lampoons Christmas Vacation in as high a regard as I hold A Christmas Story - that is, a must-watch at family gatherings.
There are easily over a dozen versions of A Christmas Carol floating around (though the only two I can include are the Muppet version and Scrooged - the 1951 Scrooge is considered by many to be one of the best adaptations).
There are plenty of stinkers out there too - I absolutely loathe the live-action version of The Grinch with Jim Carrey - you have the brilliantly horrid Santa Claus Conquers the Martins (watch the MST3K version for some real fun, though) and serious bouts of sequelitis that spoil series (Home Alone 2, Santa Claus 3 both being inferior to their predecessors, at least to me).
If you indeed celebrate the season - you probably celebrate some traditions as well. Do you have any holiday movies that hold a special place for you and your loved ones? Sound off on the forum, I'd love to know your story.
Comments
smeagol - wrote on 12/23/12 at 09:32 AM CT
i cant stand xmas movies that are about santa etc ( elf one of the worst movies ever in my view) but i love scrooge that's a must see at xmas prefer the old one though. also movies like plains trains and automobiles and home alone are always fun to watch at xmas. anything funny to escape the sickly sweet offerings of all the rest of the movies they throw our way over xmas.
LeeAnn M. - wrote on 12/23/12 at 07:07 AM CT
I'm with you, as I regularly switch out the display of my DVDs to compliment the season. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter movies are in abundant supply. Miracle on 34th Street (original black and white,) It's a Wonderful Life, The animated version of The Grinch, and the Charlie Brown Christmas are the most watched to get in the spirit of Christmas. But sometimes we need a break from the sweetness, so Goodfellas, Die Hard, and The Gremlins are played when the kids go to bed. We have to watch the TV version of A Christmas Story because of the language. The Polar Express is very noisy, so it only gets one or two airings, usually on Christmas Eve.
