It’s tiiiiiime! If you’re ready to fully enter holiday mode, here are five movies that will make you like Christmas even more!
Home Alone (1990)
Honestly, Home Alone never gets old. The movie follows eight-year-old Kevin, who gets accidentally left behind when his family flies to France. At first, he’s living the dream, eating junk food, watching whatever he wants and doing things no adult would ever allow. But his plans change when thieves break into his house and suddenly Kevin turns into the most creative home-defense.
This is a movie that you don’t even have to like Christmas to like it, but if you do like, watch it, it’s a funny, cozy movie, and of course, a classic.
White Christmas (1954)
McKinley Davis, freshman, loves Christmas movies, according to her “my favorite Christmas movie is White Christmas. I love how it is more old timey.” This is a great sentimental classic which follows Bill Walace and Phil Davis, two army buddies, who become musical comedy sensations.
This is a perfect movie for a heartwarming watch.
Elf (2003)
Elf is basically Christmas joy turned into a movie. Buddy grows up in the North Pole believing he’s an elf… until he realizes he’s a human who’s way too tall for elf life. So, he heads to New York to find his real father and of course chaos follows.
Will Ferrell is hilarious, the jokes land every time, and the whole movie is a big warm hug about family, believing in magic, and staying joyful even when the world is grumpy. Watching him try to fit in, reconnect with his dad, and bring holiday cheer to everyone around him is what makes the movie so lovable.
Mrs. Sines, social studies teacher, says her favorite Christmas movie is Elf, “I love how they incorporate vintage x-mas and how funny it is.”
The Grinch (2018)
Everyone thinks the Grinch is a Christmas-hating villain, but deep down, those who understood the character, knows that he is someone who’s lonely, misunderstood, and kind of just tired of everyone. It all starts on Mount Crumpit with Grinch and his dog Max, watching the who’s in Whoville prepare for their huge Christmas celebration.
As the decorations get bigger, he reaches his limit and decides to steal Christmas, literally. But behind all the sneaking around and plotting, the movie shows little glimpses of why he feels the way he does, which makes him a lot more relatable.
In the end, even Grich realizes Christmas isn’t about presents; it’s about kindness, community, and feeling like you belong.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Christmas Vacation is the definition of holiday chaos, the kind where everything goes wrong, but you somehow still laugh through it. The movie follows Clark Griswold, a dad who is desperate to give his family the perfect Christmas. But from the moment the relatives walk in, things begin falling apart in every possible way.
The plot is basically a series of disasters that keep building: a tree that’s too big, lights that refuse to work, uninvited guests, a surprise squirrel, a disastrous dinner, and Clark slowly losing his mind while still insisting that “we’re gonna have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas.”
What makes this movie great is how exaggerated everything is, but also how true it feels, because everyone in his family is going to remember that day for how chaotic it was.