We’ve probably had this thread before, but I don’t think in 2023. And to be honest, I probably didn’t read it before as 1) I rarely watch movies 2) I’m not the biggest Christmas fan!
But I’m trying to embrace the season a little more. And not just be tied to the tasks of it (buying, wrapping, decorating, baking, scheduling…)
Now that more is available through streaming - which is how I would watch most likely - share a new, more recent in the last years or even an older holiday movie on your “top” list.
Hoping for ones that are not Hallmark movies per say…though others might like those suggestions!
Would be great if you also categorize your movie - “a comedy” or “heartwarming” or “for the whole family” or “not for the whole family” or “a tearjerker”.
The last couple of days I watched The Family Stone. It’s from the early 2000’s I think. I saw it mentioned a couple times recently. At first I thought it odd, but it all came together and there were some tears. I would call it: a “PG” movie, family drama, a little humor, a few tears.
We watch an absurd number of Christmas movies.
Comedy - National Lampoon Christmas Vacation, Four Christmases and Elf.
Newer favorites - Christmas Chronicles (1st one only) and Klaus .
Our Classics - Arthur’s Christmas, the Polar Express and Its a Wonderful Life.
For a dark or gory slant - Bad Santa and Violent Night ( David Harbor as Santa is perfection)
The Holiday (free on lifetime 12/15&16, 12/24,25,26 and rentable on Amazon Prime and AppleTV) romcom with Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black about 2 women who switch houses for 2 weeks during the Christmas holidays and find unexpected love and friendship, and Scrooged (free with subscription on Amazon prime and paramount+)…can’t go wrong with Bill Murray, Karen Allen and Carol Kane as my favorite Christmas ghost, are family favorites along with classic Rudolph and the original animated Grinch who stole Christmas.
I always watch Die Hard…definitely a Christmas-y movie in my book .
Klaus was good.
For kids, the British Christmas Carole where Scrooge/Carole as a child loved xmas and now is the ruthless CEO of a business selling cheap Xmas decorations.
Looking forward to Family switch on Netflix, basically Freaky Friday right before Xmas.
We watch a Christmas movie almost every night during the season, but I must say I get a bit tired of them once I know every line. So far, we’ve watched:
Christmas Vacation
Elf
Love Actually
Miracle on 34th Street
White Christmas
Charlie Brown’s Christmas
The Santa Claus (1&2)
Christmas Story
The Bishop’s Wife
And will watch Rudolph (Burl Ives), A Christmas Carol (George C. Scott), The Grinch (animated, not movie) and, on Christmas Eve, It’s a Wonderful Life. Last night, we watched Lucy Worsley’s Twelve Days of Tudor Christmas on PBS. Very interesting.
Love Actually, not appropriate for all audiences, is definitely my favorite holiday movie. It’s several different storylines, and the first time I saw it in the theater, I wasn’t blown away. But the second and each other time I’ve seen it, I’ve loved it. It’s heartwarming, has humor, has some tears, a good soundtrack, and a great cast (Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Rowan Atkinson, and others).
We watched Spirited on Apple TV plus last year (Ryan Reynolds, Will Farrell) and it was actually good - it is a take on Scrooge, but as a musical. I had my doubts, but it was enjoyable and we will watch it again this year, along with Elf & Christmas Vacation. I would characterize it as Family, heartwarming, comedy, musical.
It’s a Wonderful Life – family-friendly
Love Actually – not family-friendly (I have a funny story about this one)
Elf – family-friendly
White Christmas – family-friendly
We watch many Christmas movies during the holidays. We always include the classic ones mentioned in posts above as well as watching the ones they churn out for Netflix and Hallmark.
Monday night H wanted to watch Die Hard so we did. Last night we chose a new one on Netflix Family Switch with Jennifer Garner which was silly, but kept us entertained. Many times I will put a Christmas movie on while wrapping presents or even baking just for fun.
We own a lot of holiday movies. When the kids all lived at home, it was tradition for us to watch one holiday movie per night culminating with The Polar Express on Christmas Eve. Some favorites:
Action/dark comedy: Fatman, Surviving Christmas, Jingle All the Way
Romantic comedies: Love Actually, The Holiday (my favorite!), The Family Man
Classics: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, The Santa Clause
Agree about Love Actually, which is one of my Christmas favorites along with White Christmas & Miracle on 34th Street (the original). I have Love Actually on my Netflix list and saw a notification that it is only available until December 31st, just as an FYI.
Thanks for the plug for “Spirited.” We watched the trailer last night and wondered if we should try it (I’m not much for musicals, but really like Will and Ryan). So, will do. DH is a fan of “Die Hard.” I’ve not seen it, but may humor him this year.
Our family watches A Christmas Story every year. TBS used to air it for 24 hours straight starting on Christmas Eve. We no longer have cable so I don’t know if they still do, but it’s available to stream on Max. Also, just an FYI, A Charlie Brown Christmas, another family favorite, is now only available on Apple TV+ but is available free for non-subscribers this weekend.
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