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Top 7 Christmas Movies

Christmas movies are as old as the movie making business. The best family Christmas movies are the ones that show love, care, compassion, and appreciation for your family and friends. The movies that show people helping others, especially the people who are less fortunate, and avoid commercialism are the most loved. In summary, the Christmas movies that are in line with the Christmas and holiday spirit are the ones that stay around year after year.

There are a lot of good Christmas movies. I have listed some of my favorites that have remained popular over the years. Most of these movies have had remakes through the years. The Christmas movies are listed in chronological order.

1 It’s a Wonderful Life

James Stewart stars in this 1946 Christmas movie, playing George Bailey. George spent his entire life giving up his big dreams for the good of his town, Bedford Falls. He is about to commit suicide during the Christmas holidays because he is financially ruined because he misplaced an $8000 loan. A guardian angel, trying to earn his wings, shows him what life would be like if he had never existed. Clarence, the guardian angel, shows George how much he has meant to so many people and that he should not just throw it all away. George concludes that life is wonderful.

2 Miracle on 34th Street

In this 1947 movie, a Macy’s executive in search for a new store Santa hires an old man named Kris Kringle. Kris says that he is Santa Claus. Doris and her six year old daughter, Susan, are skeptics. In this Christmas Holiday Family Tradition, Kris goes to court to prove that he is the real Santa Claus.

3 Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

This 1964 classic is a made-for-television Christmas movie. It has been delighting generations of kids ever since. Rudolph is ousted from the reindeer games because of his red nose. He teams up with Hermey the elf and the prospector Yukon Cornelius. They run into the Abominable Snowman and find a whole island of misfit toys. Rudolph goes back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve to get Santa to help with the toys. Santa needs help getting his sleigh going and gets Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, to lead the sleigh on Christmas Eve to deliver toys to the boys and girls everywhere.

4 How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The original animated classic of this movie was produced in 1966. The Grinch gets irritated and becomes bitter and hateful because the people in the nearby village are having a happy time celebrating Christmas. So the Grinch disguises himself as Santa Claus and dresses his dog like a reindeer. He tries to ruin Christmas for the Whos in Whoville by stealing their presents, trees, and holiday treats. The village is sure to have a sad Christmas this year but the Grinch has a change of heart and finds love and friendship with the Whos.

5 Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town

This 1970 television movie is also an old holiday favorite. A small baby named Kris was left on the doorsteps of the Kringle family. The Kringle family were toy-makers. When Kris grew up, he wanted to deliver toys to the children of Sombertown but the town had outlawed toys. The Burgermeister was too mean to let toys be delivered to his town. Also, an evil wizard named Winter lived between the Kringles and Sombertown. Kris managed to melt Winter’s heart and deliver the toys.

6 A Christmas Carol

There have been several remakes of this Christmas Holiday Classic movie (1976, 1977, 1984, 1999, and 2000). I like the 1984 version starring George C. Scott. The movie is based on a story by Charles Dickens about an old penny-pinching miser named Scrooge who exploits and intimidates others and detests Christmas. On Christmas Eve Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, who died seven Christmas Eves ago. Marley, who was a miser like Scrooge, is suffering the consequences in the afterlife and hopes to help Scrooge avoid this same fate. After being visited by three spirits, the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, Scrooge sees the errors of his ways. On Christmas Scrooge sends a Christmas turkey to Bob Cratchit, his long-suffering clerk, and spends
Christmas day with his nephew Fred, whom he had earlier spurned. He raised Cratchitt’s salary and vowed to assist his family and their crippled son, Tiny Tim. Scrooge became as good a friend as the city knew.

7 A Christmas Story

This 1983 comedy celebrates the Christmas of a young boy growing up in the 1940s. Young Ralphie Parker wants just one thing for Christmas, a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200 Shot Range Model Air Rifle. His parents are afraid that he will shoot out his eye and they refuse to get it. Ralphie uses some creative ploys to convince his mother and father that this is the only gift that they get him, but he runs into some opposition from his parents, his teacher, and even Santa Claus.

I did not include the half-hour Christmas special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, as a movie since it is only 30 minutes long. I do recommend watching it every Christmas. Charlie Brown complains about the materialism that he sees at Christmas, so Lucy suggest that he becomes the director of the school Christmas pageant. Charlie and Linus get a real Christmas tree, instead of an aluminum one, for the show. Dismayed by the commercialization of the Christmas holidays, Charlie searches for the true meaning of Christmas and with Linus’s help learns the true meaning of Christmas.

All of these Christmas movies are great and there a lot of other good Christmas movies. What are some of your favorite Christmas movies? Tell us about how your family has incorporated watching Christmas movies as part of your Christmas tradition.