10 On Tuesday: Christmas Movies

In honor of the fact that I am already watching schmaltzy Hallmark Christmas movies at the rate of at least one a day, I decided to share my top 10 Christmas movies. It's quite possible you won't agree with all of my choices because when it comes to Christmas movies, the cheesier and more over the top they are, the better I like them! (FYI: I did not include the animated Christmas shows. That's a whole other category.)

10. A Christmas Carol. All versions of this classic are good, but the one with George C. Scott is my favorite. He is the scroogiest of Scrooges!

9. Scrooged. Bill Murray is yet another over-the-top SNL veteran whose antics greatly amuse me.  Scrooged is a modern-day retelling of A Christmas Carol that, while really funny, is also maybe a bit darker because of some of the modern elements and the special effects.

8.  The Santa Clause.  Tim Allen’s second appearance on my list.  I like this one for a million goofy reasons like:  elves with attitude, Santa’s strut to Sharp Dressed Man and an endless parade of truly ugly sweaters.

7.  Jingle All The Way.  I love action heros when they get all silly and Arnold is the best.  Here he is, the former governor of California, and he doesn’t take himself too seriously.  In Jingle All the Way he’s in a mad-capped race against a mailman, played by Sinbad, to find the last Turboman action figure in town.  What parent hasn’t been there?

6.  Surviving Christmas.  This is Ben Affleck’s foray into the Christmas movie scene.  He is hilarious (and also touching) as a filthy rich guy who has no clue about human relationships or Christmas.  He hires himself a family to live out his idea of the perfect family Christmas.

5.  It’s A Wonderful Life.  Well, you knew this one would be on the list didn’t you?  Jimmy Stewart is so cornball, you gotta love him.  And this movie taught me that, "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings." 

4.  How The Grinch Stole Christmas.  Oh, man I just love Whoville!  It doesn’t get any cheesier than this.  Do you not love the houses?  The clothes?  The hair?  And I have sooo got to get me one of those guns that shoots Christmas lights onto your house.

3.  White Christmas.  As I tell my kids…..it ain’t Christmas till Bing sings White Christmas.  I love the elaborate sets and musical numbers and Danny Kaye is a hoot.

2.  Christmas Vacation.  This is one movie the family doesn’t complain about watching.  We have worn out two copies and it is still a part of our holiday traditions.  Nothing says Christmas like Cousin Eddie pumping sewage into the storm drain.







And the number one movie on my must see list....

1.  A Christmas Story.  I’ve worn out a couple copies of this one, too, even though TBS shows it for 24 hours straight every Christmas.  This is the bestest, funniest Christmas movie ever made and it’s become tradition for the whole family (and anyone else here) to watch it together one time on Christmas Day.  I pretty much know it word for word.







There you have it.  Now when you’re feeling stressed by all you have to get done before the fat guy in the red suit pays a visit, you know what to do.  Get your hands on one of these movies, pop some corn, put your feet up, laugh your hiney off and forget about it for a while.

**BONUS**

If you make it through all of those and still need some holiday movies to watch, other recommendations include:

Home Alone, elf, The Homecoming (the original Walton's movie that started it all), Deck the Halls, Christmas with the Kranks, The Christmas Shoes, Fred Claus, Christmas Comes to Willow Creek, The House Without a Christmas Tree, Four Christmases, Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus, and Ernest Saves Christmas.