Top Five Christmas Movies

Honorable Mention: Die Hard- While it wasn’t at the center of the plot, this film actually was a Christmas movie. John McClaine went to L.A. to see his children and estranged wife for the holiday. There’s even a scene where McClaine is being driven around in a limo and the chauffeur is listening to “Christmas in Hollis” by Run-D.M.C. What’s more joyful than that? Really, if you take away the terrorists, the violence, the nudity, the blood and the language, you have the heart of a very merry Christmas movie. However, it is only an honorable mention because every other movie on my list is specifically centered on Christmas.

5. The Nightmare Before Christmas- This is one of the ultimate movies in the opinion of my generation. It combines Christmas and Halloween, two of the biggest holidays in this country, and creates a mish-mash that’s fun for creepy goth kids and naïve, sheltered children alike. The music is elegant and beautiful at times and spooky and scary at others. My favorite track, “What’s This?” has burrowed a place so deep in my heart that I always listen to it before Christmas. The pull of the movie, though, comes from the hero, Jack Skellington. He’s an icon in his Halloween town, but he still feels emptiness in his heart and tries to mend it by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over Christmas. How sweet.

4. Scrooged- This is a 1988 comedic interpretation of “A Christmas Carol” starring Bill Murray. Well, it starts off as a comedy when we see Murray as the bitter T.V. exec pitch his idea of a promo for a Christmas special, but it quickly gets depressing like the story “Scrooged” was adapted from. We get to see a homeless person freeze to death, one of Murray’s newly made ex-employees go crazy, Murray’s assistant’s depressing home life and how much Murray’s own family hates him. However, it all ends well with the patented ending of Murray coming back to reality with a new heart of gold.

3. Home Alone- This movie is great for three reasons. First, it allowed me to see what life could be like if I was a kid living in a giant two story house by myself. I never lived in a place with stairs, but after watching “Home Alone” I’ve always wanted to ride a sled down some stairs through the front door and into a snow covered yard. Secondly, it gave me plenty of ideas for booby traps to utilize against my then nemesis. And third, it was a touching. The protagonist kid learned that his neighbor wasn’t a serial killer, but just an old man who wanted to see his granddaughter. He learned that his family, while annoying some times, truly loved him and would always be there for him. Pretty nice sentiments for a movie famous for hitting people in the head with paint cans.

2. Joyeux Noel- This movie, more than any other movie, depicts what I believe Christmas ought to be. It takes place during World War I at a battleground where the French, Scottish and Germans are fighting each other. It was Christmas Eve and in a cautious ceasefire the three groups decided to celebrate the holiday together. These soldiers who were killing each just the previous day were now sharing champagne and chocolate, singing together, playing football with each other and attending mass along side each other. And, to me, the best part of the movie was that the next day the soldiers couldn’t fight each other anymore. They knew they were supposed to, but they couldn’t do it. The feelings they shared on Christmas Eve stuck with them and changed them. They weren’t enemies anymore; they were brothers.

1. Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas- Maybe this was a predictable pick, but I have to stay true to myself. I haven’t had a Christmas yet where I didn’t watch this movie. It’s a film that I’ve been watching since I was a kid; since Christmas was still about wonder and excitement. I still sing (and make up my own words for) the song that plays when the Grinch is stealing everybody’s presents. I still laugh at the dog that has to wear a single antler to impersonate a reindeer. And, to be honest, I still get a little teary-eyed when I see the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes. It’s a nostalgic movie for me, and I bet it will be for many more generations.