MOVIES THAT ARE/SHOULD BE A MUST AT CHRISTMASTIME!
There are certain films (traditional and otherwise) that are and should be a must to watch at Christmastime. This list contains my personal selections for the Yuletide and are not in any particular order.
List activity
1.1K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
27 titles
- DirectorBill MelendezStarsAnn AltieriChris DoranSally DryerDepressed at the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find a deeper meaning to Christmas.Of all the Christmas must-sees, this one should be at the top of any list!
- DirectorBrian Desmond HurstStarsAlastair SimJack WarnerKathleen HarrisonEbenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly, miserly businessman, has no time for sentimentality and largely views Christmas as a waste of time. However, this Christmas Eve, he will be visited by three spirits who will show him the error of his ways.The greatest, most famous and certainly most loved of all the Scrooge movies! No Christmas would be complete without it!
- DirectorRichard WilliamsStarsAlastair SimMichael RedgraveMelvyn HayesAn old bitter miser is given a chance for redemption when spirits visit him on Christmas Eve.This is another ABSOLUTE MUST for Christmas time! Alistair Sim and Michael Hordern reprise their classic roles from the 1951 film and they haven't lost a step! This is a triumph for animating genius Chuck Jones and director Richard Williams. Dickens himself would love this animated version!
- DirectorClive DonnerStarsGeorge C. ScottFrank FinlayAngela PleasenceA bitter old miser who rationalizes his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three spirits visit him on Christmas Eve.Next to the Alistair Sims version, this is the absolute best (and is my personal favorite of all the Christmas Carols)!
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsEdmund GwennMaureen O'HaraJohn PayneAfter a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.A true Christmas classic!
- DirectorLes MayfieldStarsRichard AttenboroughElizabeth PerkinsDylan McDermottA lawyer and a little girl must prove that a man claiming to be Santa Claus is the real thing.While my opinion is that not many classics should be re-made or updated, this one stands on its own and hits the Christmas spot!
- DirectorGeorge KaczenderStarsSusan LucciWendy CrewsonRon LeaIn this updated retelling of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," ruthless businesswoman and shop owner Elizabeth "Ebbie" Scrooge is taught the true meaning of Christmas by three Spirits who visit her.The first and best of all the female Scrooges! And it stays true to its source!
- DirectorTom McLoughlinStarsShelley LongBarry BostwickNathan LawrenceAlthough admitting, if confronted with the information, that he is also known by the name Robert George, a man moves into the town of Greendale in June purporting to be Santa Claus, everything about him which is Christmas every day, including having a reindeer in his yard, wearing the recognizable red suit all the time, and outfitting his house with all the Christmas accouterments, among which is a machine that blows snow bombs. While some, especially his immediate neighbors, complain to the authorities including to city hall for the continual disruption he is causing as Santa, he does bring much joy to just as many, some who truly see him as a savior in their life. And the majority of the town's young people really do believe he is Santa, even initially skeptical ten year old Tommy Gates, otherwise how would Santa have known so much about him probably in preparation for his naughty/nice list for Christmas. All of these issues, especially the latter, cause a problem for Elizabeth Gates, Tommy's single mother, the city attorney and a mayoral candidate in the next election, many who see the mayor's chair as only the first stop for her in a long and successful political life in her community activism. The issue of Santa is on top of the delicate negotiations she is having with developer Alan Schaefer for the historic train station property, what she is able to negotiate which will affect her political campaign. Reporter Frank Mallory, who usually covers the political beat, largely, on his own choice, in he long having tried to woo, so far unsuccessfully, Elizabeth, is assigned a more in depth story about Santa. If Frank is able to uncover the story, he will find that it goes deeper, especially for Elizabeth and by association Tommy, with what Elizabeth deciding to do in the matter perhaps in needing a little faith in all that is Santa for the situation to turn out positively for all concerned.One of the better feel-good Christmas movies.
- DirectorStephen BridgewaterStarsEdward AsnerJohn NewtonAlice EvansUS soldier visits the town from where an inspirational Christmas card was sent to him by a church group that mails cards out to servicemen as a goodwill effort.Although this film starts out with Gulf War situations, once the action relocates stateside there are lots of things to make you smile (although you can't help wondering why only the two romantic leads never really realize that Edward Asner's character is deliberately pushing them together). Another modern Christmas gem.
- DirectorChristopher LeitchStarsWilliam DevaneMeredith BaxterDean McDermottA father struggles with the past. A daughter fights for the future. A mother searches for answers. The Boyajians have not celebrated Christmas in 11 years. They lost their faith when they lost their son to the Persian Gulf War. Now a stranger--around the same age their son would be--has joined them. Is he a con artist? Or is this young man the miracle their family has desperately needed? William Devane, Reagan Pasternak, and Dean McDermott star in a remarkable story of loss and renewal. This Christmas, a stranger will change them forever.A smallish cast and a well-written screenplay with a touching story make this one of the better modern Christmas TV movies, especially when you're dealing with the aftermath of modern war.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsBilly Dee WilliamsMaria SchellFay HauserHomer Smith returns to the chapel which, years before, he helped to build to find that the nuns have taken in a group of homeless/unwanted/runaway children. Once again, he is inspired by the nuns' faith and selfless devotion, and this time he builds an orphanage and a little school for the children.A wonderful successor to the original LILIES OF THE FIELD (even though Billy Dee Williams plays the role of "Homer Smith" a little too hip for my taste) ... even directed by the original film's director!
- DirectorHarvey FrostStarsSteve GuttenbergCrystal BernardDominic Scott KaySanta's son and successor is looking for a suitable Mrs. Claus before he can take over the family business.There've been a number of Santa-offspring films made, but this one gets it more right than wrong.
- DirectorBrian BroughStarsK.C. ClydeKari Hawker-DiazBruce DavisonAshley feels alone at Christmas as she searches for a job. Her neighbor Nick offers her a job as his assistant in the best work: helping others. There's one catch she can't tell anyone that her new boss is a sort of Secret Santa.Slight spoiler: sometimes a Christmas movie doesn't have to end with everyone happy to show the real spirit of Christmas.
- DirectorJackie CooperStarsJaclyn SmithArt CarneyPaul Le MatSanta's home is threatened when an oil company blasts in the North Pole.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsPeter BillingsleyMelinda DillonDarren McGavinIn the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.Not personally one of my favorites, but it's become another true Christmas classic and deserves respect.
- DirectorMark JeanStarsJennifer GreyMegan ParkClark GreggIt's a few days before Christmas. As they have always done, widowed schoolteacher Tom Pullman, his 13-year-old daughter Hilly, and their dog Toby are driving from their Chicago home to Vail, Colorado to spend Christmas with Tom's mother Rheudel. Hilly loves her grandmother, but she wishes for a more exciting Christmas, and she would rather fly than drive in Tom's aged pickup truck, which may not last this trip. But her father finds taking the back roads and enjoying the countryside to be part of the adventure. Meanwhile, Chicago-based fashion photographer Claire Jamison, a pampered city girl, has one more assignment, after which she will fly to Aspen to join her Italian fiancé Lorenzo at his chalet where they will get married on Christmas Eve. Although they have known each other for some time, the romance, engagement, and wedding are recent phenomena, and Lorenzo is handling the bulk of the wedding plans with the help of his personal assistant Michele. Almost everyone Claire tells about the wedding is skeptical, if only because of the stereotype of Italian men being Latin lovers, meaning that Lorenzo will have a wandering eye that maybe has already wandered. Claire's assignment is canceled at the last minute and she plans to fly to Aspen early to surprise Lorenzo, but soon her flight is diverted to Lincoln with no guarantee that any form of transportation will be available to get her to Aspen on time. As Claire and Hilly have seen each other from afar a few times on this trip, they believe it may be kismet when they cross paths in Ogallala, Nebraska, where she is in total distress and Tom offers her a ride. Tom's pickup starts failing and Claire needs to keep in constant contact with Lorenzo but doesn't have reliable cell phone service. But their biggest issue might be their outward differences, which each assumes makes the other unsuitable for each. But Hilly can see that feelings are developing between them. Even if one or both would acknowledge those feelings, the fact of Claire's impending wedding may prevent a happily-ever-after for her and Tom.A cute film, although the way Jennifer Gray's character comes across makes you want to give her a smack upside the head for her snooty attitude toward working-class people and situations.
- DirectorAbe LevitowStarsJim BackusMorey AmsterdamJack CassidyThis musical adaptation of the classic tale by Charles Dickens stars Magoo as the cold-hearted old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge.Another must-see for Christmas!
- DirectorPhillip BorsosStarsMary SteenburgenGary BasarabaHarry Dean StantonAn angel must show a mother the true meaning of Christmas. It's not just presents and materialistic things, but the people she cares about too.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsCary GrantLoretta YoungDavid NivenA debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.I've rarely seen Cary Grant so charming!
- DirectorArnold SchwarzeneggerStarsDyan CannonKris KristoffersonTony CurtisElizabeth, the star of a successful cooking show, is set to do a live show on Christmas, where she'll cook a Christmas dinner. But what no one knows is that she can't cook.Another feel-good Christmas movie and one of Kris Kristofferson's better performances.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBing CrosbyDanny KayeRosemary ClooneyA successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.Crosby and Kaye ... what more to say?
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.Another true Christmas classic, but over-shown on television around the Christmas season; should be used a bit more sparingly.
- DirectorJohn PasquinStarsTim AllenJudge ReinholdWendy CrewsonWhen a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.The best of all the "Replacement Santa" films.
- DirectorLarry RoemerStarsBillie Mae RichardsBurl IvesLarry D. MannA young reindeer Rudolph lives at the North Pole. His father is one of Santa's reindeer and it is expected that Rudolph will eventually be one too. However, he has a feature which is a setback and causes him to be ostracized: his red nose.The best and most-beloved (in my opinion) of all the Rankin-Bass animated TV films, if only for Burl Ives as the snowman narrator!
- DirectorChuck JonesBen WashamStarsBoris KarloffJune ForayDal McKennonA grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.Absolutely NO Christmas would be complete without this classic!
- DirectorRon HowardStarsJim CarreyTaylor MomsenKelleyOn the outskirts of Whoville lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans to ruin Christmas for all of the citizens of the town.I heard Jim Carrey suffered for this role, but it was worth it! Almost the equal of the classic it was based on!
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsAlbert FinneyAlec GuinnessEdith EvansA musical retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about an old bitter miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.Another must-see for Christmas! The songs (including "December the 25th", "I Like Life", "Thank You Very Much" and most particularly "You, You, You" performed by Albert Finney) and performances are wonderful!