Favorite Holiday Movies for the Family
With the wind blowing and the snow falling, December is a great month for snuggling in with the family for frequent movie nights or marathon afternoons! December is the time that all of the holiday classics play, so you might just be able to watch what’s already playing on television. Otherwise, you can always hit up the Redbox or Netflix for holiday favorites. Here are a few of my family’s faves, to get you started:
- A Christmas Story Ahh, the quintessential tale of Ralphie, an elementary school student of the 1940s, and his desire for a Red Ryder BB gun. My kids absolutely love this one, and the good news for them is that it’s always on as a marathon starting on Christmas Eve on TBS. It starts every two hours, so you can watch it any time at night on Christmas Eve or during the day or early evening of the 25th.
- Elf If you have older kids, they’ll probably love watching the antics of Buddy, the human elf who leaves the North Pole in search of his father. There’s just enough grossness (like Buddy’s pouring maple syrup on spaghetti and chewing gum that he finds stuck to a pole) to keep kids entertained while not turning off Mom and Dad.
- Miracle on 34th Street This is one that I watched as a little girl, but it was remade in 1994 to make it a bit more modern. It’s the story of Susan Walker, a girl who does not believe in magic, including Santa Claus. When she meets a nice old man who just might be the real Kris Kringle, though, her attitude changes.
- A Rugrat’s Chanukah My grandmother celebrates Chanukah, so I’ve always felt that it was important for my kids to understand a bit about their heritage. A Rugrat’s Chanukah appeals to kids because the babies act out the Chanukah story in a kid-friendly way.
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas This is an old favorite from my own childhood; I can almost recite it! You probably can, too. Kids love the story of Whoville and the Grinch, whose heart was three sizes too small.
Of course, there are a lot of old favorites, such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and A Charlie Brown Christmas, and newer movies centered around the holiday season that come out every year. Take some time to find new ones and try out some old ones with your family this holiday season!
What are some of your favorite holiday-themed movies?
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Our family has no favorite movie but when there’s a good movie in cinema we make sure we watch it together.
we love to watch elf every christmas so funny
Home Alone of course! Santa Clause is another one.
Our favorite Christmas movies are the classics.
We love watching “A Muppet Christmas Carol”.
I have wanted to watch Elf for a long time and just havent’ gotten around to it! I need to this holiday season!
The best way to have family memories over movies!
I love sitting with with mu family watching holiday movies. The grinch is was of our favorite
We love to watch Elf and Home Alone! Those you listed are all favorites of mine except I have not seen A Rugrat’s Chanukah.
We love Christmas movies!! there is no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than awesome Christmas movies!! I love Elf but my husband and my son prefer ‘How the Grinch stole Christmas’ We all love Rudolph though
Our favorite is Elf. My kids also love The Grinch, with Jim Carrey-very funny, along with Polar Express. Those are the favorites in our home, but we really enjoy most all Christmas movies.
These are all great movies. My family loves to watch during the kids’ break from school.
I just watch Miracle on 34th street last night, and I just enjoy this story so much. Also I like the movie It’s a Wonderful Like and Jim Carrey’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
I just don’t watch these kind of movies. There’s one on tonight (I forgot which one), and I keep thinking I should.
Odd, I know 🙂
We love Family Fun Nights…sometimes they entail movies, games, cooking or baking… we especially love movies during the holidays! Elf is a favorite, as are all of the cartoons, like Rudolf, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Twas the Night Before Christmas and Jack Frost.
We just watched Elf the other day, but my all time favourite would have to be Christmas Vacation. It makes me laugh every time! A Christmas story is a very close second :)I might actually give Miracle on 34th street a chance this year, it sounds like a good story but I’ve never actually watched it.
Every Christmas we watch A Christmas story. Usually 3 or 4 times as it is on for 24 hrs a day. I love it. That Lamp cracks me up so much.
We love all the old Christmas classics! Year Without a Santa Claus is our favorite!!! Heat Miser and Snow Miser songs are memorized and sung every time lol.
Our family makes a tradition our of watching “The Polar Express” We sit around with our Hot Chocolate and watch it every year together. We also watch Claymation Christmas for a “fun” movie together!!
I like White Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street. My boys like to watch the Home Alone movies.
Most of the holiday movies my family loves are older ones: White Christmas, Christmas In Connecticut, The Nutcracker (version with Baryshnikov), etc. but there are some newer ones we enjoy as well, including Elf (despite my mother’s Will Ferrel aversion) and Nativity (with Martin Freeman). Watching favorite holiday movies is a big part of our December every year!
A like ,A christmas story, so funny. DebP
r.d1@myfairpoint.net
My fiance grew up loving Rudolph. I love How the Grinch Stole Christmas! I also love Elf. “SANTAAAAAAA!” We want to see Rise of the Guardians – I think it’s a holiday film…
Great movies! I love Miracle on 34th Street
My favorites are the animated and stop-motion specials…Rudolph, Scrooge, Frosty…all the ones they show every year…I belong on the Island of Misfit Toys!
We love watching charlie brown,frosty and Rudolph with our kids.
Elf is one of our favorite!!
I remember as a kid watching Charlie Browns Christmas EVERY year! Time to start that tradition with my kiddos I think!
Our family holiday favourite movies for always and still are DISNEY , oohh and Hello Kitty from Sanrio and Winnie The Pooh ( sinced my daughter addicted to watch them)
What happened to Sound of Music?
FB name is Lynn Sorkowski
I think Home Alone, Elf, It’s a Wonderful Life, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas are the top must see for my family.
Great post! The Grinch cartoon special is on our list, but the movie is too scary for my young DS.