The holiday season means something different to every person who observes it. For some, the most important aspect of this time of year is the precious time spent with friends and family. Others enjoy giving… by dedicating their time to special organizations, by baking sweet treats for those nearest and dearest to them, and by wrapping purchased gifts with red and green papers and ribbons.
For me, it’s all about tradition—baking my mom’s special recipe walnut muffins, enjoying a glass (or two or three) of “adult” eggnog while wrapping presents, listening to Harry Connick, Jr. and Andrea Bocelli belt out traditional holiday music as I drive around town looking for last-minute gifts, and carefully placing the Baby Jesus in the manger of our nativity set at midnight on Christmas Eve.
My list wouldn’t be complete without adding another of my holiday traditions… watching a few of my favorite holiday movies one more time. I’ve watched these films for as long as I can remember. I may not catch each one every single year, but that doesn’t mean I don’t try.
So, which movies do I want to see every December?
First, there’s the classic and light-hearted…
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Home Alone
The Santa Clause (and 2 and 3)
Elf
The Holiday
Die Hard
By now, everyone that reads this blog knows that I love my scary movies… and while these flicks might not seem as scary to me today as they did when I watched them for the very first time, they still fall into this holiday category…
Gremlins
Black Christmas (2006)
Next, there are a few “darker” comedies…
Scrooged
Bad Santa
And probably my favorite of all time…
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
It doesn’t matter how old I am, how many times I’ve watched these movies, or how old a few of these actually are, they will always be considered classics and must-sees in my house!
Do you have any special holiday movies that you watch every year? I’d love to hear from you!
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Tiffany A. White is the author of the YA mystery Football Sweetheart series available on Kindle and Nook. She is available for contact via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or via email at tiffany {at} tiffanyawhite {dot} com.
Tiffany A White's Ooo Factor 
Home Alone, The Santa Clause, The Holiday…all great ones. My favorite is The Christmas Card, and I found out my friend, Joany Kane, actually wrote the screen play. And I like the different versions of A Christmas Carol, although my two favorites are the George C. Scott version and the Patrick Stuart version.
It’s White Christmas for me. I may have to look up Black Christmas, though. That sounds delightful! 😀
My favorite is A Christmas Story. Why? Simple. it was written by a master story-teller Jean Shepard, he does the voice over and it resonates with every kid who wanted some present their parents thought would kill them. Also a Christmas Carol with Alistair Sim.
A Christmas Story, because Jean Shepard is such a great writer, and I heard “You’ll shoot your eye out!” more than a few times growing up.
The Man Who Came To Dinner, with Monty Woolley and Bette Davis. And Billie Burke, and Jimmy Durante, and a whole bunch of penguins…
The Bishop’s Wife, with David Niven, Loretta Young, Cary Grant, Monty Woolley (again). The last couple of scenes are beautiful, especially the bishop’s Christmas sermon, which never fails to make me emotional.
Holiday Inn, with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, and the remake, White Christmas, with Bing, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney. The music in both makes them indispensable, and Astaire’s dancing is always worth seeing.
It’s not at ALL a Christmas movie, but my favorite holiday film tradition is actually Elizabeth Taylor’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” It was a tradition with my fiance’s family, because they reasoned there was a scene with snow in it, so that was good enough for them. So they watch it every year, and I can’t help but love that.
Personally, for me, it’s allllll about “National Lampoon.” And “Elf.” I like the funnier stuff if it comes to themed films. And I can’t forget “Nightmare Before Christmas,” either!
Gremlins is on our list too! LOL And The Nightmare Before Christmas. But my all time faves are White Christmas – for the classic, feel good, traditional movie. And Mixed Nuts – for the off the wall, comedy film. Love them!
I watch so many of these too every year. What is it about Die Hard being a holiday favourite? 🙂