Happy Holidays! and for this special edition of Streaming Wars, Merry Christmas! I hope the holidays have found you in good spirits and ready to welcome a new year with family and friends.
Now let’s get to it. When I was thinking of compiling my top ten favorite Christmas movies, many things were taken into account, such as how re-watchable the film is, for one. There are a lot of movies that have been released that focus on the Christmas season, but few that you would instantly want to watch again and again. That’s the first thing that makes a great Christmas movie—how much you look forward to watching it again even though you may have seen it countless times. Next is longevity—can the movie stand the test of time with new generations able to watch and appreciate it? This is important because there are many Christmas movies that have been released since Hollywood’s beginnings that have fallen by the wayside. The true test of a classic is its never-ending shelf life. The last thing that I looked for was the message of each film and how it relates to common themes of the holiday season, where family and selflessness take center stage over empty materialism and commercialism that has engulfed the Christmas season in modern America.
Let’s get the list started!
Number 10
Elf (2003)
Streaming on Max
“Elf” is the most recent film on the list, premiering in 2003, but it has been able to hold up for the last 20 years. Yes, some people may find Will Ferrell’s brand of comedy off-putting or downright annoying, but in “Elf” he was hilarious and charming, playing a human adopted by the elves at the North Pole.
Number 9
The Santa Clause (1994)
Streaming on Disney+
Sheer creativity is what earned this ranking. In all my years of watching Christmas movies and shows, “The Santa Clause” deserves more respect for being a creative outlier by answering this question: is the job of Santa Claus for one man only or is it a job passed on from person to person down through the years?
Number 8
Home Alone: Lost in New York (1992)Streaming on Disney+
The hijinks continue in this highly entertaining sequel for the character Kevin McAllister and the Sticky Bandits. Also, the New York setting is amazing around Christmastime.
Number 7
Home Alone (1990)
Streaming on Disney+
You can’t beat the original Home Alone where we see a young Macaulay Culkin become a global star. The you also have to credit Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci for their inept bad guy performances and all the torture they endure at the hands of a crafty 8-year-old!
Number 6
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) Streaming on AppleTV
The origin story of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer is still as charming as it was when I was a child. A great movie to watch with your parents and grandparents.
Number 5
Doctor Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) • Streaming on Hulu
The narration and voice work by Boris Karloff alone is worth placing on the list. Karloff will keep you entertained and invested throughout the whole story, which is only 26 minutes long.
Number 4
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Streaming on AppleTv
The Peanuts gang celebrates Christmas in their own way, where they have that memorable moment of taking in a shabby tree and making it something special with their ingenuity.
Number 3
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Streaming on Max
Slapstick can be overdone and make a film unlikeable, but here it makes the movie so much more endearing and fun as the Griswalds celebrate Christmas with their wacky family that includes the moronic Cousin Eddie and scene stealer, Aunt Bethany.
Number 2
A Christmas Story (1983)
Streaming on Max
What can I say? This movie is such a nostalgic throwback to when you were a kid and you had your heart set on the perfect Christmas present but everyone around you can’t take the hint! Ralphie is such a relatable character in this endearing classic.
Number 1
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
The unquestioned number 1 Christmas movie of all time: it’s about family, it’s about faith, it’s about friends, it’s about Christmas. In some ways, we are all George Bailey at some point in our lives where the pressures of the world seem to be crushing us and we feel helpless, but we don’t quit, and we persevere even when times are tough and the game is rigged—all with a little help from our friends, family, and guardian angels. Thank you, Jimmy Stewart, for such a great performance.
