As soon as the clock strikes 12 a.m. on Halloween night, jack-o’-lanterns and ghouls are left in the dust. For professional holiday fanatics, Nov. 1 is the official start to a spectacular holiday season.
Grab a cup of hot cocoa, get cozy and start the countdown to Christmas with this list of classic holiday films.
1. “Elf”
One of Santa’s rather large helpers lost in New York City? Sounds like trouble. Will Ferrell is endearingly idiotic in this Christmas comedy. If you enjoy the pleasing aesthetics of a snowy New York City skyline and the sky-blue hue of Zooey Deschanel’s eyes, this movie is the right pick for your holiday celebrations.
2. “Home Alone”
When spunky eight-year-old Kevin McCallister is accidentally abandoned during the holidays, it is his duty to protect his family home from two thieves. Watch baby-faced Macaulay Culkin scurry around, creating witty inventions and crazy tricks as mayhem ensues.
3. “The Polar Express”
This movie features the soothing voice of Tom Hanks as a conductor that guides a magical train ride all the way up to the North Pole. This film leaves its audience without a doubt that Santa Claus is more than just a legend.
4. “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas”
The rhymes and stories that encapsulate our childhoods come to life in this film adaptation of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Let Jim Carrey, dressed as the giant green grinch, entertain you as he wrecks havoc upon Whoville.
5. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
This 1964 stop-motion animated classic tale is an oldie, but a goodie. The exaggerated features of the tiny characters are almost too cute to bear. The soundtrack provides a jazzy Christmas feel.
6. “Frosty the Snowman”
“Frosty the Snowman” will make you fall in love with this iconic snowman all over again. A group of children aiding Frosty in the race against temperature and time is bound to be a tear-jerker, but also a tool to teach the values of friendship, love and the holiday spirit.
7. “Christmas with the Kranks”
For the Kranks, a holiday in the Caribbean sounds like a Christmas well spent. For their tight-knit suburban neighborhood, however, the Krank’s abandonment of the Christmas spirit is a tragedy. Then, when the Kranks’ daughter decides to come home for the holiday at the last minute, the couple and their neighbors try to pull of a traditional Christmas, even when it seems like everything is working against their best efforts.
8. “The Santa Clause”
Watch as a divorced dad morphs into Santa Claus against his will after he accidentally kills the legendary saint. As he fights his ever-growing beard and belly, he eventually learns to accept the Christmas spirit creeping into his heart. If you enjoy this movie, there are two sequels that the complete collection.
9. “Four Christmases”
When couple Brad (played by Vince Vaughn) and Kate (played by Reese Witherspoon) try to dodge spending the holiday season with their eccentric families by trying to escape on an exotic vacation, forces work against them. They both belong to divorced parents with their fair share of crazy relatives, hence the number of Christmases. Through all the chaos, the couple learns to accept each other and their lovable families.
10. “Unaccompanied Minors”
When a blizzard traps travelers in an airport on Christmas Eve, it is up to a group of unaccompanied minors to entertain themselves at the expense of security personnel. Chaos ensues.
11. “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
Dim-witted dad Clark Griswold just wants a traditional Christmas holiday with his family. It is obvious that the holiday conditions are not in his favor as he tries to put his best efforts into creating a perfect Christmas extravaganza.
12. “A Christmas Story”
A group of mischievous children and their oblivious families learn what it is to experience a traditional American Christmas.
13. “The Best Man Holiday”
Mix a stellar cast, comedy and drama and you get the perfect modern Christmas film. Old friends under the same roof make for a heartwarming tale that really drives the values of love and friendship.
14. “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
Charlie Brown tries to restore the Christmas spirit in his Peanut gang when he discovers they have all been asking Santa for money.
15. “The Nightmare Before Christmas”
In this spooky Tim Burton tale, Jack Skellington discovers bright life in Christmastown. His plans to take over Santa’s job goes awry quickly.
16. “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town”
For the child at heart, this stop-motion animated film describes the birth of several Christmas traditions and how they morphed throughout history.
17. “Jack Frost”
When winter sprite Jack Frost falls in love with a girl named Elisa, he requests that Father Winter make him human so he can be with her. Father Winter grants Jack’s request, but only if he can prove that he can function sufficiently in Elisa’s world.
18. “Disney’s a Christmas Carol”
As Ebenezer Scrooge spends a retched holiday alone in his home, he is visited by the spirit of his former business partner, who warns him of the consequences of his greed. Scrooge is then taken on a wild ride by three time-travelling ghosts.
19. “A Madea Christmas”
Mabel “Madea” Simmons is back at it again in another installment by Tyler Perry. Madea gives and receives the importance of values like kindness and family while she spends her Christmas on a farm.
20. “The Holiday”
When two lonely women find themselves at their wit’s end, they find their lives intersecting. They become pen pals, exchange their home addresses, and come up with a plan to live in the other’s home over the holidays. During their stays, they find the unlikeliest of friends and lovers.
21. “Snow Buddies”
For puppy lovers, this film is a showcase of yellow Labrador puppies trying their best to win a dog-sled race in snowy Alaska.
22. “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas”
Reunite with Mickey and the gang as they entertain with stories of Christmas past, and other traditional seasonal tales.
23. “Richie Rich’s Christmas Wish”
Spoiled Richie Rich learns to be careful of what he wishes for when he is thrown into an alternate reality, and has to come to terms with the fact that his life wasn’t so bad after all.
24. “12 Dates of Christmas”
Stuck in a repeating time loop, a woman experiences Christmas Eve again and again. Can she learn over the course of 12 days how to score her one true love?
25. “Krampus”
For those still hanging on to Halloween by the thinnest thread, this spooky Christmas tale is equal parts scary and cozy.
